Back in the U.S.S.R.

When you dive into *Back in the U.S.S.R.*, you encounter a song that starts with the sound of a plane landing, a detail that transports you directly to the atmosphere they sought to create. It is the track that opens the 1968 double album by The Beatles, popularly known as the White Album. What makes this song so particular is how it plays with the idea of returning home, but in this case, to the Soviet Union, subverting the patriotic nostalgia heard in songs like "Back in the U.S.A." by Chuck Berry or "California Girls" by The Beach Boys. The lyrics, written by Paul McCartney, imagine a Russian spy returning to his country after a mission in the United States, and the musical bridge is a celebration in the style of The Beach Boys, but with references to girls from different parts of the USSR.

The recording of this song had its peculiarities. It took place in August 1968 at EMI studios in London, with George Martin as producer. At that time, Ringo Starr had temporarily left the group, so the other members had to assemble a drum track by combining different takes. McCartney was responsible for the drums on the main take, and the vocals have a clear influence from Jerry Lee Lewis. McCartney's idea was to create a kind of parody of The Beach Boys, and the inspiration for the title came from the "I'm Backing the UK" campaign in January 1968. The song was released as a single in 1976, and years later, in 2003, McCartney performed it in Red Square in Moscow.