The Ballad of John and Yoko Lyrics

[Chorus: John Lennon]
Christ, you know it ain't easy
You know how hard it can be
The way things are going
They're gonna crucify me


[Bridge: John Lennon, John Lennon & Paul McCartney]
Saving up your money for a rainy day
Giving all your clothes to charity
Last night the wife said, “Poor boy, when you're dead
You don't take, nothing with you but your soul”

Think!

[Verse 4: John Lennon, John Lennon & Paul McCartney]
Made a lightning trip to Vienna
Eating chocolate cake in a bag

The newspaper said, “She's gone to his head
They look just like two gurus in drag

[Chorus: John Lennon, 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 gonna crucify me


[Verse 5: John Lennon & Paul McCartney]
Caught the early plane back to London
Fifty acorns tied in a sack
The men from the press said, “We wish you success
It's good to have the both of you back”

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

John Lennon’s uptempo ballad was written in Paris during his and Yoko’s honeymoon in 1969. It is the story of their wedding in Gibraltar, and through Paris to their “bed in” week in Amsterdam, a short jaunt to Vienna and back to London.

Recorded with Paul only, since George and Ringo were out of town. Paul played drums as well as Bass. John played both the rhythm and lead guitar lines.

This was the Beatles last #1 single in the UK, and the only one recorded in stereo.

It was included on the Beatles compilation album “Hey Jude,” released in 1970 in North America.

Comments