Piggies | Page 2 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

Linde said

Matt Busby said
I dislike Helter Skelter , one reason being the Manson connection, but also the song just doesn’t please me aesthetically.  That is to say, the sound kinda grates on my ears, to be honest.  It’s definitely my least favorite Beatles song.

But to get on topic, I’ve kinda grown to like Piggies more as I’ve aged (it still lies, I’m sorry to say, near the bottom).  I think the video of Free As A Bird helped me like it more, those kids were so cute.  I didn’t know the Mansons had a thing for it, that really sucks.  The female lead in the American film The (500) days of Summer says Piggies is her favorite Beatles song (and the boyfriend is like wth?) just to inject a Beatly moment.  But one thing I’ve been wanting to know – was Piggies the first use of the phrase “what they need’s a damn good whacking”?  I know it’s been repeated many times in tv and film, I think I remember a Monty Python skit, or maybe in the movie “…Holy Grail” as one place.

 

I thought her favourite was Octopus’s Garden ?

I don’t don’t like Piggies because of the Manson stuff. I never associate it with that, and I do like Helter Skelter (well, except for the last bit of that song anyway). Stuff like that just doesn’t ruin a song for me. Perhaps if it was associated with Hitler or whatever, maybe that would’ve changed the thing, but that’s not the case so what am I even going on about.

I can’t believe they preferred this over something like All Things Must Pass either. I’m not saying Piggies is a particular bad song, but ATMP beats it with miles. But, if I recall correctly, ATMP wasn’t recorded until somewhere in 1969. Perhaps you meant Not Guilty ? Or was ATMP already known during the recording of the White Album ? If you were talking about Not Guilty , I still agree. I think it’s still better than Savoy Truffle or Piggies .

I don’t know, I watched the movie a half dozen times, so I’m fairly confident it was Piggies , but I’ve been known to be very wrong when I was confident about something before lol.  Also I didn’t mean to say the Manson connection ruined the song, it was just one more contributing factor to my dislike of Helter Skelter .  Tbh I didn’t know the family had other favorites from the album.  That doesn’t change my opinion of them, so maybe the Manson thing isn’t a factor at all in my opinion of Helter Skelter .

According to the liner notes for Anthology 3 disk 2, George “frequently suggested this new composition [edit: ATMP ]” during the January 1969 Get Back sessions.  The version on Anthology is from 25 Feb 1969, so, you’re right about it not being recorded or apparently even suggested until early 1969.  I agree that it’s a far superior song to Piggies or Savoy Truffle , but then ATMP wouldn’t have fit with the “atmosphere” of the White Album , imo.  It’s a collection of mostly quirky songs, imo, while ATMP is a deep, contemplative song.  I don’t mean to degrade the White Album , quirkiness can be good!  And it does have some thoughtful songs, WMGGW being a prime example.  Maybe one of the gurus here knows when ATMP was actually written.

I think maybe you were talking to a previous poster when you suggested “Perhaps you meant Not Guilty ?”.  I didn’t reference any songs other than Helter Skelter and Piggies …<double checks>…and Free As A Bird ???  Or do you mean the phrase “a damn good whacking”?  I verified that the line is in Piggies .  Ok now I’m confused, and rather off topic, but feel like I contributed something meaningful…lol