Quotes from John Lennon: The Life

Philip Norman ·  851 pages

Rating: (7.3K votes)


“wherever Haley’s voice rang out with “One, two, three o’clock, four o’clock RAHK…” the gritty drama on the screen was totally eclipsed by mayhem among the audience. Boys and girls alike went literally berserk, shrieking like banshees, tearing at the fabric of their seats, lurching out to dance in the aisles or engage in mass brawls that required dozens of police to contain them.”
― Philip Norman, quote from John Lennon: The Life


“Alf then told John he must choose between going with Mummy or staying with Daddy. If you want to tear a small child in two, there is no better way.”
― Philip Norman, quote from John Lennon: The Life


“He has been a trouble spot for many years in discipline, but has somewhat mended his ways. Requires the sanction of ‘losing a job’ to keep him on the rails. But I believe he is not beyond redemption and he could really turn out a fairly responsible adult who might go far.”
― Philip Norman, quote from John Lennon: The Life


“You know...give peace a chance, not shoot people for peace. All we need is love. I believe it. it's damned hard but I absolutely believe it. We're not the first to say 'Imagine no countries' or 'Give peace a chance' but we're carrying that torch, like the Olympic torch, passing it from hand to hand, to each other, to each country, to each generation. That's our job...I've never claimed divinity. I've never claimed purity of soul. I've never claimed to have the answer to life. I can only put out songs and answer questions as honestly as I can, but only as honestly as I can, no more, no less.

"I used to think that the world was doing it to me and that the world owed me something, and that either the conservatives or the socialists or the fascists or the communists or the Christians or the Jews were doing something to me, and when you're a teenybopper that's what you think. I'm 40 now. I don't think that anymore, 'cause I found out it doesn't fucking work. The thing goes on anyway and all you're doing is jacking off and screaming about what your mommy or daddy or society did...I have found out personally...that I am responsible for it as well as them. I am part of them.”
― Philip Norman, quote from John Lennon: The Life


“He had always loved to draw and paint, begging to be bought pencils, paint boxes, and paper rather than toys, spending hours wrapped up in worlds of his own creation.”
― Philip Norman, quote from John Lennon: The Life



“Paul said it would be better for them to express their views back in Britain, because “there, people listen a bit more. In America, they hold everything against you.”
― Philip Norman, quote from John Lennon: The Life


About the author

Philip Norman
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Why do you even want to be here with me? You can barely stand to look at me for the most part, let alone be around me. I'm doing you a favor here, Nathan. I'm freeing you of me."
"Wait...Stay."
"No."
"I'm not asking."
"I thought we were done."
"We'll never be done.”
― Samantha Towle, quote from First Bitten


“We look at each other with shy relief. It's the look two odd socks give when they recognise each other in the wild.”
― Fiona Wood, quote from Six Impossible Things


“there’s really nowhere else I can go, and even if there were, it wouldn’t make a difference
because I’d just be running from myself, and you can’t do that no matter how hard you
try, and trying hard is what got you in this predicament in the first place.”
― Pete Wentz, quote from Gray


“With God, the more one seems to lose the more one gains. The more He strikes off of what is natural, the more He gives of what is supernatural. He is loved at first for His gifts, but when these are no longer perceptible He is at last loved for Himself. It is by the apparent withdrawal of these sensible gifts that He prepares the way for that great gift which is the most precious and the most extensive of all, since it embraces all others. Souls which have once for all submitted themselves to the divine action, ought to interpret everything favourably.”
― quote from Abandonment to Divine Providence: The Classic Text with a Spiritual Commentary


“Why do people go to these places, these places that are not for them? It must be that they believe in their night vision. They believe themselves able to draw images up out of the dark. But black wells only yield black water.”
― Helen Oyeyemi, quote from White is for Witching


Interesting books

Selected Stories
(5.8K)
Selected Stories
by Alice Munro
Purity in Death
(21.2K)
Purity in Death
by J.D. Robb
Upon the Midnight Clear
(23.6K)
Upon the Midnight Cl...
by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934-1941
(4K)
Berlin Diary: The Jo...
by William L. Shirer
Faking It
(17.1K)
Faking It
by Jennifer Crusie
Deliver Us from Evil
(20.7K)
Deliver Us from Evil
by David Baldacci

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.