"What 'Beans' says, basically, is that people don't listen at all."

That's Len Chandler, who "never achieved the name recognition of some of those with whom he shared stages and causes" but "did write at least one song with lasting appeal: 'Beans in My Ears,' which the Serendipity Singers turned into a Top 30 hit in 1964."

Aimed at adults but simple and repetitive like a children’s song, it was about people’s tendency not to listen to others. "I think that all grown-ups have beans in their ears," the final verse went, with 'beans in their ears' repeated again and again. Perhaps the song would have climbed higher on the charts had medical professionals in some cities not denounced it. 

“‘Beans in Ears’ Alarms Doctors Who Fear Children Will Try It,” a 1964 headline in The Indianapolis Star read over an article that said WIRE in Indiana had stopped playing the song. That step was taken by other radio stations as well.

From "Len Chandler, an Early Fixture of the Folk Revival, Dies at 88/A singer who performed alongside Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Pete Seeger, he was known for his topical songs, some of which he wrote in minutes" (NYT).

Listen to the Serendipity Singers hit version here. I had forgotten this song, but it vividly sprang back to life for me.

Goodbye to Len Chandler.

ADDED: The censorship doesn't reflect the idea that people don't listen. Rather there was a — legitimate! — fear that people would listen and do the opposite. Watching Chandler and Seeger smile as they sing, I can't help thinking this is another one of those 60s songs about drugs. To say don't do X is to touch off a desire to do it. Why are they making such a big deal about telling us not to do it? You can say, it's just funny, but why is it funny? 

AND: The Wikipedia article on the song says Pete Seeger recorded a cover version  in which he added lyrics that referred to LBJ: "Mrs. Jay's little son Alby had beans in his ears."