"Teacher" is a song by the British rock band Jethro Tull, first released as the B-side to the January 1970 single "The Witch's Promise", on the Chrysalis label. Written by the band's frontman Ian Anderson, the song is a comment on the corruption of self-styled gurus who used their followers for their own gain.
After its release on the "Witch's Promise" single, an alternate re-recorded version of the song later appeared on the US release of the album Benefit. This version would become a radio hit in the US and appear on several compilation albums.
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Background
"Teacher" was written by Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson. He later stated the song was influenced by his skepticism of teacher-like gurus who had been influencing other musicians of the time, though some perceived the song to be a comment on the band's manager, Terry Ellis. He reflected:
Interestingly, our manager is convinced to this day that this is actually a song I wrote about him and that he is the teacher, which is complete bollocks. In fact, what I was singing about was more those creepy guru figures that would mislead innocent young minds like those of the Beatles. They would suck in people and use the power of persuasion to bend their will and lead them on a spiritual path to enlightenment. And a lot of the time, of course, it was just about getting your money and driving around in a big, white Rolls-Royce, which struck me as worthy of writing a song about. I wasn't singing necessarily about spiritual leaders of a particular ethnic persuasion or a particular religious view, but just the idea of the teacher, the guru.