70's - Working Class People

I bet everyone in the universe knows John Lennon, no matter where they are from. One of the many reasons that John was so well known worldwide is that he was highly involved in many political events. His most famous piece of protest music is "Give Peace a Chance". I only listened to it once during our class, but it replayed in my mind for the entire day. This song is freaking powerful! During the class discussion, many of my peers expressed their disapproval towards the way that John and Yoko protested. Lying in bed for days does sound pretty ridiculous, but one thing we should keep in mind is that they are artists and their job is to entertain the listeners and the audience. I call it the "Eyeballing Effect". Besides "Give Peace a Chance", I would also like to mention another protest song written by Lennon called "Working Class People". This is also a very simple song, but to interpret this song is not an easy job. Let's look at the lyrics first:

"They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules
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 fucking 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 are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

I first relate this song with the Civil Rights Movement since it was written in 1970. It's obvious to me that the working class people are African American people. At that time, all the hard work and dirty jobs were given to African Americans. I imagine a portrait of one Black family. The father shines shoes for businessmen on the street. The mother is unemployed. They cannot afford to send their two children to school and they have to frequently worry about where the next meal will come from.
"They hurt you at home and they hit you at school. They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool". Many African Americans were living in danger because of the KKK. This line describes how they were treated. They were surrounded by disrespect, hatred, and abuse. If you were an African American, you had to work extremely hard to get approval and respect from others.
That's my interpretation but apparently it's not what Lennon meant. To my surprise, this song is about class struggle according to Wikipedia. "The folks on the hill" represents the rich who control the majority of the wealth in the United States. Working class people are conditioned by the machine and become the labor of the machine. I can also see this interpretation in this song, "Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV. And you think you're so clever and classless and free. But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see".
Songs can be interpreted in different ways by listeners. This is what makes music interesting. The same song can invoke very different thoughts and feelings in each listener. The same song can also be used for different political purposes. A protest song can be converted into a patriotic song and vise versa.