Of all the Beatles, John Lennon was the most socially-minded of the four, as evident on such Beatles' classics as, "All You Need is Love", "Across the Universe", "The Word", "Because"and "In My Life".
He also was particularly mindful of the cruelty of war. When Lennon originally composed and recorded "Merry Xmas (War is Over), the Vietnam War was still raging in Southeast Asia. While it became a pop hit in the U.K., it failed to make a dent on the American Top-40 playlist.
Having discovered its gorgeous melody, several pop artists have recorded Lennon's Christmas song, making "Merry Xmas (War is Over)" a veritable Christmas standard. Ironically, several wars still rage today, despite Lennon's protest.
Notably, many of the world's most popular Christmas songs were written in times of war. For example: "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" was composed in 1864--the bloodiest year of the Civil War. "Silent Night, Holy Night" was composed during World War One. "White Christmas", "I'll Be Home for Christmas", and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" were written during World War Two.
"Merry Christmas (War is Over)" is nothing less than John Lennon's Christmas Carol to the world, a timely reminder to be listening to our better angels. As was often the case, Lennon's lyrics are childlike in their simplicity:
"So this is Christmas
And what you have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young
"And so this is Christmas (war is over)
For weak or for strong (if you want it)
For rich and for poor ones (war is over)
The road is so long (now)
And so happy Christmas (war is over)
For black and for white (if you want it)
For yellow and red ones (war is over)
Let's stop all the fight (now)
"A very Merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
"And so this is Christmas (war is over)
And what you have you done
Another year over (war is over)
And a new one just begun (now)
And happy Christmas (war is over)
We hope you have fun (if you want it)
The near and the dear one (war is over)
The old and the the young (now)
"A very Merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
"War is over, if you want it
War is over now
"Happy Christmas!"