Crippled Inside

Album: Imagine (1971)
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  • You can shine your shoes and wear a suit
    You can comb your hair and look quite cute
    You can hide your face behind a smile
    One thing you can't hide
    Is when you're crippled inside

    You can wear a mask and paint your face
    You can call yourself the human race
    You can wear a collar and a tie
    One thing you can't hide
    Is when you're crippled inside

    Well now you know that your
    Cat has nine lives
    Nine lives to itself
    But you only got one
    And a dog's life ain't fun
    Momma take a look outside

    You can go to church and sing a hymn
    You can judge me by the color of my skin
    You can live a lie until you die
    One thing you can't hide
    Is when you're crippled inside

    Well now you know that your
    Cat has nine lives
    Nine lives to itself
    But you only got one
    And a dog's life ain't fun
    Momma take a look outside

    You can go to church and sing a hymn
    Judge me by the color of my skin
    You can live a lie until you die
    One thing you can't hide
    Is when you're crippled inside

    One thing you can't hide
    Is when you're crippled inside
    One thing you can't hide
    Is when you're crippled inside Writer/s: John Winston Lennon
    Publisher: Downtown Music Publishing
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

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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