"Plastic Jesus" is an American folk 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!
Ed Rush has stated that the inspiration for the song came from a religious radio station from Del Rio, Texas, in the mid-1950s.
The station was allegedly run by a dentist and religious fanatic who "sold the most outrageous stuff imaginable, all with magical healing properties."
One summer broadcast in particular contained the line "...leaning on the arms of Jesus, wrapped in the bosom of the Lord..."[1] Over the years, the folk tradition of this song has grown.