The Beatles weren’t always for everyone. On July 13, 1969, the band’s track “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” which chronicled the events surrounding John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s wedding, was banned by more than 100 radio stations in the U.S.—in large part due to the line “Christ, you know it ain’t easy.”
The reason the track was banned by many came down to its lyrics. In the chorus, Lennon sings, “Christ, you know it ain’t easy / You know how hard it can be / The way things are going / They’re gonna crucify me.”
In a Rolling Stone article at the time, record programer Bill Gavin said he found the song “offensive” and declined to have it on his recommended playlist.
Ted Adkins, another program director, told the outlet why his station wasn’t playing it.
“Good God, if we did, the Program Director’d have to answer all those calls from irate listeners who have their own crosses to bear!” he said.
John Lennon Explains The Beatles’ “The Ballad of John and Yoko”
According to the outlet, during a phone call with Bob Lewis of WABC-FM in New York, Lennon explained the controversial lyric.
“It has two meanings,” he said. “It’s like a prayer. You know, ‘Jesus, you alone should know it ain’t easy.’ And it has that street language connotation, too. But even when it’s used irreverently, it’s in effect a prayer, too. It’s a gospel song. I’m a big Christ fan — the song is a prayer.”
As for why he believed it was banned, Lennon said simply, “Man, you know why.”
Lennon wasn’t surprised by the controversy, though. In fact, before the song’s release, Lennon wrote a note to Apple’s Tony Bramwell warning him about it.
“No pre-publicity on ‘Ballad Of John And Yoko’ especially the ‘Christ’ bit,” the note read. “So don’t play it round too much or you’ll frighten people – get it pressed first.”
Despite its U.S. ban, the song wound up peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the U.K., the track was The Beatles’ 17th No. 1 single.
“The Ballad of John and Yoko” was also of note because Lennon and Paul McCartney recorded it without their bandmates, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, who were unavailable at the time.
The guys were left off of the song because Lennon was so eager to record it. It was completed in just one day at Abbey Road.
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