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.

This song, written mostly by George Harrison, is one extended metaphor for capitalists.

This song is based on George Orwell’s book Animal Farm, which uses a farm as a symbolism for communism in which the pigs become dictators. Harrison portrays the same scenario but with capitalism.

The sound on this song is much like a baroque dance in its arrangement and musical characteristics, passive aggressively taking on a dark subject with a light innocuous sound.

McCartney was inspired to write this song after witnessing two monkeys having sex in the middle of the road in India. He described it as a liberating sight.

John Lennon was deeply offended that McCartney chose not to ask for his help in recording this song. When confronted, McCartney pointed out that Lennon behaved in the same way with “Julia” and “Revolution 9.”

A typically upbeat acoustic ditty by McCartney, composed after he was inspired by a lecture given by the Maharishi in India.

A thinly-veiled snipe at Mahesh Yogi, known as The Maharashi, who was a celebrated Indian spiritual guru whom Lennon spent time with. The song was written after he allegedly made an inappropriate pass at a friend of Lennon’s.

Notice that se-xy-sa-die is the same number of syllables as ma-ha-ri-shi. The original lyrics said ‘Maharishi’ instead of ‘Sexy Sadie’, but Harrison convinced Lennon to change it.

A very early version of this song was much more overt about Lennon’s feelings about the Maharishi.

The closing track on Rubber Soul, like several others on the record, was mainly written by John Lennon, despite being credited to Lennon-McCartney. Its lyrics deal with an abusive relationship, where the narrator threatens to kill his girlfriend if she cheats on him. As a result, it has been speculated whether it was inspired by Lennon’s own relationship with Cynthia Lennon, which was a somewhat sour and bitter marriage.

Although it was one of George Harrison’s favourite tracks on the record at the time, Lennon himself has since denounced it, calling it his “least favourite Beatles song” on several occasions. It was also briefly banned by CFRA radio station in Ottawa for its threatening tone, deeming it to be misogynistic.

A Lennon-penned love song that speaks simultaneously to his deceased mother and to his new love Yoko Ono.

Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters picked this song out as being one of his favourite Beatles songs.