John Lennon - Crippled Inside

'Crippled Inside' is a song
written and performed by John
Lennon from his 1971 album
Imagine.

The song's lyrics detail
examples of false pretenses in
human behavior, as well as
common hypocrisy. Lennon
especially attacks religion,
which he did not believe in,
as a prime source of
h
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John Lennon - Crippled Inside

'Crippled Inside' is a song
written and performed by John
Lennon from his 1971 album
Imagine.

The song's lyrics detail
examples of false pretenses in
human behavior, as well as
common hypocrisy. Lennon
especially attacks religion,
which he did not believe in,
as a prime source of
hypocrisy, saying, 'You can go
to church and sing a hymn' and
that 'You can live a lie until
you die, but one thing you
can't hide, is when you're
crippled inside.'

Lennon also incorporates the
myth about a cat having nine
lives into the song, and
compares it to a dog's one:
'Well now you know that your
cat has nine lives, babe, nine
lives to itself, but you only
got one, and a dog's life
ain't fun.' This could be
interpreted as a veiled
criticism of reincarnation,
advising listeners to instead
focus on the one life that
they do have.

The song combines the bleak
lyrical content of Lennon's
prior solo recording, John
Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, with
the more upbeat musical
arrangements typical to the
rest of Imagine. Lennon would
later express his displeasure
with the more commercial sound
of the album, even going so
far as to say that the title
track was 'an anti-religious,
anti-nationalistic,
anti-conventional,
anti-capitalistic song, but
because it's sugar-coated,
it's accepted.' The song is
also noticeably influenced by
country music, becoming
Lennon's own spin on country
rock, which he dabbled in both
as a Beatle and later in his
solo career.

Trivia
John Lennon's fellow former
Beatle George Harrison plays
dobro on the song, with Klaus
Voormann (a longtime friend of
the Beatles and designer of
the cover for their Revolver
album) on upright bass.
Jam Band Widespread Panic has
covered the song a number of
times during their Summer 2007
Tour.

Lyrics:
You can shine your shoes and
wear a suit
You can comb your hair and
look quite cute
You can hide your face behind
a smile
One thing you can't hide
Is when you're crippled inside


You can wear a mask and paint
your face
You can call yourself the
human race
You can wear a collar and a
tie
One thing you can't hide
Is when you're crippled inside


Well now you know that your
Cat has nine lives
Nine lives to itself
But you only got one
And a dog's life ain't fun
Mamma take a look outside

You can go to church and sing
a hymn
You can judge me by the color
of my skin
You can live a lie until you
die
One thing you can't hide
Is when you're crippled inside


Well now you know that your
Cat has nine lives
Nine lives to itself
But you only got one
And a dog's life ain't fun
Mamma take a look outside

You can go to church and sing
a hymn
You can judge me by the color
of my skin
You can live a lie until you
die
One thing you can't hide
Is when you're crippled inside


One thing you can't hide
Is when you're crippled
inside
One thing you can't hide
Is when you're crippled inside

Category Entertainment

Tags John, Lennon, Imagine, 1971