Welcome to The Beatles' Zoo! (part I) Quiz

Answer: Bird

One popular belief is that the song is a teasing jibe by John Lennon at his friend Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, in reference to Jagger's pop star girlfriend ("bird" in British slang of the era) Marianne Faithfull.

In the final interview before his death in 1980 (with Playboy magazine) John Lennon said this was a throwaway song with random words of psychedelia added in designed to sound like it meant something. He considered it one of his worst songs.

Answer: I Am The Walrus

When Lennon decided to write confusing lyrics, he asked his friend Pete Shotton for a nursery rhyme they used to sing. Shotton gave them this rhyme, which Lennon incorporated into the song:

"Yellow matter custard, green slop pie, all mixed together with a dead dog's eye. Slap it on a butty, ten foot thick, then wash it all down with a cup of cold sick."

(YUCK!)

Answer: Butterflies

The full lyric reads:

I get high when I see you go by
My oh my.
When you sigh, my, my inside just flies,
butterflies
Why am I so shy when I'm beside you?

Answer: Tiger

Lennon told his version of the song's background in a Playboy interview, stating that: "[Bungalow Bill] 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. There used to be a character called Jungle Jim, and I combined him with Buffalo Bill. It's sort of a teenage social-comment song and a bit of a joke."

The complete lyric reads:

He went out tiger hunting with his elephant and gun
In case of accidents he always took his mom
He's the all American bullet-headed Saxon mother's son.

Answer: Rocky Raccoon

Paul McCartney got the idea for this when he was playing guitar with John Lennon and Donovan Leitch at the Maharishi's camp in India. The Beatles went there in 1968 to study transcendental meditation.

Beatles producer George Martin played the piano in an old-west saloon style. Several Beatles songs feature piano parts, which were usually played by either Martin, Lennon, Nicky Hopkins or Billy Preston.

The original title was "Rocky Sassoon."

Answer: Old English Sheepdog

It is reported by others that the title "Martha My Dear" was inspired by McCartney's Old English Sheepdog, also named Martha. McCartney has said, cryptically, that the song itself is probably about McCartney's longtime love interest Jane Asher. Asher broke off their engagement in mid-1968 when she found McCartney in bed with an Apple employee.

This is a rare track where members of The Beatles deviated from playing their traditional instruments in that McCartney played guitar on this while Harrison supplied bass.

Answer: What they need's a damn good whacking

George Harrison's mother Louise is said to have contributed the line: "What they need's a damn good whacking."

Harrison intended this as social commentary, but many people interpreted it as an anti-police anthem. Charles Manson, in his very disturbed mind, thought the term "damn good whacking" meant against the American police. During the murders of Sharon Tate, the LaBianca's and others, knives and forks were used to stab them because these utensils were mentioned in the song. The words "pig and piggy," were written with the victims' blood on the walls. Harrison was horrified when he learned his song took on another meaning.

Answer: Baby You're a Rich Man

The complete lyric reads:

Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man too
You keep all your money in a big brown bag inside a zoo
What a thing to do
Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man
Baby you're a rich man too

Beatles' fans know that the lyrics have contestable origins, one theory is that Baby You're A Rich Man was taken from two unfinished songs put together. Lennon's unfinished song was called "One Of The Beautiful People," where he was speaking of the hippie generation, with their long hair, and free love. Paul's contribution was taken from a chorus he had written about a rich man, reported to be about their manager Brian Epstein. John would joke with Epstein, and in one case insulted him, but the point to him was to stop complaining, because they had made him rich, he was rich, and they all were rich.

Answer: Back In The U.S.S.R.

The song is a tribute to Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A." and the Beach Boys' "California Girls", and also contains a pun on Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia on My Mind." McCartney is singing about the Soviet Republic of Georgia, whereas 'Georgia on My Mind' has been described as being about either or both of the state of Georgia in the U.S. or a woman named Georgia.

Beatles' lore also recalls that On August 22, 1968, following an argument with McCartney over the drum part for this song, Ringo walked out on The Beatles. He flew to Sardinia for a holiday to consider his future. While there he received a telegram from his bandmates saying, 'You're the best rock 'n' roll drummer in the world. Come on home, we love you.' On his return, he found his drum kit covered with flowers. A banner above read, 'Welcome Back.'

Answer: The local bird and bee

The full lyric reads:

The duchess of Kircaldy always smiling
And arriving late for tea
The duke was having problems
With a message at the local bird and bee.

The original lyrics were "Cry baby cry, make your mother buy." Lennon said he got the words from an advertisement. The "Duchess of Kirkcaldy" mentioned in the song was a creation of Lennon's, possibly inspired by the Beatles' gig in the town of the same name in 1963.

Answer: Hey Bulldog

The Fab Four started recording this as "Hey Bullfrog," but Paul barked at the end and made John Lennon laugh. They kept in the barking and changed the title, even though there is no mention of a bulldog in the verses or chorus. "Hey Bulldog" is chanted 4 times before John and Paul's playful banter and then twice during the fade-out.

This was the last song The Beatles recorded before leaving for a retreat in India to study meditation with the Maharishi.

Answer: Octopus's Garden

The full lyric reads:

We would shout and swim about
The coral that lies beneath the waves
(Lies beneath the ocean waves)
Oh what joy for every girl and boy
Knowing they're happy and they're safe
(Happy and they're safe)

The idea for the song came about when drummer Ringo Starr was on a boating trip with his family in Sardinia in 1968. He was offered an octopus lunch, but turned it down. Then the boat's captain told Starr about how octopuses travel along the sea bed picking up stones and shiny objects with which to build gardens. Starr said that hearing about octopuses spending their days collecting shiny objects at the bottom of the sea was one of the happiest things he had ever heard, inspiring him to write this song.

Answer: Canary

The full lyric reads:

Gonna tell your mama, you better do what she said
Get to the barber shop and get that hair cut off your head
Threw the canary and you fed it to the neighbors cat
You gave the cocker spaniel a bath in mother's laundromat
Well, mama's head has got to stop
Junior's head is hard as rock
Now, junior, behave yourself!

This song was written and originally recorded by Larry Williams, a black Rock singer who John Lennon admired. The song is about a rebellious kid who loved Rock And Roll. The Beatles chose the song because they thought it fit them very well.

Answer: Henry

The complete lyric reads:

Messrs. K and H. assure the public
Their production will be second to none
And of course Henry The Horse dances the waltz!

The tune is from the from the 1967 Beatles album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Interestingly the Swedish metal band Mister Kite take their name from the song title.

Answer: Blackbird

The complete lyrics read:

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All you life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

McCartney revealed on PBS's Great Performances ("Paul McCartney: Chaos and Creation at Abbey Road"), aired in 2006, that the guitar accompaniment for Blackbird was inspired by Bach's "Bourrée in E Minor", a well known classical guitar piece.