"Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

(originally credited to

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney is the songwriting partnership between the English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is widely considered one of the greatest, best known and most successful musical collabo ...

), and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

in a hotel room in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada. Released as a single in July 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, it is the first solo single issued by Lennon, released while he was still a member of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, and became an

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to sho ...

of the American

anti-war movement An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during con ...

during the 1970s. It peaked at number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 2 on the British singles chart.

Writing and recording

John Lennon performing Give Peace a Chance 1969

The song was written during Lennon and Ono's " Bed-In" honeymoon in Montreal. When asked by a reporter what he was trying to achieve by staying in bed, Lennon answered spontaneously "Just give peace a chance". He went on to say this several times during the Bed-In. Lennon asked his press officer, Derek Taylor to find a recording engineer. On 1 June 1969, in Room 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, André Perry, owner of a local recording studio, arrived and used a simple setup of four microphones and a four-track tape recorder he brought with him. The recording session was attended by dozens of journalists and various celebrities, including Timothy Leary, Rabbi Abraham Feinberg, Joseph Schwartz, Rosemary Woodruff Leary,

Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...

, Dick Gregory, Allen Ginsberg, Roger Scott, Murray the K and Derek Taylor, many of whom are mentioned in the lyrics. Lennon played acoustic guitar and was joined by Tommy Smothers of the

Smothers Brothers The Smothers Brothers were the American duo of brothers Tom Smothers, Tom and Dick Smothers, who performed folk singer, folk singing, music, and comedy. The brothers' trademark double act was performing folk songs (Tommy on Steel-string guitar, a ...

, also on acoustic guitar. The day after the recording, Perry engaged and recorded three professional singers from Montreal to add back vocals to the production, among them Mouffe and Robert Charlebois, who was a famous pop-star in Quebec and in France. Some years later, Perry recalled the occasion and spoke about the challenges of getting a good sound out of the recording. Because of the room's poor acoustics, he said, the raw recording could not have been released without help:

Songwriting credits

When initially released in 1969, the song was credited to

. On later releases curated by the Lennon Estate, only Lennon is credited; viz. the 1990s reissue of the 1986 album '' Live in New York City'', the 2006 documentary '' The U.S. vs. John Lennon'', and the 1997 compilation album '' Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon'' and its DVD version six years later. John Lennon expressed his regrets about being "guilty enough to give McCartney credit as co-writer on my first independent single instead of giving it to Yoko, who had actually written it with me." According to author Ian MacDonald, the credit was Lennon's way of thanking McCartney for helping him record " The Ballad of John and Yoko" at short notice.

Lyrics

The original last verse of the song refers to: "John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary eary Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper, Derek Taylor,

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...

, Allen Ginsberg, and Hare Krishna". In the performance of "Give Peace a Chance" included on the '' Live Peace in Toronto 1969'' album, Lennon openly stated that he could not remember all of the words and improvised with the names of the band members sharing the stage with him and anything that came to mind: "John and Yoko,

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

, Klaus Voormann, Penny Lane, Roosevelt, Nixon, Tommy Jones and Tommy Cooper, and somebody." The third verse contains a reference to

masturbation Masturbation is a form of autoeroticism in which a person Sexual stimulation, sexually stimulates their own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Stimulation may involve the use of han ...

, but Lennon changed this to " mastication" on the official lyric sheet. He later stated this was a "cop out" but wanted to avoid unnecessary controversy.

Release and aftermath

"Give Peace a Chance", backed with Ono's "Remember Love" as the B-side, was released on 4 July 1969 in the UK, and a few days later on 7 July 1969 in the US. The song reached number 2 in the UK Singles Chart, and number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US. '' Billboard'' described it as "an infectious rhythm ballad" with "clever arrangement and performance". The song quickly became the anthem of the anti Vietnam-war and

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

movements, and was sung by half a million demonstrators in Washington, D.C., on Vietnam Moratorium Day, on 15 November 1969. They were led by

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

, who interspersed phrases like, "Are you listening, Nixon?" and "Are you listening, Agnew?", between the choruses of protesters singing, "All we are saying ... is give peace a chance". A live concert performance of the song is included on '' Live Peace in Toronto 1969''. (Source: Apple Records) John, Yoko, and the Elephant's Memory performed the song on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon in September 1972. (Source: YouTube) The British group Yes also paid tribute to Lennon's words on their 1971 release '' The Yes Album'', in " Your Move". After being issued as a single, it appeared on album in a truncated form for the singles compilation '' Shaved Fish'' in 1975. The track's first full-length album appearance was on the 1982 compilation '' The John Lennon Collection''. Although technically the first "solo" single released by a member of The Beatles while the band was still active, the artist credit was to the Plastic Ono Band, not John Lennon. Shortly after Lennon's 1980 murder, fans gathered outside the Dakota and sang "Give Peace a Chance". The single re-charted in the UK in January 1981, peaking at number 33. The song is one of three Lennon solo songs, along with "

Instant Karma! "Instant Karma!" (also titled "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)") is a song by English musician John Lennon, released as a single on Apple Records in February 1970. The lyrics focus on a concept in which the consequences of one's actions are ...

" and " Imagine", in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. On 4 March 2022 at 08:45 ( CET), 150 European public radio stations broadcast this song for peace and against the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

and on 8 March at 12:00 (CET), 200 European private radio stations did the same. The Rockin' 1000 performed this song for the opening of the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, also in reaction to the invasion.

Personnel

– lead vocals, acoustic guitar *

Tom Smothers Thomas Bolyn Smothers III (February 2, 1937 – December 26, 2023) was an American comedian, actor, composer, and musician, widely known as half of the musical comedy duo the Smothers Brothers, alongside his younger brother Dick Smothers, Dick. I ...

– acoustic guitar *

and others – handclaps, tambourine, backing vocals * Timothy Leary,

– backing vocals * André Perry – percussion, production

Chart performance

Peace Choir version

In 1991, Ono recorded a new version of the song (as well as a music video) in response to the imminent

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. Accompanying musicians included Amina, Adam Ant, Sebastian Bach, Bros, Felix Cavaliere,

Terence Trent D'Arby Sananda Francesco Maitreya (born Terence Trent Howard; March 15, 1962), who started his career with the stage name Terence Trent D'Arby, is an American singer and songwriter who came to fame with his debut studio album, '' Introducing the Hard ...

Flea Flea, the common name for the order (biology), order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by hematophagy, ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult f ...

, John Frusciante,

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

, Kadeem Hardison, Ofra Haza,

Joe Higgs Joseph Benjamin Higgs (3 June 1940 – 18 December 1999) was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson. He was a popular artist in Jamaica for four decades and i ...

, Bruce Hornsby, Lee Jaffe, Al Jarreau, Jazzie B, Davey Johnstone, Lenny Kravitz, Cyndi Lauper, Sean Ono Lennon,

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

, LL Cool J, MC Hammer, Michael McDonald,

Duff McKagan Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964) is an American musician. He was the bassist of hard rock band Guns N' Roses for twelve years, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. McKagan rejoined the b ...

, Alannah Myles, New Voices of Freedom,

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

, Q-Tip, Bonnie Raitt, Run, Dave Stewart, Teena Marie, Little Steven Van Zandt, Don Was, Wendy & Lisa,

Ahmet Zappa Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa (born May 15, 1974) is an American musician, writer, actor and trustee of the Zappa Family Trust. Early life Ahmet Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the third of four children born to musician Frank Zappa and ...

Dweezil Zappa Dweezil Zappa (born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa, September 5, 1969) is an American rock guitarist and occasional actor. He is the son of musical composer and performer Frank Zappa. Exposed to the music industry from an early age, Zappa develo ...

and Moon Unit Zappa as the Peace Choir.

Track listings

7" single # "Give Peace a Chance" – 3:23 CD-maxi # "Give Peace a Chance" – 3:23

Charts

Yoko Ono version

On 1 June 2008, the 39th anniversary of the song's recording, the first of three digital-only (and thus

environmentally friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...

) singles were released through Twisted Records exclusively on Beatport with remixes featuring a newly recorded vocal by

. It reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart on 16 August 2008. These are not the first versions Ono has done of this song: in 2004, she did a new version for '' Wake Up Everybody''; in 2005, a version recalling the events of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on '' Peace, Love & Truth''; and one of the first remixes with the lyrics used in this mix was released on the '' Open Your Box'' remix album. The last installment was released 18 February 2009, Yoko's birthday.

Track listings

;Mindtrain/Twisted TW50066 (released 1 June 2008) #Dave Aude Club Mix (8:26) #Dave Aude Dub (8:26) #Johnny Vicious Warehouse Dub (8:23) #Mike Cruz Dub (8:40) #Tommie Sunshine Vocal Mix (6:41) #Morel's Pink Noise Vocal Mix (6:42) #Morel's Pink Noise Dub (7:09) #Double B Full Vocal Mix (6:57) ;Mindtrain/Twisted TW50069 (released 1 July 2008) #Phunk Investigation Mix (7:45) #Eric Kupper Vocal Mix (8:50) #Mike Cruz Extended Vocal Mix (10:25) #DJ Dan Dub (8:53) #Tommie Sunshine Give Peace a Dub (6:40) #Morel's Canister Dub (7:23) #Mike Cruz Vocal Edit Mix (8:40) ;Mindtrain/Twisted W50070(released 18 February 2009) he International Remixes#Blow-Up Popism Mix (5:00) #Blow-Up Electrono Mix (6:44) #Kimbar Vocal Mix (8:11) #Kimbar Dub Mix (6:54) #Tszpun Remix (8:17) #Tszpun Dub Mix (8:11) #Alex Santer Peaceful Mix (6:11) #DJ Meme Club Mix (9:54) #Findo Gask Time for Action Dub (5:56) #CSS Mix (4:12) #Richard Fearless Reach Out Mix (7:05) #Karsh Kale Voices of the Tribal Massive Mix (5:55)

Weekly charts

Covers

*Lennon's fellow ex-Beatles

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

have each incorporated the song into their live performances as a tribute to Lennon.

Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band is a live rock music, rock Supergroup (music), supergroup founded in 1989 with shifting personnel, led by former The Beatles, Beatles drummer and vocalist Ringo Starr. History and description Since 1989, Starr ...

often perform the song as an encore after " With a Little Help from My Friends", while McCartney has often performed a medley of the song, combined with " A Day in the Life", since his 2009 live album '' Good Evening New York City'', including for most of his Up and Coming Tour, on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' on 11 December 2010, and in 2011 during the US leg of his On the Run Tour. * U2 have performed the song in concert at least 27 times in whole or as a snippet, the first time on 13 December 1980 at the Paradise, Boston, Massachusetts and the last time on 18 May 1998 at Waterfront Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland. *The song has been used in films, television shows and theatre as it has become a recognised semiotic to indicate protest; for example it was sung by students in the 1974 film '' The Trial of Billy Jack'', and by peace activists in the 1996 film '' Pretty Village, Pretty Flame''. The song was featured in an episode of the TV series '' Mad About You'' in 1995. *

Hot Chocolate Hot Chocolate are a British soul band formed by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson. The group had at least one hit song every year on the UK Singles Chart from 1970 to 1984. Their hits include " You Sexy Thing", a UK number two which also made ...

released the song as their debut single on the Apple label, Apple 18, as 'Hot Chocolate Band', in a reggae version in October 1969. * Mitch Miller & the Gang covered the song on the ''Peace Sing-Along'' album in 1970. *

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

(featuring Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars) covered the song for the 2007 benefit album '' Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur''. *

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

recorded the song as a B-side to his UK single " Club at the End of the Street" in 1990. He also performed the song live on his 1970 US tour with bassist Dee Murray and drummer Nigel Olsson, singing only the refrain "All we are saying is give peace a chance". *

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

referenced the song in "

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

" from her 1971 album ''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

''. *The refrain is sung in the background during the ''Your Move'' section of Yes' 1971 release " I've Seen All Good People". The song also references Lennon's "

". *

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

recorded the song on 29 May 1970, for an LP entitled ''Louis Armstrong and Friends'' (aka ''What a Wonderful World''). The 1970 Louis Armstrong recording was released as a Philips 7" 45 A side single in the UK, 6073 703. *

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

's Eddie Vedder led the crowd in singalong to the chorus during a 2003 concert in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. *

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

performed an acoustic version of the song during her Confessions Tour concert in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, on 12 September 2006. *

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

performed a snippet of the song at Bonnaroo 2010 and in 1972 at Madison Square Garden in a performance with Lennon and Ono. *Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell recorded the song for his 2011 album '' All We Are Saying''. *The metal band Aftermath recorded and released the song as a single in 2020. The version was mentioned in both the official

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

and

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

pages. *The song was performed by Rockin' 1000 as part of the opening segment of the final of the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest. *A version of the song in Russian by Jackie-O, Sati Akura, Onsa Media and others was released March 26, 2022, after Secretary-General

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

' reference at the start of an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on the Ukrainian War.

References

; Footnotes ; Citations

External links

Original recording session, film and audio, on YouTube
*
Lyrics of this songStory of the original handwritten lyrics
{{authority control 1969 songs 1969 debut singles 1991 singles 2008 singles 1960s ballads 1969 quotations John Lennon songs Yoko Ono songs Plastic Ono Band songs Hot Chocolate (band) songs Anti-war songs Peace songs Quotations from music Slogans Song recordings produced by John Lennon Song recordings produced by Yoko Ono Anti-Vietnam War songs Songs written by John Lennon Apple Records singles Virgin Records singles Folk ballads Pop ballads Rock ballads British folk rock songs Presidential campaign songs

Writing and recording

Songwriting credits

Lyrics

Release and aftermath

Personnel

Chart performance

Peace Choir version

Track listings

Charts

Yoko Ono version

Track listings

Weekly charts

Covers

See also

References

External links