Track two of John Lennon's second solo album, Imagine, "Crippled Inside" mixes the agonized lyrics of John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band with the more upbeat feel of the rest of Imagine. The song begins with George Harrison on dobro, soon joined by ragtime piano. And then in comes John, singing with a bit of a Southern accent. His song basically states that we cannot use external forces, ideas, and objects to hide our problems. Although this is not the best song on Imagine (that honor goes to either the song "Imagine" itself, or "Jealous Guy," or perhaps "How Do You Sleep?"), it has an unusual message and fun delivery that make it enjoyable. The song consists of four verses. Here is the fourth, my favorite:
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
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