Fans used to scour the Beatles' lyrics for clues that Paul McCartney was actually dead and had been replaced by a doppelgänger, but here's what fans probably should have been looking for: sex jokes. McCartney has broken down some of the raunchiest references that the Beatles subtly included in their lyrics.
Speaking on iHeartPodcasts' McCartney: A Life in Lyrics about "Helter Skelter" from 1968's White Album, the artist explained that the line "Coming down fast but don't let me break you" was a sexual innuendo. "It was something to hang a song of desperation on," he said. "It's a little sexual: she's 'coming down fast.'"
He went on to reveal a couple of even more explicit sexual references in the band's music. The first of these comes from the backing vocals on "Girl," from 1965's Rubber Soul. McCartney said, "When we heard the Beach Boys singing 'la la la la la la,' we thought, 'Oh well that would be great to do 'dit dit dit dit," which in the session became 'tit tit tit tit.'" We sniggered like schoolboys and really were happy."
Another sex joke appears in the 1967 single "Penny Lane," when McCartney sings "a four of fish and finger pies." He said, "'Finger pie' was a rude sexual reference. We knew that people in Liverpool would get it but no one else would; they would just think it's like a shepherd's pie."
We'll definitely never hear "Penny Lane" quite the same after this! Listen to the podcast episode below.
Speaking on iHeartPodcasts' McCartney: A Life in Lyrics about "Helter Skelter" from 1968's White Album, the artist explained that the line "Coming down fast but don't let me break you" was a sexual innuendo. "It was something to hang a song of desperation on," he said. "It's a little sexual: she's 'coming down fast.'"
He went on to reveal a couple of even more explicit sexual references in the band's music. The first of these comes from the backing vocals on "Girl," from 1965's Rubber Soul. McCartney said, "When we heard the Beach Boys singing 'la la la la la la,' we thought, 'Oh well that would be great to do 'dit dit dit dit," which in the session became 'tit tit tit tit.'" We sniggered like schoolboys and really were happy."
Another sex joke appears in the 1967 single "Penny Lane," when McCartney sings "a four of fish and finger pies." He said, "'Finger pie' was a rude sexual reference. We knew that people in Liverpool would get it but no one else would; they would just think it's like a shepherd's pie."
We'll definitely never hear "Penny Lane" quite the same after this! Listen to the podcast episode below.