THE BALLAD OF JOHN & YOKO
“The Ballad of John and Yoko” is a song written by John Lennon, attributed to Lennon–McCartney as was the custom, and released by the Beatles as a single in May 1969. The song, chronicling the events surrounding Lennon’s marriage to Yoko Ono, was the Beatles’ 17th and final UK number one single. (More from Wikipedia)
While the quotation about “more popular than Jesus” itself faded quickly – particularly after the band released their monumental Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album the following year – its effects never really went away. Here is the chorus in the Beatles’ final #1 single, “The Ballad of John & Yoko” (and clearly John Lennon is addressing Jesus, not voicing an oath): “Christ, you know it ain’t easy / You know how hard it can be / The way things are going / They’re gonna crucify me.”
(September 2014)
