The Beatles - Polythene Pam
The Beatles - Polythene Pam 1969
"Polythene Pam" is a song written by John Lennon, credited to Lennon/McCartney, and performed by The Beatles on their album Abbey Road. The song is part of the B-side medley.
The song was originally introduced during The Beatles sessions; a demo from the Esher Sessions can be found on Anthology 3. Lennon would describe this song, along with "Mean Mr. Mustard", in The Beatles Anthology as "a bit of crap I wrote in India". In 1980 Lennon recalled meeting a girl who dressed up in polythene (but without "jack boots and kilts") and having "perverted sex in a polythene bag". The song is sung in a very strong Liverpudlian "Scouse" accent.
On the album Abbey Road, the song is linked with the previous song "Mean Mr. Mustard" musically, as the two run together without pause. The two songs are also linked narratively, since "Mean Mr. Mustard" mentions that the title character Mustard has a sister named Pam. Originally, the line "his sister Pam..." in the song was "his sister Shirley...", but Lennon would change the line to contribute to the continuity of the Abbey Road side two medley. The song "Her Majesty" was originally set between "Mean Mr. Mustard" and "Polythene Pam".
"Polythene Pam" segues into the following song, "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window". At 0:47, someone picks up a tambourine and, in the left channel, Paul McCartney can be heard saying "Yeah," while Lennon says, "Great". Compositionally, "Polythene Pam" ends with the final notes of the guitar solo, at which point Lennon says, "We'll listen to that now." Lennon laughs, followed by "Oh, look out!" and a sudden, nearly-inaudible "You should..." before the transition. Also in the guitar solo, you can very slightly hear someone counting measure numbers.
In 1976, Roy Wood of Electric Light Orchestra recorded the song for the musical documentary All This and World War II. In 1999, Atom and His Package covered the song on the album Making Love with altered lyrics as "P.P. (Doo-Doo)".
In his 2009 "Hello New York" Tour, Paul McCartney changed the lyrics of one of the lines in "Band on the Run" from "And the Jailor man, and Sailor Sam, were searching everyone" to "Polythene Pam and Sailor Sam, were searching everyone".
* John Lennon -- vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar, rhythm guitar, handclaps
* Paul McCartney -- backing vocals, bass, lead guitar, piano, electric piano
* George Harrison -- backing vocals, lead guitar
* Ringo Starr -- drums, tambourine, maracas, cowbell
In other news, I have added the lyrics to this song so you can sing along, or perhaps learn the song! This is how I learned my first Beatles song! Enjoy :)
