Jody Denberg: It made sense. The song Rising, the original version and the latest evolution on Blueprint, it shows that, as usual, you have this idealism that continues in the face of darkness. And you may have answered this question before, but it amazes me how you maintain that belief in the essential goodness of the universe when there's so much evil that we're confronted with all the time.

Yoko Ono: I think time is a relative thing. And also, time is a man-made concept. All these things that happened in history never left us. It never went away. It's all with us, you know. In our awareness, too. We're living in a situation of accumulated different dimensions. And so that's coming out, I think.

JD: So the good and evil are always there coexisting?

YO: It's always there. Always there. And it's a way of either using it in a wise way or surviving through it. Now, I'm not saying that the wise ones survive. I mean, there are many beautiful wise people who died, who were murdered, whose life was cut short. It's a very severe situation.

JD: You reacted publicly after 9/11 by taking a full-page ad in the New York Times. I think it said, just Imagine all the people living life in peace. I was here in October. I came across a billboard off of Times Square. I think it was, Give Peace A Chance. Just using the word "peace" -- you have to watch who you say it around because it doesn't seem to be a popular concept.

YO: No, no. Exactly. I mean, I felt that it's a situation where it's all right to imagine. Imagine all the people living life in peace. I think that that's a very strong thing to do. It might be a very controversial thing to do. Because it's a very powerful thing to do. But I think it's all right to say that. I don't think that goes against the policy of this country or anything like that. I think, in the end, all people in this country really want peace. But how to get there, some people are thinking in a different way of course. But imagining, that's something that we can all do, even when we have different opinions about how to get there. Imagining peace, imagining peace. That's okay. That we can all do, without feeling, the conflict.

JD: And the song Imagine was voted the Song of the Year by Rolling Stone Magazine. And you have said that you and John both thought that the song was special when it was composed, but you weren't really sure how deeply it communicated to society at that time.

YO: Imagine is a very, very powerful song. And I think it was very interesting that it is still around and still giving power to people. And I'm very happy about that.

JD: In October, you helped produce Come Together, a night for John Lennon's words and music. I was wondering what went through your mind watching Sean sing Julia for you, a song that Sean's father wrote for his mother.

YO: I know. I thought it was beautiful. And also, I think he was pretty wise. This Boy and I think the note goes very high. The highest note is like really high. So I was saying to him, "Don't pick a song like that. Just pick something that's very easy to sing. What if you can't reach that one?" But then, he nailed it. It was so beautiful. And also, it was right that he sang a song that was not the most famous song of John's because I think it's just kind of a modesty in him. Sort of saying, "No, I'm not going to sing the biggest; I'm just going to sing this one." It was a very beautiful thing he did. And then, Julia. So I was a bit choked up, of course. And I thought, well, he's doing just right. Just the right thing.

JD: Well, since we're talking about family lineage and stuff, there was a photograph in magazines maybe a year or so ago. It was you with your daughter Kyoko and your granddaughter. So what is it like after all these years to find that you're a grandma?

YO: Well, I still can't feel it, in a way. I mean, it's a very strange feeling. I'm still concerned about my children. And Sean is 26 now. I can't believe it, but he his. And he's 26, but I'm still concerned about him. And then, in a way, you're supposed to sort of like let go and just forget it. You know, okay, go. See you later. But I'm not like that. I'm not possessive or anything, it's just in my mind I'm always thinking, "Is he going to be okay today?" I can't help thinking about his welfare. And so with Kyoko, too. I mean, she's a woman and she's going through a lot of probably ordinary things, but kind of difficult things that women go through. And so I am concerned about her. And, I think, grandchildren, "Okay, well, that's something that happened and let's worry about it later!" (Laughs)

JD: Do you have one grandchild or two?

YO: Two.

JD: Both girls or a boy --

YO: No, one boy and one girl.

JD: So do you get to spend some time being a grandma and is it fun for you?

YO: No! (laughs) If I ask, I'm sure that they would let me spend some time with them. But I'm not in a mode to do that yet, for some reason.