Plastic Jesus
Plastic Jesus is an American folk song . It is attributed to Ed Rush and George Cromarty, who say they wrote it in Fresno , California in 1957 and released it in 1962 as The Goldcoast Singers on an album of the same name.
Ernie Marrs published a much better known version of the song in 1964, which is why he is often considered the author of the song. Since then, the song has been covered dozens of times and is now available in countless variants that are shaped by the respective vernacular .
The song was originally created as a parody of religious radio programs, such as one from Baton Rouge , Louisiana , which began with the sung motto I don't care if it rains or freezes, leaning on the arms of my Jesus ( I don't care , whether it rains or snows, I am in the arms of my Jesus ). This was reported by Rush and Cromarty to I do not care if it rains or freezes, 'long as I got my plastic Jesus, sitting on the dashboard of my car verballhornt ( I do not care if it rains or snows, as long as my plastic -Jesus is sitting on the dashboard ). Rush also reports that he was from a radio broadcast from Del Rio , Texas was inspired, in a glow-in-the-dark-Jesus ( luminous in the dark Jesus was advertised), which would prevent a car accident.
The song gained national recognition mainly thanks to its use in the film Der Unbeugsame ( Cool Hand Luke , 1967), in which the protagonist Luke, played by Paul Newman , sings two original verses of the song. The film expanded the range of interpretations of the song considerably, since the protagonist does not use it as a parody but as a lament for his late mother. The two stanzas performed roughly correspond to those of Rush and Cromarty. Ernie Marrs, on the other hand, shaped a great wealth of variants, which also expanded to other religious figures and other religions in general.
controversy
The message of the song is still the subject of controversy, especially in the USA, which like hardly any other country has an enormously wide range of Christian characteristics and teaching to offer. In addition to the original intention to parody custom, to put religious or secular kitsch in the car, the song also contains criticism of a superstitious and personalized pseudo-religiosity or religiosity in general, depending on the perspective . Religious people therefore sometimes see themselves being ridiculed by the song and find it blasphemous . Others see the song as an homage to a distant, ironic religiosity with a sense of self-irony.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Details about the song on archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=459394
- ↑ http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3557
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from September 19, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
