Back in the U.S.S.R. Lyrics

[Bridge]
(Well) The Ukraine girls really knock me out (Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh)
They leave the West behind
And Moscow girls make me sing and shout (Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh)
That Georgia's always on my mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mind
Oh, come on!

[Guitar Solo]
Hoo, hey
Hoo, hey, hoo-hoo, yeah
Yeah-yeah

[Chorus]
Yeah, I'm back in the U.S.S.R.​
You don't know how lucky you are, boys
Back in the U.S.S.R.​

[Bridge]
(Well) The Ukraine girls really knock me out (Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh)
They leave the West behind
And Moscow girls make me sing and shout (Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh)
That Georgia's always on my mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mind

[Verse 3]
Oh, show me round your snow-peaked mountains way down South
Take me to your daddy's farm
Let me hear your balalaikas ringing out
Come and keep your comrade warm
[Chorus]
I'm back in the U.S.S.R. (Hey)
You don't know how lucky you are, boys
Back in the U.S.S.R.​

[Outro]
Oh-oh, let me tell you, honey
Hey, I'm back, I'm back in the U.S.S.R.​ (Ooh-ooh-ooh)
Hey, it's so good to be home (Ooh-ooh-ooh)
Yeah, back in the U.S.S.R.​

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About

Genius Annotation

Written by McCartney as a pastiche of The Beach Boys, its inspiration came from the Chuck Berry song Back In The USA, from Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s “I’m Backing Britain” campaign of the time, and reportedly from one of the Beach Boys themselves – Mike Love. Love, a fellow follower of the Maharishi in India during the late 60s, overheard Paul McCartney playing a rough version of “U.S.S.R.” on an acoustic guitar in Rishikesh and said to him, “You ought to put something in about all the girls around Russia.”

Paul McCartney desribed the song this way:

It’s tongue in cheek. This is a travelling Russkie who has just flown in from Miami Beach; he’s come the other way. He can’t wait to get back to the Georgian mountains: “Georgia’s always on my mind”; there’s all sorts of little jokes in it… I remember trying to sing it in my Jerry Lee Lewis voice, to get my mind set on a particular feeling. We added Beach Boys style harmonies.

During the recording of this song, Ringo Starr had briefly quit the band, so McCartney ended up playing the drums here.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Translations
Genius Answer
What did The Beatles say about "Back in the U.S.S.R."?
Genius Answer

In his 1984 interview with Playboy magazine, McCartney said:

I wrote that as a kind of Beach Boys parody. And “Back in the USA” was a Chuck Berry song, so it kinda took off from there. I just liked the idea of Georgia girls and talking about places like the Ukraine as if they were California, you know? It was also hands across the water, which I’m still conscious of. ‘Cause they like us out there, even though the bosses in the Kremlin may not. The kids from there do. And that to me is very important for the future of the race.

Who plays the guitar solo?
Genius Answer

According to Beatles author Walter Everett in The Beatles as Musicians, George Harrison plays the solo on a Fender Telecaster.

The solo guitar in the last verse – a single note pedal point – is played by Paul McCartney on an Epiphone Casino.

Credits
Produced By
Tambourine
Six-string bass
Recorded At
EMI Recording Studios, St. John's Wood, City of Westminster, Greater London, England (August 22-23, 1968)
Release Date
November 22, 1968
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