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The
Ballad Of John And Yoko
(John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
John Lennon:
Vocals, lead guitars, acoustic guitar
Paul McCartney: Bass guitar, piano, drums, maracas, vocals
Recorded
April 14 1969.
Available on:
The Beatles 1967-1970(The Blue Album)
The Beatles 1
Past Masters Volume Two
Hey Jude
The Ballad
Of John And Yoko was a "solo" performance by John
and Paul, since Ringo was busy playing his role in the Peter
Seller's movie The Magic Christan, and Harrison was out
of the country, it was said. The friendship and musical
partnerhsip between Lennon and McCartney had been tested
on a number of occassions in 1969, but this recording session
was both a harmonic and fruitful one.
McCartney
proved once again that he was a capable drummer, and also
contributed with piano, bass and harmony vocals, while Lennon
played some delightfully weird guitar parts.
At one
point , John said to Paul who sat behind the drum kit;
"Go
a bit faster, Ringo!"
Paul replied
to the guitar-wielding John:
"OK,
George!"
The Ballad
Of John And Yoko describes some of the recent events in
Lennon's life prior to the recording. John and Yoko had
tried to travel by ferry to France from Southampton, but
the couple were turned back because they didn't have passports.
John's idea had been to get married at sea, but this proved
impossible. Instead, on March 20, the couple got married
in Gibraltar. Straight after the ceremony, the couple flew
to the Hilton hotel in Amsterdam where they invited the
world press to their suite, one of the infamous events where
the coupled stayed in bed while talking and singing about
peace.
The Ballad
Of John And Yoko was issued as a single in the US on 4 June
1969, but only reached number 8 in the charts. It was even
banned on some radio stations in the US, becasue of the
reference to crucifixion.
In the
UK, the single went to number 1 for three weeks. It was
released 30 May 1969.
Standing in the dock at Southampton
trying to get to Holland or France
The man in the mac said
you've got to go back
You know they didn't even give us a chance
The Ballad Of John And Yoko
(John Lennon/Paul McCartney)
Christ
you know it ain't easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They're going to crucify me
Finally
made the plane into Paris
Honeymooning down by the Seine
Peter Brown call to say
you can make it O.K.
You can get married in Gibraltar near Spain
Christ
you know it ain't easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They're going to crucify me
Drove
from Paris to the Amsterdam Hilton
Talking in our beds for a week
The newspapers said
say what're you doing in bed
I said we're only trying to get us some peace
Christ
you know it ain't easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They're going to crucify me
Saving
up your money for a rainy day
giving all your clothes to charity
Last night the wife said
Oh boy when you're dead
you don't take nothing with you but your soul, think
Made a
lightning trip to Vienna
Eating chocolate cake in a bag
The newspapers said
she's gone to his head
They look just like to Gurus in drag
Christ
you know it ain't easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They're going to crucify me
Caught
the early plane back to London
Fifty acorns tied in a sack
The men from the press
said we wish you successs
It's good to have the both of you back
Christ
you know it ain't easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They're going to crucify me
The way things are going
They're going to crucify me
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