Polythene Pam

Song facts

From Wikipedia:

“Polythene Pam” is a song written by John Lennon, credited to Lennon–McCartney, and performed by the Beatles on their album Abbey Road. The song is part of the B-side medley.

Background and composition

The song was originally introduced during The Beatles sessions; a demo from the Esher Sessions can be found on Anthology 3. Lennon would describe this song, along with “Mean Mr. Mustard“, in The Beatles Anthology as “a bit of crap I wrote in India“.

In 1980, John Lennon said about “Polythene Pam“: “That was me, remembering a little event with a woman in Jersey, and a man who was England’s answer to Allen Ginsberg…I met him when we were on tour and he took me back to his apartment and I had a girl and he had one he wanted me to meet. He said she dressed up in polythene, which she did. She didn’t wear jack boots and kilts, I just sort of elaborated. Perverted sex in a polythene bag. Just looking for something to write about.” The song is sung in a very strong Liverpudlian “Scouse” accent. Lennon borrowed the acoustic guitar style in The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” for “Polythene Pam“.

Polythene is a British variant of the word polyethylene, a plastic material. The name ‘Polythene Pam‘ came from the nickname of an early Beatles’ fan from the Cavern Club days, named Pat Hodgett (now Dawson), who would often eat polythene. She became known as ‘Polythene Pat‘. She said in an interview, “I used to eat polythene all the time. I’d tie it in knots and then eat it. Sometimes I even used to burn it and then eat it when it got cold.”

Placement on Abbey Road

On the album Abbey Road, the song is linked with the previous song “Mean Mr. Mustard” musically, as the two run together without pause. The two songs are also linked narratively, since “Mean Mr. Mustard” mentions that the title character Mustard has a sister named Pam. Originally, the line “his sister Pam…” in the song was “his sister Shirley…“, but Lennon would change the line to contribute to the continuity of the Abbey Road side two medley. The song “Her Majesty” was originally set between “Mean Mr. Mustard” and “Polythene Pam“. “Polythene Pam” then segues into the following song, “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window“.

At 0:47, someone picks up a tambourine and, in the left channel, Paul McCartney can be heard saying “Yeah,” while Lennon says, “Great“. Compositionally, “Polythene Pam” ends with the final notes of the guitar solo, at which point Lennon says, “Well listen to that Mal.” (Referring to Mal Evans, the road manager of the Beatles.) Lennon laughs, followed by “Oh, look out!” and a sudden, nearly-inaudible “You should…” before the transition. Also, in the guitar solo, someone can barely be heard counting measure numbers.

The song also includes a bass guitar mistake by McCartney which was deliberately left in the master recording. During the instrumental response to the song’s second chorus of “yeah, yeah, yeah“, McCartney overran and corrected a bass glissando, resulting in an oscillating effect. Harrison and George Martin argued that it was effective for the song, and was retained. […]

From The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations:

• [a] stereo 14 Aug 1969. crossfaded 14 Aug 1969.
  UK: Apple PCS 7088 Abbey Road 1969.
  US: Apple SO-383 Abbey Road 1969.
  CD: EMI CDP 7 46446 2 Abbey Road 1987.

[Polythene Pam / She Came In Through The Bathroom Window] were recorded straight through. The crossfade joins this to the preceding song, Sun King / Mean Mr Mustard.

Last updated on November 29, 2016

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