January 9, 2025 was a very important day in the United States. It was a National Day of Mourning and was the day that former President Jimmy Carter was laid to rest.
Jimmy Carter’s funeral was attended by many people, including family, friends, celebrities, as well as political figures. There was a performance at the funeral by Garth Brooks and his wife, Tricia Yearwood and people are not happy.
Many people are criticizing, not the performance itself but the choice of song. They decided to sing the song by John Lennon, Imagine. People were upset because they felt that the lyrics were inappropriate for a church funeral.
Brooks and Yearwood were friends of the Carter’s and they performed that 1971 song at the funeral. Online, people began voicing their opinions on the choice of the song very soon after news of it was uploaded.
For the most part, they were upset because the song seems to reject religion, including lines such as: “Imagine there’s no heaven, It’s easy if you try, No hell below us, Above us only sky.” People were not happy with them singing the song because it seemed to challenge what was taking place at a religious funeral.
Some people were upset in general at the choice of song and others were wondering who possibly could have planned it. One even said that it was the worst possible song to sing at a funeral, except perhaps ‘Highway to Hell.’
Others said that the song itself was the worst ever written, while others were just questioning the appropriateness of the song being played in such a venue.
Undoubtedly, there was a lot of irritation and it came out online. As is typically the case, people were speaking their minds, and most were upset with the choice. There were others, however, who said the song was beautiful but the venue was not the right place to sing it.
One of the reasons that Garth Brooks and Yearwood perform the song is because Jimmy Carter truly loved it. He was asked in an interview in the past what his favorite Beatles song was and he said: “imagine”.
Carter couldn’t say enough good about the song, saying about its worldwide appeal and the significance that it has had in foreign countries. He also said that the song critiques aspects, including nationalism, national boundaries, and religion.
If you consider that in contests, it really is appropriate that they sang it but it is still going to affect some negatively, who may not have the same feelings about the song as the Carters.
