The childhood inspirations of The Beatles' 'Rocky Raccoon'
Always one to indulge in nostalgia, Paul McCartney crafted one of The Beatles' most jovial ballads with 'Rocky Raccoon', fuelled by the stars if his childhood.
(Credits: Far Out / Bradford Timeline)
Music Âť From The Vault
Fri 24 January 2025 6:00, UK
Nostalgia is a powerful creative force in Paul McCartneyâs songwriting. Whether itâs his unabashed love for the old British music hall on âWhen Iâm Sixty-Fourâ, the Sgt Pepperâs Lonely Hearts Club Band concept dreamed up from the memories of his fatherâs The Jimmy Mac Jazz Band, and great American songbook composer Irving Berlin almost guides McCartneyâs pen as he was writing âHere, There and Everywhereâ.
This unapologetic penchant for sentimentality could veer into twee much to the chagrin of the rest of The Beatles, John Lennon infamously dubbing the 1968 double-LPâs âOb-La-Di, Ob-La-Daâ as âgranny shitâ, according to studio engineer Geoff Emerickâs 2011 tell-all book.
While John Lennon had a better hit rate with his âthrow-awayâ cuts, âI Am the Walrusâ and âBeing for the Benefit of Mr Kite!â some of the groupâs most fascinating work, when McCartney got his affectionate musical nods right they could stand as an albumâs quaint yet memorable highlight. Sketched out during his transcendental retreat in Maharishi Yogiâs Rishikesh ashram, the jovial country ballad âRocky Raccoonâ is McCartneyâs nostalgic fondness at its most playfully enduring.
A comic western exploring the love triangle between the titular Rocky, his âgalâ Lil McGill, whom everyone knows as Nancy, and the townâs brutish rival Dan, who punches poor Rocky in the eye to win Lilâs affection.
Licking his wounds and exacting revenge in the local saloon, he bursts into the room Dan and Nancy are sharing and challenges Dan to a duel, promptly losing due to Danâs swift aim. Assured his wounds are only superficial by the gin-drunk doctor, Rocky spots the roomâs Gideonâs Bible and tells himself heâll recover.
Complete with a faux southern drawl narrative intro and Mrs Millsâ famous honk-tonk Steinway piano during its ragtime middle, âRocky Raccoonâ is McCartney operating at his most effectively whimsical and forms an essential component of The Beatlesâ jumbled toy-box collection of eclectic material across its two discs. Like many of McCartneyâs songs, its influences are a composite of the big names of his youth.
So, who were the childhood inspirations for âRocky Raccoonâ?
Fuelled by skiffle, bawdy ukelele comedy, and variety pantomime, âRocky Raccoonâ is overwhelmingly wedded to the British pop culture of yesteryear despite its American setting. Crossing âKing of Skiffleâ Lonnie Doneganâs Dixieland banjo and wartime morale-booster George Formbyâs innuendo-laden novelty songs with Stanley Hollowayâ and creative partner Marriott Edgarâs comic poems, most notably â32âs The Lion and Albert, McCartneyâs humorous tale of jilted love and drunken revenge wrote itself.
A keen poking fun of the contemporary pop scene and idiosyncracies of everyday life also found their way. âI was basically spoofing âthe folk-singer.â And it included Gideonâs Bible, which Iâve seen in every hotel Iâve ever been in,â McCartney told Mojo. âYou open the drawer, and there it is! Whoâs this guy Gideon!?â
Concluding, âI still donât know to this day who the heck he is. Iâm sure heâs a very well-meaning guy. âRocky Raccoonâ was a freewheeling thing, the fun of mixing a folky ramble with Albert in the lionâs den with its âorseâs âead âandle!â
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Paul McCartneyThe Beatles
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