Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Introducing: McCartney: A Life in Lyrics

Oct 4, 2023

Paul McCartney and Irish poet Paul Muldoon have in-depth conversations about McCartney's lyrics and songwriting process, revealing personal details about his life. They discuss topics such as the success and breakup of the Beatles, Wings, family life in Liverpool, and the inspiration behind the song 'Back in the USSR'. They also explore censorship in Russia and the power of music as a beacon of freedom. Subscribe to Pushkin+ for the entire first season on Apple Podcasts.

18:57

Creator website

Episode guests

Paul Muldoon

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The song "Back in the USSR" by Paul McCartney was a parody of Chuck Berry's "Back in the US" and served as a humorous way for the Beatles to poke fun at the pro-US sentiment in the UK while reflecting the shifting global dynamics.

The Beatles' music was seen as dangerous by Russian authorities, highlighting the subversive nature of art and the role music plays as a beacon of freedom in resisting oppression and expressing dissent.

Deep dives

The Inspiration behind Back in the USSR

In this episode of the podcast McCartney A Life in Lyrics, Paul McCartney and Paul Muldoon discuss the inspiration behind the song Back in the USSR. They explore how the song turns the cultural and political world order on its head by depicting a Russian guy, glad to be back in the Soviet Union. McCartney explains that the song was a parody of Chuck Berry's Back in the US and reflects the shifting global dynamics and the band's desire to poke fun at the pro-US sentiment in the UK. The bridge of the song, influenced by the Beach Boys, humorously lists the territories of the former Soviet Union, drawing on references like Ray Charles' Georgia on my Mind. While the song has an upbeat rock and roll energy, the lyrics also convey a bittersweet undertone given the totalitarian state of the Soviet Union at the time.

Introduction

3min

Analyzing the Lyrics of Sir Paul McCartney's Songs

2min

The Parody and its Inspiration

6min

Themes, Ideas, and References

4min

Art as a Beacon of Freedom and McCartney's Arrival in Moscow

6min

Today we are sharing a very special project we've been working on at Pushkin, a new podcast with the one and only, Sir Paul McCartney. The show’s called McCartney: A Life in Lyrics and it's full of insightful conversations between Paul McCartney and his friend, the Irish poet Paul Muldoon.

Together they taped years of conversations digging into Paul’s lyrics and songwriting process. And because it’s impossible to separate the art from the man, a lot of McCartney's personal life gets revealed along the way, like insight into his family life in Liverpool, the success and breakup of the Beatles, Wings and so much more.

McCartney: A Life in Lyrics dropped with two episodes today—one on The Beatles "Eleanor Rigby," and the one we're presenting here for you today on "Back In the U.S.S.R."

If you love music and songwriting and have ever wanted to be a fly on the wall for in-depth conversations with a Beatle, then McCartney: A Life in Lyrics won’t disappoint. You can binge the entire first season now by subscribing to Pushkin+ on Apple Podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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