"Back in the U.S.S.R." is a 1968 song by The Beatles (credited to the song writing partnership Lennon/McCartney but mainly written by Paul McCartney[1]) which opens the double-disc album The Beatles, also known as The White Album. It segues into the next song on the album, "Dear Prudence".
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Overview
The song opens and closes with the sounds of a jet aircraft landing and refers to a "dreadful" flight back to the U.S.S.R. from Miami Beach in the United States, on board a British B.O.A.C. aeroplane. Propelled throughout by McCartney's uptempo piano playing and lead guitar riffs, the lyrics tell of the singer's great happiness on returning home, where "the Ukraine girls really knock me out" and the "Moscow girls make me sing and shout" (and are invited to "Come and keep your comrade warm"). He also looks forward to hearing the sound of "balalaikas ringing out".[1][2]
Paul McCartney wrote this song while The Beatles were in Rishikesh, India, learning Transcendental Meditation. The title of the song is a tribute to Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A." while the chorus and background vocals pay homage to the Beach Boys' "California Girls". Mike Love of the Beach Boys also was in India at that time; he has stated in interviews that, in order to make the song sound more like a Beach Boys number, he encouraged McCartney to "talk about the girls all around Russia, the Ukraine and Georgia" in the lyrics.[3] The song also contains a pun on Hoagy Carmichael's and Stuart Gorrell's "Georgia on My Mind". McCartney is singing about the female population of the Soviet Republic of Georgia ("the Georgia's always on my mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mind") right after "the Ukraine girls" and "Moscow girls", whereas the original song "Georgia on My Mind" refers to either the U.S. state or a woman named Georgia. McCartney thought that when he listened to the Beach Boys, it sounded like California, so he decided to write a song that "sounded" like the U.S.S.R. The title was inspired in part by the I'm Backing Britain campaign that had been endorsed by British Prime Minister Harold Wilson. It has been suggested that McCartney twisted that into "I'm back in (backin') the U.S.S.R."[4]
In his 1984 interview with Playboy, McCartney said:
I wrote that as a kind of Beach Boys parody. And "Back in the USA" was a Chuck Berry song, so it kinda took off from there. I just liked the idea of Georgia girls and talking about places like the Ukraine as if they were California, you know? It was also hands across the water, which I'm still conscious of. 'Cause they like us out there, even though the bosses in the Kremlin may not. The kids do. And that to me is very important for the future of the race.[5]
"Back in the U.S.S.R." was released by Parlophone as a single in the UK in 1976. It featured the song "Twist and Shout" on Side B.
The song is playable in the music video game The Beatles: Rock Band and is considered to be one of the hardest songs to play on all instruments.[citation needed]
Problems in the band
"The Beatles" sessions allowed the four members to work on separate projects at the same time and, as a result, kept tensions to a minimum. However, tempers flared during the recording session on 22 August 1968, and Ringo Starr walked out and announced that he had quit.[6]
"Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence", the first two tracks of the album, were recorded without Starr, with McCartney primarily responsible for the drum parts. McCartney's drums are most prominent in the mix, but both John Lennon and George Harrison recorded drum tracks for the song; these are audible in the left channel of the stereo mix.
After the other Beatles urged him to return, Starr rejoined the group almost two weeks later on 4 September 1968 when he participated in the filming of a promotional video for "Hey Jude". During a break in the filming of the "Hey Jude" video, Marc Sinden (who appears in the film) recalls Lennon playing a song on his acoustic guitar. "Everyone went 'Wow'... Filming started before we could ask what it was. When it was later released, we realised it was Back in the USSR."[7]
Personnel
- Paul McCartney – double-tracked vocal, backing vocals, piano, lead guitar, bass, drums, handclaps, percussion
- John Lennon – backing vocals, lead guitar, 6-string bass, drums, handclaps, percussion
- George Harrison – backing vocals, lead guitar, bass, drums, handclaps, percussion
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald[4] and Mark Lewisohn.[6]
Cover versions
- In 1968, Ramsey Lewis covered "Back in the U.S.S.R." on his album Mother Nature's Son along with other songs from The Beatles.
- In 1969, Chubby Checker's cover version charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Also in 1969, John Fred & His Playboy Band released it as a single and on their 1970 album Love My Soul.
- In 1979, the punk group Dead Kennedys recorded a live version of the song that was released in 2004 on Live at the Deaf Club.
- In 1987, Billy Joel covered the song on his live-in-the-Soviet Union album Концерт.
- Amanda Overmyer performed the song on American Idol and released a studio version.
- In 2006, Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead recorded a version for the Butchering The Beatles compilation in 2006.
- The Rutles' song "We've Arrived (and to Prove It, We're Here)" is a pastiche of this song.
- In the film Heartbreakers, Sigourney Weaver performs the song in a karaoke bar.
Notes
- ^ a b Miles 1997, pp. 422–423.
- ^ Aldridge 1990, p. 49.
- ^ The Beatles Bible 2009.
- ^ a b MacDonald 2005, pp. 309–310.
- ^ Goodman 1984.
- ^ a b Lewisohn 1988, p. 151.
- ^ Pinch 2009.
References
- Aldridge, Alan, ed (1990). The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics. Boston: Houghton Mifflin / Seymour Lawrence. ISBN 0-395-59426-X.
- "Back in the U.S.S.R". The Beatles Bible. 2009. http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/back-in-the-ussr/. Retrieved 28 November 2009.
- Goodman, Joan (December 1984). "Playboy Interview with Paul McCartney". Playboy (Playboy Press).
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3.
- Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
- Pinch, Emma (06 March 2009). "Marc Sinden on John Lennon: We were in the presence of God". Liverpool Daily Post. http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-life-features/liverpool-special-features/2009/03/06/marc-sinden-on-john-lennon-we-were-in-the-presence-of-god-92534-23077241. Retrieved 07 March 2009.
External links
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