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Commonwealth

The Beatles,

Let It Be (Disc 5)

I posted this about a year ago, but it seems particularly relevant right now so I’m posting it again.

The Beatles - Commonwealth

from Get Back Sessions - Unreleased

This track, when combined with Get Off White Power, clearly shows that the origins of “Get Back” were much more political than the end result.

From Wikipedia:

Around the time he was developing the lyrics to “Get Back”, McCartney satirised the “Rivers of Blood speech” by former British Cabinet ministerEnoch Powell in a brief jam that has become known as the “Commonwealth Song”. The lyrics included a line “You’d better get back to your Commonwealth homes”. The “Commonwealth Song” had no musical resemblance to “Get Back”, but gives insight into the thinking behind the song’s lyrics. On 9 January Paul introduced “Get Back” to the group, with the “Sweet Loretta” verse very near to its finished version. Improvising various temporary lyrics led to what has become known in Beatles folklore as the “No Pakistanis” version.^[7] This version is more racially charged, satirising right wing attitudes toward immigrants in America and the UK: “…don’t need no Puerto Ricans living in the USA” and “don’t dig no Pakistanis taking all the people [sic] jobs”.^[8]

I’ve got lots more Behind The Beatles stories here.