They came from everywhere on Tuesday, to meditate, play or sing in tribute to John Lennon, on the edge of Central Park, close to the building in front of which the singer was shot dead 40 years ago. .
The guitars start the intro of “In My Life”, and the thirty or so pilgrims gently link the first words to the famous Beatles song.
Many are regulars at Strawberry Fields, a place of memory inaugurated in 1985, a hundred yards from the entrance to the Dakota, the building where John Lennon lived in the Upper West Side.
It was under the large porch of this 19th century building that on December 8, 1980, at the end of the evening, Mark David Chapman fired four bullets in the back of the singer, who was to die before his arrival at the hospital.
In front of this building with the false appearance of a German castle, the concierges keep watch. No recognizable sign, no gathering, apart from a small bouquet discreetly placed on a low wall.
At Strawberry Fields, on the other hand, photos, candles and flowers have been installed on the earthenware disc in the middle of which is written “IMAGINE”.
They are a small group of musicians gathered there which connect the titles of Beatles and John Lennon, who signed several successes in solo like “Imagine” or “Jealous Guy”.
Tepper Saffren, nicknamed “Sergeant Tepper” in reference to the Beatles’ cult album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, is there, as often, to sing.
“No matter what Beatles song you play, it brings back memories in people,” he explains. “And often it’s a nice feeling, or at least a nice feeling.”
“And it’s like you’re surrounded by goodness and joy,” he said, “because you’re really just relaying John.”
– “More icons like him” –
Forty years after the demise of the British inimitable, slightly nasal voice, he retains faithful of all ages.
Specially coming from Washington, Clara Tello, aged 39, was not born until the year after John Lennon’s death, but said she felt close “to the person he was”. “He’s been hurting his whole life,” she said. “He knew what pain was, but he still wanted to turn to others and help.”
A complicated family history, a brutal collision with fame, years of drug and alcohol addiction, the life of the native of Liverpool has been anything but a long quiet river.
“John was no hero,” observes law student Jeff Tyler. “But at the end of his life, he really had a message of peace and love. And I think that’s what makes people here today. That message still echoes.”
“The death of a loved one is something that drains you,” the artist’s widow, Yoko Ono, wrote on her Twitter account on Tuesday. “Forty after, (his two sons) are missing Sean, Julian and me.”
“More than 1.436 million people have been shot dead in the United States since John Lennon was shot and killed,” adds an illustration, part of the same Twitter post, which shows damaged glasses, probably those of the co-founder of Beatles.
Now 87 years old, Yoko Ono then took over an excerpt from “Imagine”, which remains as John Lennon’s most famous solo song: “Imagine all the people living life in peace” (imagine the whole world living in peace).
“We can never compare anyone to John Lennon,” says 20-year-old Gabriela Parra, who came from New Jersey to commemorate the singer with the famous rimmed glasses.
“There are no more icons like him today,” she continues. “There are celebrities just passing by, but no real icons. Person who shares a message of love and peace, person who wants to be the image of our generation.”
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