One of The Beatles’ most criticized and praised songs is “Helter Skelter”. Released in 1969 on their White Album, the song is a wild detour from their normal sound and is what many consider to be the precursor to hard rock and all of its sub-genres. The praise and scrutiny the single receives doesn’t just come from its music, but also its lyrics, and there is really one main reason as to why that is, and it has nothing to do with Paul McCartney‘s odd interpretation.
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If you are familiar with “Helter Skelter”, then you surely know the significant and dark context surrounding it. However, if you don’t, then it would behoove you to know that the famous cult leader, Charles Manson, had quite the attraction for the song, given that he believed The Beatles were prophets who encouraged him to carry out his actions in this song. Furthermore, he believed the song to be a metaphorical foreshadowing of an imminent race war and the demise of the white race.
Needless to say, that is not what the song is about. However, The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” doesn’t have one clear meaning, as its lyrics lend themselves to thousands upon thousands of interpretations. Paul McCartney, one of the original writers of the song, had one clear interpretation in mind, and we bet it probably doesn’t align with yours.
McCartney’s Meaning Is About a Rise and Fall, but Not One You Had in Mind
In his 1997 book, Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, McCartney revealed both the inspiration and original meaning of “Helter Skelter”. Originally, McCartney was struck with inspiration after reading a review of The Who’s “I Can See for Miles.” Recalling how the song came to be, McCartney stated, “I was always trying to write something different, trying to not write in character, and I read this and I was inspired, ‘Oh, wow! Yeah! Just that one little paragraph was enough to inspire me, to make me make a move.’”
“I was using the symbol of a helter-skelter [corkscrew-shaped slide] as a ride from the top to the bottom, the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, and this was the fall, the demise, the going down. You could have thought of it as a rather cute title, but it’s since taken on all sorts of ominous overtones because [Charles] Manson picked it up as an anthem, and since then quite a few punk bands have done it because it is a raunchy rocker,” added McCartney.
Yes, the inspiration and original meaning of “Helter Skelter” had to do with the Roman Empire. Who would have thought? John Lennon, the other writer, had a contrary view to McCartney’s. Instead of attaching the song to the most powerful empire in history, Lennon’s reading was far simpler, as he merely thought The Beatles’ song was about an old English fairground.
Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
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