Working Class Hero...

In an earlier post, I talked about what is probably Lennon's most overtly anti-establishment song - Working Class Hero. It appeared on the 1970 album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Lennon's first official solo effort which routinely pops up on various "Top 100 albums of all times" lists! As you read the lyrics (see below), you see the themes of class and social alienation that originated in Lennon's bourgeois upbringing and figured prominently in his post Beatles' musical voice.

As soon as your born they make you feel small,
By giving you no time instead of it all,
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all,
A working class hero is something to be,
A working class hero is something to be.

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school,
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool,
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules,
A working class hero is something to be,
A working class hero is something to be.

When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years,
Then they expect you to pick a career,
When you can't really function you're so full of fear,
A working class hero is something to be,
A working class hero is something to be.

Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV,
And you think you're so clever and classless and free,
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see,
A working class hero is something to be,
A working class hero is something to be.

There's room at the top they are telling you still,
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill,
If you want to be like the folks on the hill,
A working class hero is something to be.
A working class hero is something to be.
If you want to be a hero well just follow me,
If you want to be a hero well just follow me.

There are so many parts of this song that resonate with me - For example, I get 'ambition'... I might even get 'driving your kids till they are totally focused on success'... But sometimes I can't help but wonder if we take it a little too far? I mean, how many people do we all know who go through 20-30 years of their life, only to look back and wonder, "where did all that time go? why didn't I enjoy the journey more?". I think there is a lot of virtue in enjoying the ride! After all, that's the only thing that comes with a guarantee - given the vagaries of life, there's no telling when the 'end' might come! :)

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised during a recent episode of American Idol, when Green Day got on stage and sang a very respectable cover of this song! I gumshoed a little and realized that this cover was part of a bigger effort - Some of the biggest names in music (U2, R.E.M., Black Eyed Peas, Snow Patrol, etc.) have come together for a benefit-album project. This one, called Instant Karma: Campaign to Save Darfur, donates all its proceeds to Amnesty International's humanitarian efforts in Darfur. The album features 23 songs from Lennon's post-Beatles catalog, including classics like 'Imagine', 'Power To The People', 'Isolation', 'Mother', 'Give Peace A Chance', and 'Beautiful Boy'. (Watch the promo ad here and buy the album if you can - it's good music, and the proceeds benefit a cause that's begging for our intervention.)

Meanwhile here's the video of the Green Day cover - doesn't it just make you wonder, "how can we let this happen to our fellow man"? :(