For five years he had been living a life of retirement. He did not go into the studio anymore, did not give any concerts, just sat around doing time and spent his with his son Sean. Business was delt by his wife Yoko Ono. John did not care about it. About early 1980 John Lennon had a couple of songs finished and somehow he was hit again by the feeling of wanting to do what he actuylly stopped doing by the time of the birth of his son Sean. So he wrote some more songs and he went back into the studio. With Yoko on his side he recorded his great Comeback album Double Fantasy. The one time guiding spirit of the Beatles was back on track. Recordings to another album were just as good as finished, he was planning a big tour as well as a musical on his life with Yoko. But all that was about to change drastically on December 8th, 1980.

Mark David Chapman was a Hawaiian at bis late twenties and a conveinced Beatles fan. Acoording to some writers he regarded himself as the true John Lennon who has to eliminate the picture of illusion. When Chapman started work in a camp for kids, he allegedly signed his contract with the name of John Lennon. On that December 8th, 1980 Chapman was waiting in fron of the Dakota Building, as many other fans did. Lennon and family dwelled in an apartment in the Dakota since 1972. When the Ex-Beatle and his wife Yoko stepped out, Mark David Chapman nervously showed him an issue of Doble Fantasy. Lennon signed the cover and stepped into the van which brought him directly into the recording studio where he went to do some further work for his new LP Milk And Honey. Noone was to know at this time that Mark David Chapman would kill John Lennon just hours later. Late at night that day when the Lennons went arrived home after work Chapman still was standing there. "Mr.Lennon?" he asked after the couple stepped into the doorway. John Lennon turned around and was hit by four gunshots, one failing and hitting the window. The housekeeper heard the shots and Yoko's cries for help and he imediately ran to help John. After doing first aid he called the police. Mark David Chapman watched his finished work when he saw his idol laying on the floor, put down the gun and began reading from the book The Catcher In The Rhye loud. When the police came Chapman was busted not putting on any resist. Being asked by detective Steve Spiro whether he actually knew what he had done, Chapman remarked "I just shot John Lennon.". Later he said he had heard a voice in his head contstantly yelling "Do it! Do it!". In the meantime Lennon, gravely wounded, was rushed into the hospital. But when the ambulance reached the Roosevelt Hospital Lennon was dead on arrival.

Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in Attica State prison. By August 2008 he was denied parole for the fifth time mainly for political reasons:
John Lennon was a symbol for hopeful future and peace for the American youth. Chapman's release would be resisted by many american people. According to American law Chapman's next parole will be in 2010 but it is unlikely the murderer of John Lennon, now a practicing chistian, will ever get out of jail.

What does John Lennon represent today, almost thirty years after his death? Because of his early death he is often said to be a martyr? But the question arises on what is a martyr: What did John Lennon die for? One could argue that his ambitions for world peace and his direct expressions for social justice in many of his songs made him such a contoversial personality that those finally led to his murder. This oversees the fact that no arguments but pure enthusiasm connected with scicophrenia on a high level were the reasons for this deed. This may be a simplified view of things thus it cannot be said Lennon's death is a direct result of his political amitions. So one should not put the question whether or not he was a martyr. John Lennon was a musician and a poet whose talent was to summon the feelings and thoughts of youth at his time, first as a mamber of the Beatles, then as a solo artist. That's why he was the voice of a generation. John Lennon's issues are timeless. It may have been the Vietnam war made him write Give Peace A Chance but the message will live on long as there is war in the world. Many other songs by Lennon have the same basic line: The expression of discontentment with society or just simple love songs for his wife Yoko. War still exists, society has been facing the same sort of problems as it did back when Lennon was alive. So did John Lennon fail? No. Lennon was no messiah or world savior. He was just a caring musician who tried to made his thoughts into songs and used his music to communicate the message to people as well as possible. The importance of his songs to his day shows that John Lennon was in fact very successful, and not only in a commercial way. To change the world was never his job. But some of his songs like Imagine or Give Peace A Chance maybe helped people to be more aware of the global situation. And who knows, maybe, before people destroy themselves, John Lennon's message from the 60s and 70s will make people change their minds and will help them save the world.