"Plastic Jesus" is a satiric song written by Ed Rush and George Cromarty in 1957. Ernie Marrs is sometimes credited as the songwriter because of the folk music magazine Sing Out! crediting a version of the lyrics and music to him. The Ernie Marrs version was made popular by the movie Cool Hand Luke. Ed Rush traced the song back to an African-American camp-meeting song with the lyrics, "I don't care if it rains or freezes, leaning on the arms of my Jesus" which was the theme song of a religious radio program broadcast from Baton Rouge in the 1940s. Some people are offended by the lyrics and fail to realize that the song is not meant to be sacrilegious but is actually aimed at those who cheapen the image of Jesus by selling cheap little trinkets in His image and other religious kitsch. It seems that the original version was recorded by Cromarty and Rush as The Goldcoast Singers, but in the context of a fake spiritual radio broadcast, including only two verses and no chorus. Marrs developed it into a much more complete song and apparently took credit. There are many alternate verses that have been added over the years. I learned it from the Sing Out! printing.