Paul McCartney’s Story Songs
Remember the story of Rocky Raccoon? Desmond and Molly in the marketplace? Maxwell’s Silver Hammer?
A lot of Paul McCartney’s Beatles songs paint rich sketches of places (Penny Lane), people (Lady Madonna), and feelings and situations (Yesterday). But I could think of only a few that tell stories with named characters and a beginning, middle and end. Here they are.
Rocky Raccoon
Now somewhere in the black mining hills of Dakota
There lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon
And one day, his woman ran off with another guy
Hit young Rocky in the eye
Rocky didn’t like that
He said, “I’m gonna get that boy”
So one day, he walked into town
Booked himself a room in the local saloon
And Rocky Raccoon checked into his room
Only to find Gideon’s Bible
Rocky had come equipped with a gun
To shoot off the legs of his rival
His rival, it seems, had broken his dreams
By stealing the girl of his fancy
Her name was Magill, and she called herself Lil
But everyone knew her as Nancy
Now, she and her man, who called himself Dan
We’re in the next room at the hoe-down
Rocky burst in, and grinning a grin
He said, “Danny boy, this is a showdown”
But Daniel was hot, he drew first and shot
And Rocky collapsed in the corner, aaah
Dan, dan, dan, dan-dan
Dan, dan, dan, dan-dan
Dan, dan, dan, dan-dan
Dan, dan, dooroo-do-do
Do-do-do, dooroo-do-do
Do-dooroo-do-do, do-do
Do-do-do, dooroo-do-do
Do-dooroo-do-do, do-do
Now, the doctor came in, stinking of gin
And proceeded to lie on the table
He said, “Rocky, you met your match”
And Rocky said, “Doc, it’s only a scratch”
And I’ll be better, I’ll be better, Doc, as soon as I am able
Now, Rocky Raccoon, he fell back in his room
Only to find Gideon’s Bible (oh, dou-dou-dou)
Gideon checked out, and he left it, no doubt (ooh Rocky, ooh)
To help with good Rocky’s revival, aah
Yeah, yeah
Do-do-do, dooroo-do-do
Do-dooroo-do-do, do-do
Do-do-do, dooroo-do-do
Do-dooroo-do-do, do-do
Do-do-do, dooroo-do-do, come on Rocky boy
Do-dooroo-do-do, do-do, come on Rocky boy
Do-do-do, dooroo-do-do
Do-dooroo-do-do, do-do
And started mocking at the time
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Paul Mccartney / John Lennon
Rocky Raccoon lyrics © Sony/atv Tunes Llc
If you can stand it, here are two comedy-sketch dramatizations of Rocky Racoon from sixties TV shows (1969 and 1970):
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Desmond has his barrow in the marketplace
Molly is the singer in a band
Desmond says to Molly, “Girl, I like your face”
And Molly says this as she takes him by the hand
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
Desmond takes a trolley to the jeweller’s store (choo-choo)
Buys a twenty-carat golden ring (ring)
Takes it back to Molly waiting at the door
And as he gives it to her, she begins to sing (sing)
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
In a couple of years they have built a home sweet home
With a couple of kids running in the yard
Of Desmond and Molly Jones (ha-ha-ha-ha)
Happy ever after in the marketplace
Desmond lets the children lend a hand
Molly stays at home and does her pretty face
And in the evening she still sings it with the band, yes
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on (yeah)
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
In a couple of years they have built a home sweet home
With a couple of kids running in the yard
Of Desmond and Molly Jones (ha-ha-ha-ha), yeah
Happy ever after in the marketplace
Molly lets the children lend a hand
Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face
And in the evening she’s a singer with the band, yeah
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on (yeah)
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
And if you want some fun
Take ob-la-di-bla-da
Thank you
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Paul Mccartney / John Lennon
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da lyrics © Sony/atv Tunes Llc
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
Joan was quizzical, studied pataphysical
Science in the home
Late nights all alone with a test tube, oh, oh, oh, oh
Maxwell Edison, majoring in medicine
Calls her on the phone
“Can I take you out to the pictures, Joa-oa-oa-oan?”
But as she’s getting ready to go
A knock comes on the door
Bang! Bang! Maxwell’s silver hammer
Came down upon her head
Clang! Clang! Maxwell’s silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead
Back in school again, Maxwell plays the fool again
Teacher gets annoyed
Wishing to avoid an unpleasant sce-e-e-ene
She tells Max to stay when the class has gone away
So he waits behind
Writing fifty times “I must not be so, o, o, o”
But when she turns her back on the boy
He creeps up from behind
Bang! Bang! Maxwell’s silver hammer
Came down upon her head (Do-do-do-do-do)
Clang! Clang! Maxwell’s silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead (Do-do-do-do-do)
P. C. 31 said, “We caught a dirty one”
Maxwell stands alone
Painting testimonial pictures, oh, oh, oh, oh
Rose and Valerie, screaming from the gallery
Say he must go free (Maxwell must go free)
The judge does not agree and he tells them so-o-o-o
But as the words are leaving his lips
A noise comes from behind
Bang! Bang! Maxwell’s silver hammer
Came down upon his head (Do-do-do-do-do)
Clang! Clang! Maxwell’s silver hammer
Made sure that he was dead
Whoa, whoa, whoa-oa
(Do-do-do-do-do)
(Silver hammer man)
Source: https://genius.com/The-beatles-maxwells-silver-hammer-lyrics
The Wikipedia article on Maxwell’s Silver Hammer is amusing and well worth a read. For example: [Ringo] Starr told Rolling Stone in 2008: “The worst session ever was ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.’ It was the worst track we ever had to record. It went on for fucking weeks. I thought it was mad.”
