The song was written on June 1, 1969 during the "Bed-In" at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on the last day of the Action for Peace that John Lennon and Yoko Ono started after their wedding on March 20, 1969.
In Montreal, when asked by a journalist why he was doing this action, Lennon replied, "All we are saying is give peace a chance."
Using a recording device, the song was sung with Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, Derek Taylor and Petula Clark, among others, with members of the Canadian Radha Krishna Temple dancing around the room.
Today, Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine and threatened the West with the atomic bomb if it intervened ("a response you have never experienced before"), taking us back to the cold or even the hot war, as if in a time travel that lasted only a blink of an eye. Thirty years as if wiped away. The Russians are probably much better prepared than we are. Hitler, Stalin and all the other butchers send their regards. The great Vladimir obviously wants to join the ranks. Hard to believe - or in other words - Give peace a chance.
