| "Working Class Hero" | |||||
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| Song by John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Band
from the album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band |
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| Released | December 11, 1970 | ||||
| Recorded | September 26 – October 9, 1970 | ||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||
| Length | 3:48 | ||||
| Label | Apple/EMI | ||||
| Writer | John Lennon | ||||
| Producer | John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector | ||||
| John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band track listing | |||||
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"Working Class Hero" is a song from John Lennon's first post-Beatles solo album, 1970's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.
Contents |
Track listing
- "Working Class Hero" – 4:24
- "Working Class Hero" (Radio Edit) – 4:24
Theme
The song is a take on the class split of the 1940s and 1950s, and of the 1960s in which he was famous. The song appears to tell the story of someone growing up in the working class of capitalism. According to Lennon in an interview with Jann S. Wenner of Rolling Stone magazine in December 1970, it is about working class individuals being processed into the middle classes, into the machine[1] Lennon stated (in the same interview) that he hoped that it was a warning to the people, a contemporary song for the revolution, for workers, thematically like Give Peace a Chance aimed to replace the older songs like We shall overcome.
What do you think of "Give Peace A Chance?"
As a record?
Yes.
The record was beautiful.
Did you ever see Moratorium Day in Washington, D.C.?
That is what it is for, you know. I remember hearing them all sing it — I don't know whether it was on the radio or TV — it was a very big moment for me. That's what the song was about.
You see, I'm shy and aggressive so I have great hopes for what I do with my work and I also have great despair that it's all pointless and it's shit. You know, how can you beat Beethoven or Shakespeare or whatever? In me secret heart I wanted to write something that would take over "We Shall Overcome." I don't know why. The one they always sang, and I thought, "Why doesn't somebody write something for the people now, that's what my job and our job is."
I have the same kind of hope for "Working Class Hero." It's a different concept, but I feel it's a revolutionary song.
In what respect?
It's really just revolutionary. I think its concept is revolutionary, and I hope it's for workers and not for tarts and fags. I hope it's what "Give Peace A Chance" was about, but I don't know. On the other hand, it might just be ignored.
I think it's for the people like me who are working class — whatever, upper or lower — who are supposed to be processed into the middle classes, through the machinery, that's all. It's my experience, and I hope it's just a warning to people. I'm saying it's a revolutionary song; not the song itself but that it's a song for the revolution.
[Here we took a break, during which John and Allen Klein went out to discuss the possibility of a single. We began talking again, alone with Yoko, about that.]
The refrain of the song was "Working class hero is something to be".
Sound
The song features only Lennon and an acoustic guitar playing basic chords as his backing. The chord progression is very simple, and builds on A-minor and G-major, with a short detour to D-major in one of the lines in the chorus. Lennon's strumming technique includes a riff with a hammer-on pick of the E note on the D string and then a loose A string, which gives the song a beat and character.."[2].
Controversy
In 1973,[3] U.S. Representative Harley Orrin Staggers heard the song–which features the line But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see–on WGTB and lodged a complaint with the FCC. The manager of the station faced a year in prison and a $10,000 fine, but defended his decision to play the song saying, "The People of Washington [D.C.] are sophisticated enough to accept the occasional four-letter word in context, and not become sexually aroused, offended, or upset."[4] Other U.S. radio stations, like Boston's WBCN, banned the song for its use of the word "fucking".[5] In Australia, the album was released with the expletive removed from the song, with the lyrics censored on the inner sleeve.[6]
Notable covers
| "Working Class Hero" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Green Day | ||||||||||
| from the album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur | ||||||||||
| Released | May 1, 2007 | |||||||||
| Format | Digital download | |||||||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||||||||
| Length | 4:25 | |||||||||
| Label | Warner Bros./Amnesty International | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | John Lennon | |||||||||
| Producer | Green Day | |||||||||
| Green Day singles chronology | ||||||||||
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- Tommy Roe recorded his version in 1973. peaked at #97 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7]
- Marianne Faithfull covered the song on her 1979 album Broken English.
- Then-New Zealand politician Marilyn Waring covered the song as a single in 1980.[8]
- Jerry Williams covered the song in 1984 on his album Working Class Hero.
- Richie Havens covered the song for his 1987 album Richie Havens Sings Beatles and Dylan.
- Mike Peters covered the song when with The Alarm as a backing track to their 1989 single "A New South Wales".
- David Bowie's band Tin Machine recorded a version of the song on their self-titled debut album.
- Cyndi Lauper covered the song live on Lennon: A Tribute in 1992.
- Screaming Trees covered the song for the 1995 tribute album Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon.
- Roger Taylor covered the song on his 1998 album Electric Fire.
- Marilyn Manson covered the song on the B-side of the "Disposable Teens" single.
- Noir Désir covered the song on the 2000 album Liberté de Circulation'.
- Hilton Valentine covered the song on his 2004 album It's Folk'n' Skiffle, Mate!.
- Elbow covered the song for Q magazine in 2005.
- Ozzy Osbourne recorded a version for his 2005 collection Under Cover.
- Tina Dickow covered the song for Amnesty International's 'Make Some Noise' campaign in Denmark.
- The Academy Is... covered the song in 2006 on its From the Carpet EP.
- Green Day contributed a cover of the song to the Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. It peaked at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100, #6 on the Canadian Hot 100, #8 in Norway and #11 in Sweden.
- Exit Clov covered the song on their EP Jolly Roget Sessions.
- Manic Street Preachers recorded a cover of the song on their 2007 album Send Away the Tigers.
- Racoon covered the song on their album Before You Leave (2008).
- Antimatter covered the song live.
- Pain of Salvation covered the song live in 2001 together with Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy.
- Euphoria covered the song on their soon-to-be-released self-titled album.
See also
References
- ^ S. Wenner, Jann (January 21, 1971). "John Lennon interview [streaming audio available]". Rolling Stone Magazine (United States) (74). http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/16313366/john_lennon_the_rolling_stone_interview.
- ^ Lennon, John (1983). Lennon: The Solo Years. Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation. pp. 156. ISBN 0881882496.
- ^ Raz, Guy (1999-01-29). "Radio Free Georgetown". Washington City Paper. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=16638. Retrieved 2009-03-31.
- ^ Blecha, Peter (2004). Taboo Tunes: A History of Banned Bands & Censored Songs. Backbeat Books. pp. 160–161. ISBN 0879307927.
- ^ Schechter, Danny (1997). The More You Watch, the Less You Know: News Wars/Submerged Hopes/Media Adventures. Seven Stories Press. p. 106. ISBN 1888363800.
- ^ Blaney, John (2005). John Lennon: Listen To This Book. Paper Jukebox. p. 59. ISBN 095445281X.
- ^ Chart details at tsort.info
- ^ gemm.com
Notes
- The Rolling Stone Interview: John Lennon, Part I Full Text by Jann S. Wenner, Feb 04, 1971, RollingStone
- The Rolling Stone Interview: John Lennon, Part II Full Text by Jann S. Wenner, Feb 04, 1971, RollingStone
External links
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