COLUMN: An open letter to Cee-Lo Green
The following is an open letter to popular singer/rapper/reality TV judge/lyric butcherer extraordinaire Cee-Lo Green, because I know he reads Central Michigan Life on a thrice-weekly basis. Where else can he get the latest scoops on where coffee shops are opening on CMU's campus and find out who has been elected chairman of the Isabella County Commission, all in the same place? Nowhere.
Dear Mr. Green,
I can't believe you're reading my letter! Wow!
I'm a big fan of all, well, almost all, of your work, especially your songs with Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley. You've always come across as a breath of fresh air on the radio, which is filled with artists who all too often decide to follow the rules and never dare to be creative or unique.
You've recently committed a musical cardinal sin, though, and you've made me upset. And if hearing that a reporter for a college newspaper who hails from suburban Detroit doesn't cause you to rethink what you did (and it should), know that a huge portion of the music community is just as upset as I am.
You know what I'm talking about by now. On NBC's New Year's Eve program and "The Voice" promotional show, you changed the lyrics of John Lennon's 1971 classic, "Imagine" from "Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too" to "Nothing to kill or die for, And all religion's true."
If I may quote the cast of Sunday NFL Countdown, "C'mon man!" What made you think this was a good idea?
Changing the lyrics of any of John Lennon's (or any of the Beatles') songs is sacrilege. He was part of the most innovative band in history and, without them, the music scene would look so different, you probably wouldn't be where you are today. More than that, he's arguably the greatest songwriter of all-time.
You do not mess with lyrical genius, under any circumstances. Ever.
Lennon said "And no religion too" and not "And all religion too" for a reason. He was a huge critic of organized religion. He saw it as a force of division among people across the world, as the root cause of many of the conflicts and wars throughout history. "Imagine" is a song about peace and unity and Lennon thought religion was an obstacle on the path to peace.
You're free to disagree with Lennon, of course. Many do, and you're not the first one to change or omit that line over the years. But that doesn't make it right. If you don't agree with Lennon's message, don't sing the song. It's that simple.
It's like changing the words of your hit song "Crazy" to "Does that make me lazy?" It's not fair to you. You wrote the song to say what it did, not something else. The same rules apply to Lennon's songs.
Sincerely,
John
P.S.: Next time, don't wear expensive jewelry and a fur coat while singing a song about having "no possessions"
