Questions regarding Beatles Bootlegs
DrRobert64
>I would like to know the story (truth/irony) behind such Beatle songs as:
>1: No Pakistanis (Get Back sessions?)
>2: White Power (Get Back sessions?)
>3: Kill the Parky (???)
The working version of get back contained this verse: "Don't dig no
Pakistanis taking all the peoples jobs" . I think Britian had or still has
a race problem with Pakistanis. Though someone from England can explain
this better-- my only thought is that Get Back was originally a political
song. White Power-- wasn't that a song about Enoch Powell and his party?
Kill the PARTY, Commonwealth, and a few others were these little political
songs they played. Well, I hope this helps a little.
////----------Steve Miller------------\\\\
\\\\ (DrRob...@aol.com) //// .lr
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"WE ALL LIVE IN A YELLOW SUBMARINE............"
Martin C Ericsson
1: No Pakistanis (Get Back sessions?)
2: White Power (Get Back sessions?)
3: Kill the Parky (???)
Thankful for answers.
Keith Topping
>
>I would like to know the story (truth/irony) behind such Beatle songs as:
>
> 1: No Pakistanis (Get Back sessions?)
> 2: White Power (Get Back sessions?)
> 3: Kill the Parky (???)
>
On 21 April 1968, Enoch Powell, the then Conservative party opposition
spokesman for immigration made a famous speech in Birmingham concerning the
recent influx of 10,000 Asian British Commonwealth citizen's into the UK.
Powell envisaged a hightened tension in race relations leading to "a river
of blood" (I should point out here that although I loath Powell's politics
the man probably wasn't a racist, per-se, and was merely making what he
thought were popular sentiments known). The effect of the speech was two-fold
firstly it virtually ended Powell's political career (he later left the
Conservative party and joined the Irish Unionists), and secondly it coincided
with the emergence of a series of racist attacks in England against Indian
and Pakistani ethnic minorities (Ian MacDonald's 'Revolution in the Head' -
page 267, gives a little more background on this vile trend known as 'Paki-
bashing').
When the Beatles arrived at Twickenham in January '69, Paul had written a
couple of loose jams around the theme; the bootleg LP 'Sweet Apple Trax'
includes 'White Power' (also known as 'Get Off White Power'), which is
bascially a blues jam with Paul (and then John) shouting out names of
politicians, old friends, other bands etc in call-and-response-style, usually
punctuated with "white power/get off!" It sounds horrible, but it's actually
quite funny - I haven't listened to it for a while, but if you're interested
I can dig it out and have a go at transcribing the 'lyrics'.
Out of this came another 'song' 'Commonwealth' (again, basically a jam with
words) - it included the memorable chorus line "I would join the common
market but it's much too common for me!" (again this is on 'Sweet Apple Trax')
Next Paul took some of the idea's from these songs and started another called
'No Pakistani's' which is the tune of what would a week later become 'Get Back'
with the lyrics "Don't dig no Pakistani's, takin' all de people's jobs!"
Obviously, Paul realised that what was to the Beatles obvious satire
might be taken seriously by the intellectually-challagned (that 25 years
later British tabloids can still get a story out of this proves the point).
And, there was no way EMI would consider a song called 'No Pakistani's' so
Paul kept the chorus "get back to where you once belong" and re-wrote the
song (possibly with some help from John, according to an interview with
Paul in 'Mojo' in 1993).
As I say, if anybody's interested I'll have a go at transcribing the
'lyrics' for 'White Power' and 'Commonwealth' (such as they are), they're
a fascinating historical document and, in places, quite funny.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes, and a Merry Christmas
--
Keith
Keith Topping
'Get Off/White Power' and 'Commonwealth Song':
'Get off/White Power'
(Paul) "Oh Enoch Powell,
White Power. (John) Yes!
White Power. Malcolm X.
White Power Gerrof!
White Power Gerrof!
Hear me talkin' White Power Gerrof!
Malcolm X
James Brown Why don't you gerrof!
Cassius Clay Deadrie McTeadrie (?)
Judy Garland, gerrof!
Jeremy Banks, let me hear it.
Wilson Pickett Gerrof!
Jimmy Brown
Malcolm Evans, Charlie Ho (?)
Liverpool
The song briefly breaks down here. John says 'Okay, run through it' and
then sings "Why don't you put it on the toast?!" Then...
Gerrof!
Billy Turner
Eric Griffiths, Can you dig it?
Ivan Vaughan
Dusty Springfield, can you dig it?
Russ Conway ah yeah!
Peter Brown
Joan Littlewood John Lennon!
John Lennon! can you dig it?
can you dig it? yeah!
Mary Whitehouse gerrof!
Richard Nixon, can you dig it?
Ronnie Corbett
David Frost, can you dig it?
Betty Grable
Clark Kent Clark Kent? (John seems amused)
Super Agents
Sean O.Mahoney
Jack MacGowan, let me hear it.
Enid Blyton, let me hear it.
can you dig it?
Mike Ansis (?)
Jeff Mohammed, come on Tony Sherdian
Billy Harry
Emperor Rosko June Harry
Virginia Harry! Yeah! (giggling)
can you dig it?
Norman Rossington
John Junkin
Tony Sheridan
Winston Chruchill, let me hear it
Mister Attlee
Gerald Navaro, how about it?
San Fransisco Proms, can you dig it
Huddersfield carno (?)
Electric String Bag! Incredible String Vest!
string bag! (laughs)
can you dig it?
Here the song breaks down completely and then John leads them into a great
thrashy version of Big Joe Turner's 'Honey Hush'.
'Commonwealth Song'
(paul) Tonight Enoch Powell said to the immigrants
Immigrants have gotta go home
Tonight Harold Wilson said to the immigrants
You'd better get back to your commonwelath home.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he said you'd better get back home.
Now Enoch Powell he said to the folks
He said it's the colour of your skin
He said he don't care what it's all about
... [mumbled line, ala Elvis - no descernable lyrics]
So Ted Heath said to Enoch Powell,
he said you'd better get off, or else you're gonna drown (!)
he said Enoch Powell, Enoch you'd better go home.
So Wilson said to Dubrovniev, come on boy we're gonna swing,
we've gotta go back to the summitt on the hill,
... [another mumbled line] ... to win,
so Enoch Powell said to Wilson and Heath, buy your commonwealth!
chorus: Commonwealth (John) Yes!
Commonwealth Yes!
If you don't want trouble then you'd better go back home.
Paul (in a silly Monty Python-style voice)
So i went to Pakistani, I went to India
I've been to Old (Oh!?) Calcutta, and I've had enough of that
I'm coming back to England Town
John Yes! Welcome England
Paul And dirty Enoch Powell, he's had enough of Parliament
Commonwealth Yes!
can you hear me commonwealth?
Well I checked off to Australia and went to New Zealand
You'd better live with us we're gonna have some fun,
we're going up to India, we're going to Pakistan
we're coming to ???, and over to Japan (laughs)
And here comes Enoch Powell and he says there's trouble here.
commonwealth Yes!
yeah commonwealth Yes!
well the commonwealth is much too wealthy for me
John much too common for me!
Paul I went to Australia and New Zealand too
I went to Pakistan and India too
I went off to West Indies and I had a cricket match!
I went off to South Africa and hung out with the blacks!
Oh commonwealth, you're much too common for me.
Enoch Powell commonwealth.
Immigrants commonwealth
Well I would join the common market but it's much too common for me!
And, with the snapping of George's guitar string ends the Beatles attempts
at socio-political satire...
--
Keith