Piggies: Beatles song on the White Album.

Piggies: Introduction

“Piggies” is a song by The Beatles on their “White Album” from 1968. Considered an anti-establishment song, it also appears on their “Anthology 3” album as a demo from George Harrison’s home.

  • Publisher: Harrisongs
  • Released: November 22, 1968 (UK), November 25, 1968 (US)
  • Recorded: September 19–20 and October 10, 1968
  • Studio: EMI Studios, London
  • Genre: Baroque pop, folk music
  • Track Duration: 2:04
  • Record Label: Apple
  • Songwriter: George Harrison
  • Producer: George Martin
  • Engineer: Ken Scott

Other Performers

You can still buy the song on the following albums:

The original recording that most know is on the 1968 White Album, so buy that if your funds are low. However, the anthology trilogy is good to own.

George Harrison wrote “Piggies” in early 1966. “Piggies” is all about greed and consumerism. He forgot about the song for a while but returned to it soon after he found the manuscript again in early 1968. He discovered those early lyrics in the attic of his parents’ house in Liverpool during a visit there. Furthermore, his mother, Louise, helped to provide a line in the song.

From the mid-sixties on, in America, the word “pig” began to mean something other than the police. Indeed, this encompassed all establishment figures and even consumerism itself. However, Harrison says that he wasn’t using “pig” in its new context.

“Piggies is a social comment. I was stuck for one line in the middle until my mother came up with the lyric, ‘What they need is a damn good whacking’ which is a nice, simple way of saying they need a good hiding. It needed to rhyme with ‘backing,’ ‘lacking,’ and had absolutely nothing to do with American policemen or Californian shagnasties!”

George Harrison
I, Me, Mine

Be that as it may, at the time, the counterculture became more politically focused and the title of the song itself stirred up much scrutiny.

Apart from adopting the most memorable line from his mother, John Lennon also chipped in with the lyrics. He provided the final line to the song, “Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.” This replaced Harrison’s original line, “to cut their pork chops.”

The song was actually a little longer, but the band decided to omit a verse, resulting in a song lasting around two minutes.

We may never know what George Harrison was fully thinking while writing the song, although the intention was light-hearted satire. However, theories do exist. For example, musicologist Walter Everett claims that there is evidence that Harrison’s main inspiration for the song was George Orwell‘s Animal Farm from 1945.

Meanwhile, author Ian Inglis says some songs from The Beatles’ White Album drew inspiration from their childhood, and Piggies is one of those. However, there is no getting away from the consumerism and class distinction theme.

During 1967, Charles Manson became a cult leader and his followers, aka the Manson Family, later misinterpreted the song with dire consequences.

The political upheaval in the late 1960s coincided with the rise of the Black Power Movement in America. At the same time, Charles Manson believed that there would be an uprising which would see the establishment and the black community at war with each other. The result of this apocalyptic conflict would see the Manson Family rule America on counterculture principles.

In order to instigate the conflict, there needed to be a catalyst of some sort. Manson believed that music from The Beatles’ White Album gave such instructions. “Piggies,” especially the line provided by Harrison’s mother, “What they need is a damn good whacking,” poured fuel on the fire.

They believed that attacks against the white bourgeoisie could spark off the conflict. After committing a series of murders, the Manson family daubed “Political Piggy,” “Pig,” and “Death to Pigs” on the walls using the victims’ blood. In one horrific murder, they inserted cutlery into the victim’s body as if to reference the line, “Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.”

The authorities acted swiftly and brought the cult down.

Recording Studio

The Beatles started recording Piggies on September 19, 1968, in Studios One and Two at the Abbey Road studio in London during the 7.15 p.m.–5.30 a.m. session. There were 11 takes that day, and they chose the last one as the rhythm track for overdubbing.

On September 20, George Harrison recorded his lead vocals, but there are three contrasting elements. At the beginning of the song, we hear a more natural approach. In the middle, Harrison sang through a filter to create the nasal sound. Then, the end chorus is where Harrison sings his own harmony vocals in various ranges.

On October 10, George Martin arranged a string section suitable for overdubbing onto the final mix.

The version we hear on their “Anthology 3” album from 1996 is the demo song. The band recorded this at George Harrison’s home in May 1968, and it includes George Harrison’s last line before Lennon’s amendment.

Finally, listen to the song and tell us your thoughts below. For example, is the sound decent, and how do you rate it? Also, can you see where Charles Manson is coming from?

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