Dig a Pony

This song is a mash up of two very different ideas. First of all I think that John isn't so much saying "I" at the beginning of each verse but "High."

The song is about getting high, on drugs of course, and every term is a euphemism for it: Dig a pony, do a road hog, pick a moon dog, roll a stoney, feel the wind blow and load a lorry (not dug a pony.) When you do this, John is saying, when you toke up, then you celebrate anything, penetrate any place, radiate everything you are, imitate everyone, indicate everything and syndicate every boat you row. All this means is that you become high, you become wonderful, powerful, with it, connected, etc. In this sense the line "All I want is you" is about drugs. All you need may be love but all I want is drugs.

But why say ONE thing when you can say TWO things

Each verse is also about another musician who impacted John.

Dig a Pony- the Pony was a dance connected to Chubby Checkers. Chubby's simple rock 'n roll was all about celebration.

Do a Road Hog- a hog is a Harley motorcycle, a road hog is one on the road, one of heavy metal, keep your motor running, Steppenwolf had burst out with the music to Easy Rider. This film and this music was about going new places, both metaphorically and literally. It was overtly sexual too.

PIck a Moon Dog- the Moondogs were the other Beatles when the band was called "Johnny and the Moondog." The primary Moon Dog that John picked all on his own was Paul McCartney, "Do you want to be in me band?" The Beatles were all about expressing themselves- radiating everything about themselves.

Roll a Stoney- the most obvious one: the Rolling Stones, whose music was the eptiomy of British Blues, taking the old Blues of Black Americans and redoing them- imitating everything you know. Is John here putting down Mick Jagger or just commenting?

Feel the Wind Blow- another obvious allusion: Bob Dylan and "Blowing in the Wind" and "How Does It Feel?" Dylan's music was indicating what was going on, the relevance of folk music.

Load a Lorry- the summation of it all- the final point of music as a business is not self expression or artistic homage or social commentary or simple party time or deeper sexual expression- the end of music as a business is SELLING the songs and loading up the lorries with the records and syndicating the composition. In the end the suits take over.

But for John all he really wants music-wise now, in this second meaning, is what so many already have said: to please Yoko One and be with her.

John later saying it was garbage? Of course he said that. John had no place for people who couldn't get it, weren't willing to let the lyrics speak for themselves. So he'd put them off with some story that it's meaningless. Was the song meaningless? Well, yeah for the suits who only swa the point as syndicating every boat they rowed. To them it's just garbage that sells.