At 1:15, there’s a line in this song where Lennon sings what sounds to our ears like “the road is so long.” This line was transcribed as “the world is so wrong” on the Shaved Fish back cover and was apparently published that way. As a result, most cover versions sing it as “the world is so wrong,” but that would be a rather pessimistic view:
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
“The road is so long” seems more congruent with the hopeful message of the song, and is likely what he sang. Keep in mind that the lyrics didn’t appear in print until Shaved Fish, four years after the song was released. It appears this line was transcribed incorrectly and has never been rectified.
I think the correct words are “the world is so wrong”, and not “the road is so long”
Andrea,
Thank you for this – you are not the only one!
This explanation comes from https://www.songfacts.com/facts/john-lennon/happy-xmas-war-is-over
At 1:15, there’s a line in this song where Lennon sings what sounds to our ears like “the road is so long.” This line was transcribed as “the world is so wrong” on the Shaved Fish back cover and was apparently published that way. As a result, most cover versions sing it as “the world is so wrong,” but that would be a rather pessimistic view:
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
“The road is so long” seems more congruent with the hopeful message of the song, and is likely what he sang. Keep in mind that the lyrics didn’t appear in print until Shaved Fish, four years after the song was released. It appears this line was transcribed incorrectly and has never been rectified.
Best wishes,
Fergal