Crippled Inside by John Lennon

Album: Imagine (1971)

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Lennon wrote this for his 1971 Imagine album. The second track therein, it features Ted Turner of Wishbone Ash on acoustic guitar. Decades later - in a December 2012 trans-Atlantic phone call from Arizona - Turner told Geoff Dorsett of Portsmouth's 93.7 Express FM how this came about.

They had some mutual friends, and one night around 11 p.m. he received a phone call as the band was recording the Pilgrimage album at Apple Studios. It was John Lennon who asked if he would like to play on a session. When?, asked Ted. Right at that moment! Andy Powell received the same invitation, but declined. Ted was picked up in a Rolls with Nicky Hopkins, and at the studio were George and Ringo, but not Paul. He laid down some acoustic rhythm guitar, and as this was the last session, afterwards they played back the entire album for the first time.
One thing you can't hide
Is when you're crippled inside

Lennon could be asking us to be true to ourselves, or he could be taking a dig at the fakers, possibly Paul McCartney, whom he was feuding with at the time. Another song on the album, "How Do You Sleep?," is specifically about McCartney.

Comments: 4

Astro from AustraliaCan't agree with you Glen, some of the stuff John wrote for Imagine were superb examples of songwriting - Gimme Some Truth (surely one of the greatest ever protest songs) and How Do You Sleep. And Joe I agree with you it is about being heartbroken, crippled inside its the way I feel after having to get my 18 years old dog put down a few days ago. The song sums it up perfectly.
Joe from WisconsinEverybody thinks this sounds like john taking a dig at paul or even himself. But I feel like crippled inside is what he calls it when you're heartbroken. And when you're heartbroken, there's nothing you can do to hide it.
Glenn from UkThis was at the point when John Lennon departed from himself as a songwriter. The lyrics and finish of the song were an atrocious departure from Lennon's days without McCartney, eg. "Well now you know a cat has nine lives. Nine lives to itself....." and the finish, "One thing you can't hide......". As a songwriter, Lennon's career compared to McCartney took a nose dive with the exception of Imagine and Happy Christmas, War is Over. This song was a typical example of the cheesiness of his lyrics as he began to improvise most of what he wrote, trying to sound American and leaving behind his creativity with The Beatles years. The manipulative Yoko had truly destroyed what could have been a genius.
Ken from Louisville, KySome people thought this was another song aimed at Paul, but John said it was about the hypocrisy in all of us, including himself.

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