I could never understand why those "Religous" people who crucifyed John for his remarks about Jesus didn't get crazy about the "Lady Madonna" song? There were loads of religous parts through out the entire song! This is a reverred person amongst certain faiths. So why not a big who ha over the song?

You've raised a a very good point there actually - because less than a year later, John's "**Christ** you know it ain't easy" (Ballad Of John & Yoko) was censored by most US stations, yet "creeping like a Nun" and "Madonna" etc went un-punished! Any ideas anyone?

that is strange...

I would have thought it ABUNDANTLY clear that the "madonna" of Lady Madonna is NOT THE madonna. Read the lyrics!

You should see now why there was no fuss ...

Wow that is actually a very good point.



Maybe because John didn't sing it?

Quoted from Mushmouth

Wow that is actually a very good point.



Maybe because John didn't sing it?

Dunno about that.  The media seemed out to get all of the Beatles, not just John.

Actually there are tons of references of a "RELIGIOUS" nature throughout this song and what makes you think it's not about the "Madonna?" The "entire song" is not about the "Madonna" like most "Beatle lyrics" you have to read through them. I'm not saying it's 100% about the Madonna but how many famous "LADY MADONNAS" do you think there is in the early 70s???Lets see now Maddonna aka "Virgin Mary" Lyrics- Lady Madonna "Children At Your Feet", "Did You Think That Money Was Heaven Sent" "Sunday Morning Creeping Like A Nun", "Lady Madonna Baby At Your Breast" All these lyrical refferences seem to point towards the "Virgin Mary" Only my opinion of course. Why use refferences To nuns, Heaven, children at one's feet if it's not of a religious nature????

Last time I looked all the "Beatle's" lps were being burnt not just "John's songs" So the fact that "Paul" sung the song and not "John" should have no relevance! It was a "Beatle" song and All the Beatles took the hit indirectly due to "John's" remarks!

They seemed to like courting controversy....Lady Madonna could be a reference to the 'maternal' woman...Then they expanded on the idea in a song-writing way.

Well as I mentioned there were numerous interpitations and meanings in all Beatle songs! That could certainly of been one of them!

Quoted from apple_sauce

Actually there are tons of references of a "RELIGIOUS" nature throughout this song and what makes you think it's not about the "Madonna?" The "entire song" is not about the "Madonna" like most "Beatle lyrics" you have to read through them. I'm not saying it's 100% about the Madonna but how many famous "LADY MADONNAS" do you think there is in the early 70s???Lets see now Maddonna aka "Virgin Mary" Lyrics- Lady Madonna "Children At Your Feet", "Did You Think That Money Was Heaven Sent" "Sunday Morning Creeping Like A Nun", "Lady Madonna Baby At Your Breast" All these lyrical refferences seem to point towards the "Virgin Mary" Only my opinion of course. Why use refferences To nuns, Heaven, children at one's feet if it's not of a religious nature????

I didn't say it WASN'T religious. The song certainly has those overtones, (and I have a private opinion as to what the song is really about - & it's more religious than you could imagine).

But I maintain that the reference is NOT to THE Madonna.

But what really intrigues me is the "early 70s" reference. The song is from EARLY 1968! What did you mean there, man?

"Ydoll Gwyn" I was talking about the era of the "Beatles 60s through early 70s before they broke up as in how many famous Madonnas do you think were around in the early 70s? Not when the song was released. Prehaps if they had been still together when that other "Madonna" singer was popular our opinion of the song would have been different? So what's this "private opinion" about it being more religoius than I could ever imagine? What could be more religious than the "Virgin Mary?????"  

But ... but ... the Beatles "broke up" officially in early 1970. So there's no "70s" for the Beatles as a recording band.

Thank you for enlightening me about when the band broke up. Now that we all of our dates correct what about your  real opinion about what the song is about if it's so totally religious? If it's not about the aka "Virgin Mary" Who's the "Lady Madonna" in the song?

For crying out loud, it's just a song. Just listen to it and enjoy it instead of fussing over who the hell it's about.

and "God" was actually played alot on the radio when it first came out, when he says "I dont belive in jesus"

Actually John reamed off lots of things that he didn't believe in that song. God and the Beatles were prehaps the most surprising!

I didn't think it had any religious nature until you brought it up. I always assumed the "lady Madonna" was just a mother.

Quoted from apple_sauce

Thank you for enlightening me about when the band broke up. Now that we all of our dates correct what about your  real opinion about what the song is about if it's so totally religious? If it's not about the aka "Virgin Mary" Who's the "Lady Madonna" in the song?

A mother: with no money, and too many children, and too many worries.

It's pretty clear the song has nothing to do with the "virgin Mary".

Quoted from Mairi

I didn't think it had any religious nature until you brought it up. I always assumed the "lady Madonna" was just a mother.

I think you were right.

I never thought it had anything to do with religion. I have a Hispanic co-worker named Jesus and the last thing I think of is the Deity. I remember listening to Lady Madonna as a kid and getting the visual of the Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe. Kids running about, feeding this one, doing this, doing that. I don't know. That was my mind movie and that was 30 years ago, still is.

Actually I think "Jesus" is just a name picked by the Hispanic society due to their religious upbringing. As for the "Lady Madonna" song like most Beatle songs the lyrics can have many interpitaions which is evident by this thread.

It can have many interpretations, but Lady Madonna being about a woman with many children and not much money and how the heck she could make ends meet seems the most plausible.  It's just there in the lyrics!

Quoted from apple_sauce

What could be more religious than the "Virgin Mary?????"  

God

John clearly was referring to himself with the cruciofixation remark on BOJ&Y, yet it was banned. So whether Paul meant Lady Madonna to have religious overtones (I think he meant the double meanings but didn't mean for the song to be religious) or not doesn't really matter, it's whether the radio stations considered them to be offensive or not.
I always thought Johns line was a dig at 1966. I think it was banned because it was more overt and in a way John was comparing himself to Christ again (as a joke I think).
Banning has always been a bit hit and miss-both "My Boy Lollipop and Walk on The Wild Side got through

Quoted from Revolution_9

For crying out loud, it's just a song. Just listen to it and enjoy it instead of fussing over who the hell it's about.

But that's half the fun of being a Beatles fan!

Quoted from kevin_b

Banning has always been a bit hit and miss-both

I think in 68 Paul was taking a bit of a chance using the word 'breast'.

But as has been said it's pretty clear the song was about an overworked mother so it couldn't get banned for blasphemy, drugs or sex.

Quoted from zipp

I think in 68 Paul was taking a bit of a chance using the word 'breast'.

But as has been said it's pretty clear the song was about an overworked mother so it couldn't get banned for blasphemy, drugs or sex.

Yes, but surely "Ballad of J&Y" is clearly about John and Yoko, but still got banned.
Like I said I don't think intention has much to do with it.
Split Enz "Six months in a leaky boat" was banned by the BBC during the Falklands war, and there intention certainly wasn't to write a song about pissed off British sailors

Quoted from kevin_b

Yes, but surely "Ballad of J&Y" is clearly about John and Yoko, but still got banned.

Lennon used 'Christ' as a blasphemous swear word, so that was easy to ban.
(And the comparison between himself and Christ was obviousy going to get him back into trouble in the States).

The use of Madonna on the other hand seems to be praising the mother in the song making her into a kind of modern saint.

^ Dang! You're right.

Pleased you agree, Kevin.

Oh, but it hurts

Nicely summed up though Zipp......Nice n consise.

The Madonna is still a religious figure and writing a song about her praising her or not should have driven the "religous" people crazy! I think it flew under their radar! Obviously no one picked up on it similar to most of the people here!

I think Paul MAY (only MAY) have been inspired to write this song by a controversy that was raging strongly at the time (late 67, thereabouts). It was rumored that the Pope (Paul VI) was going to relax the ban on "artificial contraception" for Catholics. The pill had begun to be very widely used following its introduction a few years earlier. One of the arguments used by Western women was that they could decide on the size of their families. They could have the number of children that they could look after properly, rather than breeding the family into poverty.

At the time, it was an often-discussed matter. Non-catholic christians were into the debate as well, because many saw the pope as being an important moral spokesman. The morality of the "pill", family size, poverty, ethial decisions made my people (priests) for whom there were no practical consequences, etc etc all were in the soup. Paul distilled ONE angle out of the debate, and produced one of his finest set of lyrics. It was seen by some as being a religio-political statement (really!).

THAT could be the religious angle to the song, if it has one. The "madonna" in Lady Madonna is NOT the "virgin", but rather woman-kind in general.

The Pope --of course -- said no way Jose! You gotta wonder what goes on inside the heads of these celibate heroes: not much, it seems.

Cogratulations on an extremely well thought out and written response. You definatley dug up some great facts.

Thanks! Paul's often accused (rightly) of very often writing fluff, but he was on the money sometimes. Lady M has great lyrics, and a great arrangement. Their second last GREAT single, in my opinion (Hey Jude/Revolution being the last GREAT one).

Quoted from kevin_b

(I think he meant the double meanings but didn't mean for the song to be religious)

at least a sensible arguement.he probally did that on purpose to mimic johns genuis useage of it.meant it to means two things.noone even saw that?

Did Paul try to replicate this double meaning on Let It Be with his "Mother Mary comes to me" line? The 'Mary' reference could either be about his mother Mary or the virgin Mary.

A lot of religeous people think this song is based on the Catholic mass - especially with the line "in my hour of darkness" (pointedly NOT 'in my dakest hour') pertaining to a mass held in a dimly-lit church.

Actually Paul has indicated that the "Mother Mary" in his song is in fact his own "Mother" that he's reffering to. He had a dream that in his darkest hour which was the Beatles drifting apart she came to him and offered her support! Her name was Mary.

Anyone ever notice how "What I Got" by Sublime and "Lady Madonna" are almost the same exact tune?  I wonder why there was no big deal about that.

On a side note David Kane was the producer for the Sublime album that had "What I Got" on it and he was also the producer of Paul's album Driving Rain.

Very "Interesting" I'll have to checkout that song!

Yeah i like that song but i dont see it as that similar.  ill listen again

Paul had discovered the Davinci code and cleverly disguised it in the lyrics of "Lady