John Lennon's passing - 30 yrs today

I looked towards each new Beatles album. After Sgt. Pepper's, I really thought the White Album and Abbey Road were big letdowns. Without Epstein, the McCartney-Lennon team seemed to diverge in style and content message. Maybe it was the drugs they took. Maybe it was Yoko's presence. Maybe I grew up and realized that what they were saying musically was a not as profound or groundbreaking as they were hyped to be.
As far as John Lennon's music, you cannot separate his politics/beliefs/or life experiences from his music. That is why he wrote. He wanted to express his point of view.
I never considered him a musical genius or innovator. Everything he did musically was done before his time save the reverse looping of Ringo's drum beat in Tomorrow Never Knows. Listen to classical music and discover themes in music. Listen to opera and find musical tales. Listen to Phil Spector and discover the Wall of Sound that utilized orchestra and electronic instruments.
In my opinion the true tragedy of John's death was that Sean would grow up in the same situation as his older half-brother Julian.....fatherless.

Here's a recently discovered deleted verse from Imagine.

Imagine there's no Yoko,
It's easy if you try.
No reason to listen to her,
Only wonder why do I.