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Season 1
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John Lennon vs Bill O'Reilly
John Lennon vs Bill O'Reilly
Battle information
Release date September 22, 2010 (titled "Bill O'Reilly Flips Out on John Lennon")
September 26, 2010 (official video)
Number 1
Views Official video:
40M
Bill O'Reilly Flips Out on John Lennon:
1,000,000+ (as of April 1)
Length Official video:
1:37
Bill O'Reilly Flips Out on John Lennon:
1:50
Timeline
Previous Michael J. Fox vs Chucky (unofficial)
Next Darth Vader vs Hitler
Beat Information
Beat(s) I Run This Bitch
BPM 81
Beat producer(s) RawHeatz Productions
Other information
Actors Nice Peter
EpicLLOYD
Rappers John Lennon In BattleBill O'Reilly In Battle
Location(s) The O'Reilly Factor

John Lennon vs Bill O'Reilly is the first installment of Epic Rap Battles of History and the first episode of Season 1. It features musician and former member of the Beatles, John Lennon, rapping against FOX News anchor, Bill O'Reilly. It was released on September 26th, 2010.

Cast

Nice Peter as John Lennon

EpicLLOYD as Bill O'Reilly

Lyrics

John Lennon:

Help! You're making my ears bleed! You need a muzzle!

Why are you pissed off all the time? Didn't your mum give you a cuddle?

You're the type of guy who could die of a heart attack just in the shower!

You need to chill out for a minute and smoke weed for an hour!

Every time I watch your show, all you do is scream at me,

And your face looks like a shit I took, high on LSD!

I'm John Lennon; I'm a legend! I can see through all your tricks!

I wonder how much George Bush paid you to suck his dick!

Bill O' Reilly:

You fucking long hair, living in your yellow submarine!

Well, you're about to get sunk by the right-wing political machine!

Stop your presses, Lennon! You call me Mr. Bill O'Reilly!

When it comes to squashing Limeys, I come recommended highly!

You're weak! Between you and me, there's no comparison!

I'll beat you so bad, you weep gently like George Harrison!

You're Paul McCartney's bitch with less talent than Ringo,

And I'd rather suck George Bush's dick than Yoko Ono's!

John Lennon:

Well you can't buy me love, but I'll kick your ass for free. 

I'll take Maxwell's silver hammer and give you a lobotomy!

I'm tired of how you scheme to stir the people up!

Why don't you just take a vacation and shut the fuck up!

Bill O'Reilly:

'Cause I'm evil, heart blacker than Don Cheadle!

Ten-thousand-dollar shoes I used to stomp out a Beatle!

Don't tell me to shut the fuck up, that's how I survive!

Now, here's Sting. What? Fuck it, we'll do it live!

Scrapped lyrics

Bill O'Reilly:

I'm evil, and I stomp out every feeble Beatle!

I may be white, but my soul is blacker than Don Cheadle!

Poll

Trivia

General

  • This battle is the only battle to:
    • not be in HD (though the "[CC] Translated" version can go to 1080p max).
      • On May 25, 2019, a compilation of every battle from season 1 was released on the ERB2 Channel, featuring this battle in HD.[1]
    • not have subtitles.
      • However, the lyrics were posted in the video description. They were removed after Nice Peter changed the description to be an advertisement for his 2014 tour (and later an advertisement for the ERB Patreon) and were never added back after.
      • The version of this battle in the Season 1 compilation includes subtitles.
    • have a "V" instead of "vs" in the video title.
    • not have both rappers or a cover art in the YouTube thumbnail.
  • This is the first season premiere to have no cameo appearances.
  • This is the first battle to:
    • not have a behind the scenes video.
    • have one rapper pass into their opponent's side.
    • not separate the locations with a straight line.
    • not have the rappers dance during the "Who won? Who's next? You decide!" sequence.
    • have a regular and censored version.
    • have the actors rap in their normal voices whilst portraying a character other than themselves.
  • On August 22, 2016, "Season 5.5. Where is it…?! We are back in the lab. But we will return soon!" was written in the description of the video.
    • The quote later changed to "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans", which is a quote by John Lennon.
  • This is the shortest video in the series to date with a run time of 1:37, followed by Gandhi vs Martin Luther King Jr., at 1:39.
  • In the iTunes version, the announcer did not say anything like he did after Bill O'Reilly's last line.
  • The original cover refers to this battle as "O'Reilly vs Lennon", reversing the order of the rappers in the title and only keeping their surnames.

Production

  • The official video came out on September 26th, 2010, but an earlier video, entitled "Bill O'Reilly Flips Out on John Lennon," was released on September 22nd on the same year. It was the same rap battle, only every profanity was replaced by a high-pitched tone.
    • Bill O'Reilly Flips Out on John Lennon also has a high-pitched voice read out the channel link shown in both the original and censored versions. It also has a 14-second-long outro at the end.
  • In this battle, the announcer's voice is different from the one he currently has.
    • This battle's announcer seems to have his voice modulated, unlike in the other seasons, as well as later in Season 1.
    • This battle's announcer also doesn't yell, like in the other battles.
  • This battle was made on a $50 budget, as stated in the Mario Bros vs Wright Bros Behind the Scenes by Nice Peter.

Continuity

References

  • The screen showing both sides debating is a reference to political television. It also has other parts from the show, including parodies of the Fox News and The O'Reilly Factor logos.
    • The news ticker reads, 'California passes bill legalizing crime if it "looks cool enough"' and 'Study shows that 65% of Americans would rather not participate in this study… maybe some other time.'

Related videos

References

Epic Rap Battles of History
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