The history and politics of the English protest song

1970

Working Class Hero

Tune: Original
Lyrics: John Lennon
Composer: John Lennon

Flip to the b-side of John Lennon’s utopian ‘Imagine’ and you’ll find a suitably bitter piece of class warfare. The lyrics resent and resist the assimilation and/or suppression of working-class achievement. Evidently based on personal experience, the song captures the brief moment of social mobility afforded in post-war England and the resentments that continued to fester as class boundaries blurred.

Cause: Collectivist
Theme: Identity | Media
Addressed to: General Public | Workers
Target of Protest: Bosses | Elected Representatives
Proposal/Solution: Common Sense