From: tp923083@jarrah.canberra.edu.au (Simon Porritt)
Subject: Re: "Bungalow Bill" - a theory?
Organization: Info Sci & Eng, University of Canberra, AUSTRALIA
Date: 16 Nov 92 00:13:04 GMT

In <8f1Eo_C00awYQNF0Qi@andrew.cmu.edu> "Jonathan D. Lyness" <jl6e+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:

>Hello!

>I was thinking about the posts about "The Continuing Story of Bungalow
>Bill" from a few days ago, and how several people agreed that it was one
>of the very silliest songs that John Lennon ever wrote. Something
>occured to me: could this song be a veiled reference to the Vietnam war?

>This may sound like a stretch, but bear with me for a minute. The war
>was certainly on everyone's minds in 1968, and while the Beatles weren't
>releasing any openly anti-Vietnam-War songs, it must have been on their
>minds too. Could this "cartoonish" song have been John's way of touching
>on the topic without getting seriously involved in a "statement" about
>the war to the public?

>Going through the song:

>"He went out tiger hunting[...]
>  In case of accidents he always took his mom
>  He's the all-American, bullet-headed[...]"

>-referring to the ground war fought in Vietnam, and the fairly young
>average age of the American soldiers; the "mom" might be the U.S.
>Government, which gave them the moral responsibility to "hunt"...

>"Deep in the jungle where the mighty tiger lies
>  Bill and his elephants were taken by surprise
>  So Captain Marvel[...]"

>- referring to the nature of the ground war, in which U.S. troops could
>be "taken by surprise" at any moment. I have no idea about "Captain
>Marvel", though it should be noted that the comic-book character had not
>been in use because of legal matters since the early 1950s, and was very
>popular during WWII - maybe a reference to the idealism with which that
>earlier war was fought, giving this "cartoonish" song a kind of mock
>happy ending? (I know, a stretch...:)

>"The children asked him if to kill was not a sin
>  `Not when he looks so fierce', his mommy butted in
>  `If looks could kill, it would've been us instead of him'"

>- when the soldier himself is asked directly by children how he has the
>right to kill, his "mommy" (again, the U.S. government) answers for him
>and gives him this right.  The "it would've been us instead of him" line
>is reminiscent of some of the standard 1960s justifications for
>eradicating communism.

>And the chorus,

>"Hey, Bungalow Bill,
>  What did you kill,
>  what did you kill?"

>- this sounds to me to be sung rather ironically, as if mocking the
>questioners - either the government, or the part of the public that
>supported the war - for being so eager to "win" by killing the enemy.



>So, what do you think of this theory? I'm usually reluctant to "read"
>meanings into songs, and realize that there's a danger in doing that too
>much (hey, maybe "Rocky Raccoon" was Hubert Humphrey, hoping to "shoot
>off the legs" of Nixon! :):) ), but I find this theory to be kind of
>intriguing all the same. Any thoughts?

That's rather cool. I'd have to say that that's a very tricky little
number you just pulled Jon. You do realise that of course they were
having a big party when they recorded it, don't you? It's quite possible
that in their festive mood they did decide to make a little statement. 
Unfortunately, Paul McCartney didn't even know the words to the next
verse when he recorded Rocky Raccoon, he just made them up as he went
along.


>-Jon

Simon