The only instrument I can play is piano. Whenever I make songs at home, I play the piano and make them on the piano.
I don’t think you should always stay calm in a tense situation, because you might not ever confront the problem. Maybe it’s better to actually let yourself be tense – and find a solution.
I just like to explore all sorts of different forms – no, ‘explore’ is not even the word – enjoy. You don’t want to limit yourself to a particular form.
I think that there is a sort of spiritual power that is translating into our bodies as we perform. Performers give, and giving is so important. It can heal. That is my experience, anyway.
The thing is, even after the revolution, if people don’t have any trust in themselves, they’ll get new problems.
I think that there is incredible prejudice about witches while there is no prejudice about wizards. Words are very important, and I’m really into destroying myths.
People accuse artists of being narcissists – of course we are! If we don’t like ourselves, who’s going to like us?
All I’m saying is that perhaps we can make a revolution without violence.
The whole world is starting to realize that it was the most unwise thing for our society to have ignored women power, to run the society with male priorities.
There is an incredible love in creating art unless somebody is saying, ‘Hey, let’s just make money,’ because it doesn’t work when you do it that way. If you are aiming for that, forget it.
There’s many women now who think, ‘Surely we don’t need feminism anymore, we’re all liberated and society’s accepting us as we are’. Which is just hogwash. It’s not true at all.
There’s a big difference between sending your art in a statement or something like that, and sending yourself there. When you send yourself somewhere, then you are sharing your information uncontrollably – like all yourself.
This society is driven by neurotic speed and force accelerated by greed and frustration of not being able to live up to the image of men and woman we have created for ourselves; the image has nothing to do with the reality of people.
When I speak out against the guns or against the big corporations, some of my friends say, ‘Oh Yoko, be careful. These people have all the power.’ But, you know, most people don’t speak out because they are frightened.
Women are put in a position of feeling embarrassed about their bodies. It’s so ridiculous, but also astounding – we have to always be apologetic about having created the human race.
You know, something happened to me when I became 70. I started to feel a tremendous love for the human race, and life and this planet, the universe, the whole shebang.
We’re all water from different rivers, That’s why it’s so easy to meet, We’re all water in this vast, vast ocean, Someday we’ll evaporate together.
If a woman writes about a domestic situation, everyone automatically assumes that it’s about her.
In the Second World War, I was a little girl. I was evacuated in my country.
It’s always good to do something that is not a repeat. I just don’t believe in repeating.