Julian Lennon

Imaginary Lines

J. Lennon/A. Moore/B. Ezrin/J. Clayton

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Julian Lennon"There's a great story behind 'Imaginary Lines'. Musically, Justin had written most of the material and we didn't really have anything to talk or sing about. We'd sort of been banging out heads against the wall and a friend of mine had a little condo down in Mexico so we decided to drive down there for the weekend, just to get away from this little gray room and we both were sort of observing, you know, the barriers that have been put up between the Mexicans and Americans and the border lines and, I mean, it really hit me a lot but, I mean, it really took Anthony by surprise. I mean, it really upset him. You could see all these people just lining up against, you know, fences, being stuck there, not being allowed to go where they wanted to go, you know. When we got down there he disappeared for quite some time and then came down to us and said, 'You know, I have an idea for the song now. It's all about the people we just saw'. I said, 'What, you mean on the border?' He said, 'Yeah, yeah.' He said, 'I feel we should talk about the fact that people are not free anymore. They're confined to borders which other people with more power have put up and it's a very unfortunate situation and especially seeing as the land was originally theirs, that it's very unfair how this has all worked out and, you know, while the Americans are living it up rich in California, you know, the Mexicans are, you know, hanging around on the back streets in poverty . It's very, it was really sad to see. I mean, it wasn't…It was originally, the concept was from that border but it was generally talking about the borders around the world that we're confronted with and how unfair it is these days and the people aren't really as free as they think they are." 
- Julian Lennon on "Imaginary Lines"

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The Lyrics

Heaven help the soul that's severed
From the place where it belongs
caught up in the mindless struggle
Of the weak against the strong

Headlights along the border
Keep the peace, their law and order

Why can't we see it's all a record of lies
It's their kind of strength
It's their only defense
An imaginary line

Just a kid and his younger brother
Headed for the wire
Had no rights in the telescopic sights
Of the vigilante's rifle fire

And now he's buried on the border
Where the rivers are blood not water

Why can't we see it's all a record of lies
(Why can't we see)
It's their kind of truth
It can only be proved
With imaginary lines

In times like these concerning
Who decides which bridge is burning
Don't fall for-map reading
Just make sure that you're still breathing

After the lines were drawn, the children would
dream of the pearls and how beautiful they were.
Year after year they would dive to the bottom of
the lagoon hoping that the oysters would come
back. They risked everything-their homes, families
and meager possessions-to search for the pearls.
To make sure they were heavy enough to reach the
bottom, the children tied stones to their backs.
Many of them died, streams of blood and broken
bodies rose to the surface of the lagoon...and
the lagoon cried.

Why can't we see it's all a record of lies
(Why can't we see)
It's their kind of strength
Their only defense
An imaginary line

Why can't we see it's all a record of lies
(Why can't we see)
It's their kind of truth
It can only be proved
With imaginary lines

© 1991 Charisma Music Publishing, Inc., USA (ASCAP) Virgin Music, Inc. (ASCAP), Undercut Music Publishing Company, Inc. (ASCAP)

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