John Lennon Said 1 Song From The Beatles' 'White Album' Was a Joke
John Lennon said a song from The Beatles' 'The White Album' has some social commentary. It’s not one of the more popular songs on the record.
John Lennon said a song from The Beatles’ The White Album has some social commentary. It’s also supposed to be a joke. Is it a funny joke? Well, that’s a dicey question to look at all these years later.
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. In it, John was asked about “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill.”
“Oh, that was written about a guy in Maharishi’s meditation camp who took a short break to go shoot a few poor tigers, and then came back to commune with God,” John recalled.
“There used to be a character called Jungle Jim and I combined him with Buffalo Bill. It’s a sort of teenage social-comment song and a bit of a joke. Yoko’s on that one, I believe, singing along.”
If nothing else, “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” paved the way for future musical collaborations between John and Yoko.
‘The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill’ isn’t as beloved as another ‘White Album’ song
It’s obvious from listening to “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill” that it’s supposed to be a joke. The cadence of the song is comic. However, is it really all that funny? Is the punchline — the death of a tiger — really that good? I suppose that all comes down to one’s feelings about animal rights.
Source: Matthew Trzcinski/cheatsheet.com
