Back in the U.S.S.R.

This article is about the Beatles song. For other uses, see Back in the USSR (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Back to the USSR.

"Back in the U.S.S.R."
Picture sleeve for the song's 1976 UK single release
Song by the Beatles
from the album The Beatles
Released22 November 1968 (1968-11-22)
Recorded22–23 August 1968
StudioEMI, London
GenreRock and roll[1][2]
Length2:43
LabelApple
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin
The Beatles UK singles chronology
"Yesterday"
(1976) 		"Back in the U.S.S.R."
(1976) 		"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" / "With a Little Help from My Friends"
(1978)
Music video
"Back in the U.S.S.R. (2018 Mix)" on YouTube

"Back in the U.S.S.R." is a song by the English rock band the Beatles and the first track of the 1968 double album The Beatles (also known as the "White Album"). Written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership,[3] the song is a parody of Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A." and the Beach Boys' "California Girls". The lyrics subvert Berry's patriotic sentiments about the United States, as the narrator expresses relief upon returning home to the Soviet Union (officially named Union of Soviet Socialist Republics – USSR).

The Beatles recorded "Back in the U.S.S.R." as a three-piece after Ringo Starr temporarily left the group, in protest at McCartney's criticism of his drumming and the tensions that typified the sessions for the White Album. Instead, the other Beatles created a composite drum track from numerous takes. McCartney's singing was based on Jerry Lee Lewis, while the bridge features a Beach Boys–style celebration of girls from various parts of the USSR. The song opens and closes with a tape loop of an aircraft landing on a runway.

Released three months after the Warsaw Pact's invasion of Czechoslovakia, the Beatles' sympathetic portrayal of the USSR prompted condemnation in the West from both the New Left and the political right. In 1976, backed by "Twist and Shout", it was issued as a single to promote the compilation album Rock 'n' Roll Music. It peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and number 11 in Ireland. In 2003, McCartney performed the song in Moscow's Red Square. Elton John and Billy Joel have also released versions recorded during concerts in Russia.

  1. ^ Campbell 2008, p. 175.
  2. ^ Hertsgaard 1996, p. 355: "'Back In The USSR' was straight-ahead rock 'n' roll ..."
  3. ^ Miles 1997, pp. 422–423.