John & Yoko with Derek Taylor at the Sheraton Oceanus Hotel, Freeport, Bahamas, 25 May 1969.
This film is one of the many extra features on the BluRay/DVD of the John & Yoko documentary 'Above Us Only Sky' - about the making of the Imagine album: http://bit.ly/AUOS-amazon
John & Yoko had arrived in the Bahamas the previous day. They would decide to leave the following day for Toronto and ultimately Room 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal - closer and easier for the New York American press - where they began their famous weeklong Bed-In for Peace, culminating the writing and recording of 'Give Peace A Chance' on the 31st of May.
John: We've been trying to get into the States to do a peace mission and get visas. We want to give acorns to Nixon. So the Bahamas are the best deal we could think of. We'll probably do a Bed-In down there like we did in Amsterdam. Our plan is simply to promote peace in a non-violent fashion, and the States needs it. It's the right time for two non-violent people to go and promote non-violence.
We hope to have an audience with Nixon and give him some acorns to plant as a symbol of peace. We think of it as a positive move towards peace. We hope to go around the world doing that. We thought we'd start with America, as it's an English-speaking nation and because of the violence going on there. And if we have any influence over the kids and youth, which we do, I am there. They think we're going to enflame the youth, but we're not. We want to pacify everyone as much as we can.
Acorn trees grow, and acorns are simply seeds, and that's a very symbolic thing. It's also a positive move towards peace, and there need be no discussions about what size table or field to plant it in: just plant it, and that's a positive public move. To get him to plant them for peace - that's our main intention of getting into the States. Everything else will be a sideline.
Think of it like a big pop song, and you got to have a great catch phrase, and the catch phrase is 'Acorns For Peace,' and we're keeping the beat, and there are people catching on.
OH YOKO!
In the middle of my life
In the middle of my life
I call your name
Oh Yoko!
Oh Yoko!
My love will turn you on
My love will turn you on
In the middle of the night
In the middle of the night
I call your name
Oh Yoko!
Oh Yoko!
My love will turn you on
My love will turn you on
My love will turn you on
I want you
I want you babe
I want you baby
In the middle of the sea
In the middle of the sea
I saw your name
Oh Yoko!
Oh Yoko!
My love will turn you on
My love will turn you on
A wop bop a lu bop a lop bam boo
Derek Taylor: Right, get Norman Seaman to go to Canada and get you a concert
John: Why don't we do the show right here?
Yoko: Norman, come to us, then
Oh Yoko!
Oh Yoko!
My love will turn you on
I want you babe
I want you baby
I want you baby
In the middle of the night
In the middle of the night
I call your name
Oh Yoko!
Oh Yoko!
My love will turn you on
My love will turn you on
My love will turn you on
Written by John Lennon
Performed by John & Yoko
Filmed by Nic Knowland
Recorded by Mike Lax
Sheraton Oceanus Hotel, Freeport, Bahamas, 25 May 1969
