CroftD1 March 14th, 2006 02:11PM  

You're all a little right. I'll just add something...It was the HEAT of the COLD War and the US and GB were against the USSR so the Beatles thought it would be funny to tease the gov'ts and right a song Pro-Russia. And of course it struck a HUGE contraversy. It was written in the same vein as California Girls by the Beach Boys following even closely the lyrics just flipping them to fit the USSR provinances. And by the way Brian Wilson is VERY tallented and I don't consider him inferrior just a lot different from say John or Paul. Not trying to argue, just trying to stick up for him!

anonymous June 9th, 2007 06:10AM  

To the person who said the Beach Boys were seen as inferior by the Beatles I would suggest reading the anthology book in which McCartney states that he thinks Pet Sounds is a record which any music lover must listen. Furthermore he regularly mentions in interviews how Pet Sounds influenced the Beatles to do Sgt Peppers. Clearly he has/had a lot of respect for the Beach Boys.

anonymous August 16th, 2008 08:41PM  

Everybody's been so busy with the Beach Boys imitation mocking thing that nobody paid attention to the line that says "That Georgia's always on my mind" Ray Charles wrote a song called "Georgia On My Mind" and one day my dad pointed out that they used that. Just a little fun fact there if you see the relation.

anonymous September 17th, 2008 04:15PM  

'Georgia on my mind' is a funny play on words (concepts). Georgia is both a US state and a Russian province (it was a Russian province back then.)

anonymous September 20th, 2008 07:12PM  

"Since the Beach Boys were (successfully) sued by the publishers of Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" for plagiarizing that song with 'Surfing USA'"

Were they? Chuck Berry AND Brian Wilson wrote this song.

mensoelrey October 2nd, 2008 09:54AM  

It's just making fun of the USSR by borrowing from Chuck Berry's "Back in the USA" title and style. "Georgia's always on my mind" is a hilarious allusion to the old song "Georgia on My Mind": Georgia was a state of the USSR and the original song was of course about the US state of Georgia. So they go from making fun of the USSR to talking about hot Ukraine and Moscow girls and then say "come and keep your comrade warm". Quite a funny song.

anonymous October 11th, 2008 11:07PM  

In an interview years later, McCartney simply said that when he listened to the beach boys, he thought they "sounded like California." Back in the USSR, he said, was an attempt to parallel the Beach Boy's sound, but with the twist of making the song "sound like Russia." Obviously the decision to choose the USSR was grounded in the era's world politics. I think the Beatles, in attempting a song like this, were paying tribute to the Beach Boys, who were a profound influence on them.

CaptainVegetable February 3rd, 2009 11:07AM  

One of my colleagues, now in his fifties, emigrated to Canada from the former USSR. His story is that the Beatles were supposed to be allowed into Moscow to perform, but that the reaction of the screaming fans to the arrival or their plane was seen as very non-communist and Brezhnev decided not to let them disembark. "Back in the USSR" was supposedly written about this incident.

jamespmccartney October 18th, 2009 12:18PM  

this song is both a Mock and a tribute. it is Mocking the Beach Boys, becouse they started to think they where better then the Beastles and the Beatles where just putting them in there place. Its a Tribute for the Country that made them Famouse becouse, if you read anything on the beatles life, you know that they started their real fame from th U.S.S.R. before being sent back to liverpool becouse George was to young to play in the band there. the whole thing about the U.S.S.R. girls, in between each verse is that while they where in Russia they realy got to know the Locals (and I mean REALLY got to know them.)

Winnipegger October 19th, 2009 12:22AM  

The Beatles never played in the USSR, jamespaul, you're thinking of Germany, where they played Hamburg in the days before they became famous.