"Working Class Hero" is a song by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

from his 1970 album '' John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'', his first album after the break-up of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. It was released as the B-side to the single " Imagine" in Britain on 24 October 1975.

Theme

Stridently political, the song is a commentary on the difference between social classes. According to Lennon, it is about

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

people being processed into the

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

es, into the "machine". Lennon also said, "I think it's a revolutionary song – it's really just revolutionary. I just think its concept is revolutionary. I hope it's for workers and not for tarts and fags. I hope it's about 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, who are supposed to be processed into the middle classes, or into the machinery. It's my experience, and I hope it's just a warning to people, Working Class Hero." The song continued a string of political Lennon recordings that began in 1968 with the Beatles' "

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

" and continued in 1972 with the release of '' Some Time in New York City''.

Recording and sound

Recorded at EMI Studios on 27 September 1970, the song features only Lennon, singing and playing an acoustic guitar 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 line of the chorus. Lennon's strumming technique includes a riff with a hammer-on pick of the E note on the D string and then an open A string. The tone and style of the song is similar to that of " Masters of War" and " North Country Blues" by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

, a known influence of Lennon. Both are based on Jean Ritchie's arrangement of the traditional English

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

" Nottamun Town". According to tape operator Andy Stephens, the song took more than 100 takes to record. The recording is the composite of two different takes: the tone of the guitar and vocal changes between 1:24 and 1:45 for the verse "When they've tortured and scared you".

Reception

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

'' critic Rob Hughes rated "Working Class Hero" as Lennon's fourth best political song, saying that "The class wars provide the impetus for Lennon’s searing commentary on the repressive nature of institutional power." '' Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Nick DeRiso rated it as Lennon's fourth greatest solo political song, calling it "one of Lennon's most brutally frank and emotionally gripping moments." ''Stereogum'' contributors Timothy and Elizabeth Bracy rated it as Lennon's third best solo song, calling it "a stark, acoustic ballad reminiscent of

's ' Masters of War and "a painful recognition that the Age of Aquarius has meant less than zero."

Controversy

In 1973, US Representative Harley Orrin Staggers heard the song – which includes the lines "'Til you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules" and "But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see" – on WGTB and lodged a complaint with the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC). The manager of the station, Ken Sleeman, faced a year in prison and a $10,000 fine, but defended his decision to play the song saying, "The People of Washington DC are sophisticated enough to accept the occasional four-letter word in context, and not become sexually aroused, offended, or upset." The charges were dropped. Other US radio stations, like Boston's WBCN, banned the song for its use of the word "fucking". In Australia, the album was released with the expletive removed from the song and the lyrics censored on the inner sleeve. The American release did not censor the lyrics, neither on the album nor on the inner sleeve.

Personnel

– vocals,

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

References

{{Authority control 1970 songs 2007 songs 1971 singles 2007 singles 1970s ballads 1973 controversies in the United States John Lennon songs Songs critical of religion Obscenity controversies in music Songs written by John Lennon Song recordings produced by Phil Spector Song recordings produced by John Lennon Song recordings produced by Yoko Ono Manic Street Preachers songs Folk ballads Songs against capitalism English folk songs Mass media portrayals of the working class Marilyn Manson (band) songs Plastic Ono Band songs Apple Records singles