Working Class Hero

"**Working Class Hero**" është një kënge nga John Lennon nga albumi solo i pare post-Beatles, i vitit 1970's *John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band*.

## Tema 
Kënga është një regjim direkt nga atmosfera e viteve 1940 dhe te 1950, si edhe te 1960 kur ai ishte i famshëm. Kënga ngjan të tregojë historinë e dikujt që rritet në klasën punëtore. Sipas Lennon në një interviste me Jann S. Wenner te *Rolling Stone* në dhjetor 1970, behet fjale për individët e klasës punëtore që kthehen në klasën e mesme, në makina.

Refreni i këngës është "A working class hero is something to be" (Hero i klasës punëtore është diçka për te cilën duhet te jesh).

## Muzika 
Karakteristike e muzikës është vetëm zëri i Lennon, duke kënduar dhe luajtur dhe një kitare akustike si mbështetje.  Rritja e akordeve është shume e thjeshte, dhe ndërtohet në A-minor dhe G-major, me një detour te shkurtër në D-major in one of the lines in the chorus.  Lennon's strumming technique includes a riff with a hammer-on pick of the E note on the D string and then a loose A string. Toni dhe stili i këngës janë te ngjashëm me atë te  "Masters of War" te Bob Dylan, a known influence of Lennon's. Te dyja  janë  bazuar në  një arranxhim te Jean Ritchie nga një folk song  traditionale English, "Nottamun Town."

## Polemikat
Në 1973, përfaqësuesi i US Harley Orrin Staggers dëgjoi këngën — e cili përfshinte vargjet "'Til you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules" (Për aq kohe sa ti je tërësisht i krisur ti nuk mundt te ndjekesh rregullat e tyre) dhe "But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see" — në WGTB dhe paraqiti një ankesë meFederal Communications Commission (FCC). Manaxheri i stacionit, Ken Sleeman, u përball me një vit burg dhe një gjobë $10,000, por mbrojti vendimin e tij për të luajtur këngë duke thënë, "The People of Washington, DC are sophisticated enough to accept the occasional four-letter word in context, and not become sexually aroused, offended, or upset." Akuzat u tërhoqën.  Stacione te tjera radiosh ne US, si psh radio e Bostonit WBCN, e ndaluan  kengen per perdorimin e fjales "fucking". Ne Australi, albumi u lëshua me pasthirrmë hequr nga këngë dhe lyrics censuruar në mëngë e brendshme album was released with the expletive removed from the song and the lyrics censored on the inner sleeve.

## Kënga 
As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
'Til the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate if you're clever and despise a fool
'Til you're so **** crazy you can't follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function, you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still **** peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

There's room at the top, they're telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like all the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

If you want to be a hero, well, just follow me
If you want to be a hero, well, just follow me
Lyrics powered by www.musiXmatch.com

## Notable covers
*Marianne Faithfull covered the song on her 1979 album *Broken English*.
*Then-New Zealand politician Marilyn Waring covered the song as a single in 1980.
*Jerry Williams covered the song in 1984 on his album *Working Class Hero*.
*Richie Havens covered the song for his 1987 album *Richie Havens Sings Beatles and Dylan*.
*Blind Melon covered the song on their last-ever tour with Shannon Hoon as their singer, in 1995.
*Mike Peters covered the song when with The Alarm as a backing track to their 1989 single "A New South Wales".
*David Bowie's band Tin Machine recorded a version of the song on their 1989 self-titled debut album.
*Cyndi Lauper covered the song live on *Lennon: A Tribute* in 1992.
*Screaming Trees covered the song for the 1995 tribute album *Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon*.
*Roger Taylor covered the song on his 1998 album *Electric Fire*.
*Marilyn Manson covered the song on the B-side of the 2000 single "Disposable Teens".
*Noir Désir covered the song on the 2000 album ''Liberté de Circulation'.
*Pain of Salvation covered the song live in 2001 together with Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy.
*Hilton Valentine covered the song on his 2004 album ''It's Folk'n' Skiffle, Mate!*.
*Elbow covered the song for *Q magazine* in 2005.
*Ozzy Osbourne recorded a version for his 2005 collection *Under Cover*.
*The Academy Is... covered the song in 2006 on its *From the Carpet'' EP.
*Tina Dickow covered the song for Amnesty International's 2007 'Make Some Noise' campaign in Denmark.
*Green Day contributed a cover of the song to the *Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur* in 2007. It peaked at #53 on the Billboard Hot 100, #6 on the Canadian Hot 100, #8 in Norway and #11 in Sweden. It also achieved notable success at rock radio, peaking at #10 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and #18 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The ending features an excerpt of the final line of Lennon's version.
*Manic Street Preachers recorded a cover of the song on their 2007 album *Send Away the Tigers*.
*Racoon covered the song on their album *Before You Leave* (2008).

## Referime
## Lidhje te jashtme
* https://web.archive.org/web/20100417084010/http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/1064,arts,lennon-the-middle-class-hero