Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Mean Mr. Mustard
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Mean Mr. Mustard" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Song by The Beatles | ||
| from the album Abbey Road | ||
| Released | 26 September 1969 | |
| Recorded | 24 July-29 July 1969 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 1:06 | |
| Label | Apple Records | |
| Writer(s) | Lennon/McCartney | |
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |
| Abbey Road track listing | ||
|
||
"Mean Mr. Mustard" is the name of a song written by John Lennon (although credited to Lennon-McCartney) and performed by The Beatles on their album, Abbey Road (also released on Anthology 3). Written in India, John said that the song was inspired by a newspaper story about a miser who concealed his cash wherever he could in order to prevent people from forcing him to spend it.
Tony Bramwell offers a secondary interpretation: "There was an old 'bag lady' who used to hang around the Knightsbridge end of Hyde Park, London, close to the army barracks. She had all her possessions in plastic bags and slept in the park. I'm sure that she had something to do with the song."
In the original version of the lyrics, Mustard's sister is named Shirley. Lennon changed it to Pam when he saw the opportunity to ease the segue into the song "Polythene Pam", which follows "Mean Mr. Mustard" on the album. Additionally, the original version of the song was much quieter, almost Dylanesque in that it was performed with an acoustic guitar.
This song was recorded with "Sun King" in one continuous piece.
The version on the film version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was performed by Mean Mr. Mustard (played by Frankie Howard) and his evil robot companions named the Computerettes. As with the performance of "She's Leaving Home" also in the film, the computerized singing of the Computerettes was performed by the Bee Gees. It is also reported that Steven Tyler also performed in this version.
- Turner, Steve. A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles' Song, Harper, New York: 1994, ISBN 0-06-095065-X