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Classic rock stars were the subject of every mean or ridiculous rumor imaginable. Outsiders accused John Lennon and Yoko Ono of not loving each other. A journalist who spoke with both of them refuted this idea. Furthermore, John had plenty to say about the situation himself.

A reporter said John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s relationship gets ‘dissected’

David Sheff famously interviewed John for Playboy. His interview became the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. In 2020, he contributed an essay that discussed John and Yoko’s romance to a reprint of the book.

“Forty years after John’s death, his and Yoko’s relationship continues to be dissected, some claiming that the happiness John and Yoko showed to the world — to me — was a fiction,” he wrote. “It wasn’t. I witnessed the joy and love between them. I’ve never been with two people as obviously in love. They expressed it in words but also in the way they treated each other — the way they looked at each other.”

David Sheff discussed what the couple taught him

Sheff had a lot to say about John and Yoko as activists. He mentioned that the Plastic Ono Band’s “Give Peace a Chance” and John’s “Imagine” have been used across the world to protest oppression. “Like millions of others, I still grieve John’s death, but he lives on in his music and his and Yoko’s message,” Sheff wrote. “Along with its continued political relevance, John and Yoko’s message continues to inspire me on a personal level.

“Their message is simultaneously complex and simple: Know yourself and learn to think for yourself,” he said. “Do for others when you are able. Though living is easy with eyes closed, we must fight the impulse. If we don’t like what we see, change it. At least try. Celebrate life. Imagine a better world.” In the aforementioned interview, John said that people should find their inner strength rather than look to others for guidance.

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What John Lennon and Yoko Ono said about their relationship

In a 1969 interview animated by the YouTube channel Blank on Blank, John had a lot to say about his relationship. When a reporter asked him why he and Yoko got along so well, John said it was simply because he loved Yoko. John didn’t understand the meaning of “All You Need Is Love” until he met her. Previously, the singer thought of romance as something more abstract.

In John’s opinion, love is like a plant: people need to tend to it to help it grow. He said there was no formula for meeting your soulmate, it just happens. The “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” singer said part of what drew him to Yoko was her energy and intelligence.

Yoko loved John as well. She had given up on love by the time she met him. Meeting John helped Yoko get rid of her cynicism.

John and Yoko were the subjects of vicious rumors but it’s clear that they loved each other deeply.