...The Ballad of John and Yoko.
My good friend the Station Agent is very fond of this song. I'll never forget the first time I heard it, sitting in a tent I set up on the side of my house in San Diego during the summer between 7th and 8th grade. You know how it is at that age, you have to get away somehow. I sat there and read about the world's religions, picking and choosing beliefs eclectically (just beliefs, not practices or restrictions, of course!), as a red blooded American kid would do.
So I'm sitting there with my little transistor radio and John and Paul come on-- "Christ, you know it ain't easy!" And I thought, there goes John again, getting in trouble with the Christians. But by this late date, Lennon didn't give a hoot for anyone's opinions--not even the other Beatles--what to speak of the Southern Baptist Church.
The Ballad of John and Yoko has John and Paul doing all the instruments and vocals, recorded in a hotel room. Paul's not bad on drums, don't you think?
As for me, I entered that tent in the summer of 1969 as a Catholic Christian, and reemerged, for the first day of 8th grade, a Buddhist. My friend Leo will vouch for that.
Lennon claimed Buddhism, too, if he claimed anything, so I was in good company. But Christ, it hasn't been easy.
1 comment:
Gracias Hector. That song is amazing.
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