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The Beatles — Rocky Raccoon
Album: White Album
Avg rating:
7.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1309









Released: 1968
Length: 3:31
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Now somewhere in the black mountain hills of Dakota
There lived a young boy name o' Rocky Raccoon-a
And one day his woman ran off with another guy
Hit young Rocky in the eye
Rocky didn't like that
He said, "I'm gonna get that boy"
So one day he walked into town
Booked himself a room in the local saloon

Rocky Raccoon
Checked into his room
Only to find Gideon's Bible
Rocky had come
Equipped with a gun
To shoot off the legs of his rival

His rival, it seems
Had broken his dreams
By stealing the girl of his fancy
Her name was Magill
And she called herself Lil
But everyone knew her as Nancy

Now, she and her man
Who called himself Dan
Were in the next room at the hoedown
A-Rocky burst in
And grinning a grin
He said, "Danny, boy, this is a showdown!"

But Daniel was hot
And he drew first and shot
And Rocky collapsed in the corner
Aah

Da-d'n da da da da da
Daa-d'l da da da da da
Daa-d'l da da da da da
Da-da da da-da ndoo ndoo-doo-doo
Dooodle-doo-doo-doo ndoo-doo-dooo
Dooodle-doo-doo-doo ndoo-doo-dooo
Doo doodle-doo doo-doodle-doo
Doo-doodle-doo doo-doodle-doo
La-ta ndoo dloo-doo-doo

Now the doctor came in
Stinking of gin
And proceeded to lie on the table
He said, "Rocky, you met your match"
And Rocky said, "Doc, it's only a scratch
And I'll be better
I'll be better, Doc, as soon as I am able"

A-now Rocky Raccoon
He fell back in his room
Only to find Gideon's Bible (Daa da-da-da)
A-Gideon checked out (Poor)
And he left it no doubt (Rocky)
To help with good Rocky's revival (Ohhh)

Aah
Oh, yeah, yeah'n
Doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo doo-doo
Dooo doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo doo-doo
Dooo doo-doo-doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo doo-doo-doo doo-doo
Ndoo doo-doo-doo
Dooo doo-doo-doo-doo doo-doo doo
Come on, Rocky, boy
Dooo d'n-doo doo doo-doo
Come on, Rocky, boy
Doo doo doo doo doo-ta-doo ta-doo-ta-da
A-sorry, Rocky, da-da-da
Comments (173)add comment
 scrubbrush wrote:
As far as studio double albums from great bands go, I have to say that I rank this album just below:
1.  The Rolling Stone - Exile on Main Street
2.  Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
3. The Clash - London Calling
 

The Wall is missing! and The lamb lies down on broadway!
:-)
As far as studio double albums from great bands go, I have to say that I rank this album just below:
1.  The Rolling Stone - Exile on Main Street
2.  Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
3. The Clash - London Calling
The first stanza where he's not singing but speaking in an American accent reminds me of this masterpiece
 user4176 wrote:
 rdo wrote:
I-JUST-DO-NOT-GET-THIS
 
GET-A-SENSE-OF-HUMER


 

SENSE-OF-HUMMUS, yum yum!
I take this as the Beatles doing a Dylan-style song.   
 cara.lindsell wrote:

Yes!  Very well put, and exactly how I feel.  But it does make me recall how giddy I got when I saw them on TV -- and as I still get when watching a Special or one of their films -- at the age of 67!.  
 
I played the White Album so many times I wore out the grooves (had a crappy turn table like we teenage girls at the time had, right?)  It is definitely a universal classic and this song is hilarious.
 GTT wrote:
When I was a kid, everything the Beatles did was magical, and I loved this song.  I must admit, it sounds kind of silly 45 years later.
 
Yes!  Very well put, and exactly how I feel.  But it does make me recall how giddy I got when I saw them on TV -- and as I still get when watching a Special or one of their films -- at the age of 67!.  
 rdo wrote:
I-JUST-DO-NOT-GET-THIS
 
GET-A-SENSE-OF-HUMER


 GTT wrote:
When I was a kid, everything the Beatles did was magical, and I loved this song.  I must admit, it sounds kind of silly 45 years later.
 
downfall
When I was a kid, everything the Beatles did was magical, and I loved this song.  I must admit, it sounds kind of silly 45 years later.
And this is why we love RP!
Haven't heard this in ages. A very simple but quite likeable song.
This song is decent.  From anybody else, on any other album, it'd be acceptable, but the album and band bump it up one. 
 oldfart48 wrote:
one of their better moods{#Bananapiano}{#Cowboy}...post bubblegum.

 
Grandpa?  Is that you?

Forgettable?  I know all of these lyrics by heart and can sing it at the drop of a hat.  (A straight line if ever there was one, but I refuse to withdraw it.) 

 

burdell wrote:

McCartney wrote it. Wanted to lampoon folk singers. I think he did an excellent job of that. But this song is quite forgettable.


 
hippiechick wrote:
Didn't Ringo write this? The others always gave Ringo a few songs.

  
I think Tiny Tim wrote it, not sure, but possible.
It's his style  

 


-mute-
one of their better moods{#Bananapiano}{#Cowboy}...post bubblegum.
McCartney wrote it. Wanted to lampoon folk singers. I think he did an excellent job of that. But this song is quite forgettable.


 
hippiechick wrote:
Didn't Ringo write this? The others always gave Ringo a few songs.

  
I think Tiny Tim wrote it, not sure, but possible.
It's his style  
Love this song. . Haven't played it in years,but it was a guitar staple when I was a kid learning how to play,before whatever happened to jack my playing up(something I have no clue about,just happy for the gift from above)
I like it, too; a LOT.  Shows they could compose and play different styles of music, the entire purpose of the White Album, and the storyline is really funny.  "Doc it's only a scratch."
Is that a tack piano?
Ringo did not write the songs they ''gave'' him: he just sang them. 

hippiechick wrote:
Didn't Ringo write this? The others always gave Ringo a few songs.

 


 LongGoneDaddy wrote:

each time you check into a hotel, ever thought of writing "Rocky was here" in the Gideon bibles?



 
Just reached over and did it in my hotel room....

Theres just something about this that I love. Don't know why, the honky tonk piano? 
 Stratocaster wrote:
Been a rabid Beatles fan since I remember liking music.  But this is not their best work, and only gets a 6 from me.

I always contend that the White Album should have been trimmed from a double to a single album.

That's how I have it in my iTunes :) 
 
Agreed. I could have done without "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill," too. 
I-JUST-DO-NOT-GET-THIS
This seems so inconsequential after that wonderful Ali Farka Toure piece.
I may be guilty of "cult of personality" a bit here . . . but I love the Beatles and all of their songs . . . even this "filler" as someone below put it.

Mike, the Beatles "yes" man -> {#Yes}


Everybody in my church loves this song...

 
This song always brings a smile to my face, it is one of my favorite Beatles songs.
..in celebration of the first release (Love Me Do) of The Beatles (05.Oct`1962)..?..

..i'll never complain about a Beatles tune..  {#Good-vibes} 

each time you check into a hotel, ever thought of writing "Rocky was here" in the Gideon bibles?


 WonderLizard wrote:

IMHO, the sound improvements are striking, especially through good speakers or good headphones. And I think the mono releases pretty much top the stereo releases before Revolver, the first album that was deliberately mixed for stereo, which Martin still didn't get right until Sgt. Pepper's. I'm pretty much a fanatic—I was 14 when they first appeared on Ed Sullivan—and I've bought both the stereo and mono sets. Both represent improvements in the sound quality, but the mono set is more fun to listen to.
 
Thank you, WonderLizard.  In reading your comments, I respect your humble opinion(s).
Didn't Ringo write this? The others always gave Ringo a few songs.
 LastChance wrote:
Is there that much of a difference between the newly mastered releases and the previous releases?
 
IMHO, the sound improvements are striking, especially through good speakers or good headphones. And I think the mono releases pretty much top the stereo releases before Revolver, the first album that was deliberately mixed for stereo, which Martin still didn't get right until Sgt. Pepper's. I'm pretty much a fanatic—I was 14 when they first appeared on Ed Sullivan—and I've bought both the stereo and mono sets. Both represent improvements in the sound quality, but the mono set is more fun to listen to.
 LastChance wrote:
Is there that much of a difference between the newly mastered releases and the previous releases?
 

The last round is noticably better than any previous.  Worth buying for sure if you still like hearing them all the time.
A folksy attempt by The Beatles...just one of the lesser tracks from this lopsided and unusual album. Never really liked this tune much...there are so many better tunes on this album....surprised this one gets the attention. Then again, having said that...I'm refreshed to hear this instead of the classic and tired 'Back in the USSR'...or 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'....
Been a rabid Beatles fan since I remember liking music.  But this is not their best work, and only gets a 6 from me.

I always contend that the White Album should have been trimmed from a double to a single album.

That's how I have it in my iTunes :) 
for some reason, this song makes me happy.  it must be some kinda nostalgic thing.  it didn't work so swell fer rocky though...
best Beatles song ever
 BikeCoachDave wrote:

I have heard this song all my life, (im 45, so I was only a handful of years late to the party), but I just dont get it. Wish I did because I realize the magnitude of the Beatles and the importance of their impact, but I just..dont..get it.



 
 I sort of agree with you. The White Album was a mix of killers and fillers. Although clever, this tune falls into the latter.

I have heard this song all my life, (im 45, so I was only a handful of years late to the party), but I just dont get it. Wish I did because I realize the magnitude of the Beatles and the importance of their impact, but I just..dont..get it.



 bluedot wrote:
Paul trying to pull off an American southern drawl on top of his English accent is just too funny!

 
Quite. A Scouser doing Hillbilly is as convincing as Dick van Dyke's Cock-er-nee accent in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Paul trying to pull off an American southern drawl on top of his English accent is just too funny!

Too cute.
 jimbaca wrote:
Somewhat mediocre for the Beatles which makes it better than only 98% (instead of 99%) of all other songs played on RP.
 
Um..not sure why you are listening to RP then...

Love it, love it!  Hi Kitty!
c'mon a 10? - don't think so
Oh come on people ! Let's say No Beatles up to this day and four guys with that weird haircut appeared on Letterman or whatever show playing just about anything from their catalog and it wouldn't be an instant hysteria....??
It works best as part of the entire album between Piggies and Dont Pass Me By.  Beatles are not my favorite but love the White Album. 
I like a lot of their work, but this one just drives me crazy.   They were sure ground breakers;I saw them on their firs US tour.
Beatles For Rent     by rising70.  
Beatles For Rent by rising70
https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_first_rays/

.


The beatles were good not God - 4/10 for this one from me
Somewhat mediocre for the Beatles which makes it better than only 98% (instead of 99%) of all other songs played on RP.
 ulibcn wrote:
nice... I'll give it a 5

what, it's the Beatles? ah, sorry, then I'll have to give it a 10
 
My sentiments exactly

  
romeotuma wrote:

This is a great tongue-in-cheek song...  witty Beatles...  love it...
 
romeotuma wrote:

And this song is soooo good for the ears...

Did you need to remind yourself how good this song was?{#Lol}


Is there that much of a difference between the newly mastered releases and the previous releases?
 seedeater wrote:
If you were LOST on an island and you could only listen to one band, who would it be? 

Gotta be the Beatles for most.
 
The emergency services wave-band

Very nice, havent heard this since i dont know!!

 Stefen wrote:
Helluva story!
 
I'll never hear this song the same again, since my Evidence professor last year taught it as his first "case". (Yes, I loved the class :)


Chuck Berry - "Rock 'n' Roll Music" Live  

"  "Rock and Roll Music" is a song written and originally recorded by Chuck Berry which became a hit single in 1957, and was later covered by many artists, notably The Beatles"



Helluva story!
FluorideFreeMN
(Central Minnesota)
Posted: Jan 13, 2009 - 18:40 < Reply >

 spiritual76 wrote:

funny....never heared this song before. nice!{#Dance}


 

no way!


Awe come on!  I must have heard a hundred Beatles tunes by age 10, but not this one.  This is the only radio station on which I have ever heard this one (yes, I own the White Album).  You can't really be surprised someone hasn't heard it before.  It is not a well-known song, unless you're living in your Beatles bubble. 

By the way, it's quite corny, and I for one don't like it at all.

 keller1 wrote:
 . . . the white album really isn't very good . . .
 
{#Lol} Good one! (That was supposed to be funny, right?)

 seedeater wrote:
If you were LOST on an island and you could only listen to one band, who would it be? 

Gotta be the Beatles for most.
 
Thin White Rope.   Their version of "Some Velvet Morning" is still the track I hope to die to (preferably by being shot by Jessica Alba's jealous husband)
If you were LOST on an island and you could only listen to one band, who would it be? 

Gotta be the Beatles for most.
I think this song is one of a handful on this album that proves that these guys could write just about anything and it would sell. 

I still like it though - it was nice to see them do music that was a little silly - and a lot different.  It beats the hell out of Revelution #9 (IMHO)
 spiritual76 wrote:

funny....never heared this song before. nice!{#Dance}


 

no way!
nice... I'll give it a 5

what, it's the Beatles? ah, sorry, then I'll have to give it a 10
 spiritual76 wrote:

funny....never heared this song before. nice!{#Dance}


 

{#Eek}

funny....never heared this song before. nice!{#Dance}


 Imkirok wrote:


He was a pitcher for the Yankees, I think.

/going straight to Hell

 
OMG! {#Roflol}{#Roflol} Thanks for the laugh! {#Lol}



thewiseking wrote:
another trite dated McCartney nugget we can all do without


indeedy! one wonders what would happen if Louis Vuitton bags started songwriting, would all the "fans" give them 8-10 ratings! come on....this basically sucks, just cause its the beatles (cockroaches, to our yanky cousins) they get high scores, as do all their songs! bizarre bizarre (ozric tenticles!)
PS yes, they do have a long history of shaping music, but not ALL of their tunes are good.........
good night!


 MojoJojo wrote:
According to iTunes, listeners who purchased this also purchased, "Grandma got run over by a reindeer"...
 

{#Yes}{#Roflol}
 MojoJojo wrote:
According to iTunes, listeners who purchased this also purchased, "Grandma got run over by a reindeer"...
 
Umm ... it's not available on iTunes. How could that be?

another trite dated McCartney nugget we can all do without
AH, les Beatles, toujours aussi fabuleux. Merci à eux !   {#Clap}
I think this was a tribute to Bob Dylan. 
fab4fan wrote:
You can't possibly have heard all of his solo/Wings music his first solo album McCartney where he played every instrument by himself at age 27,and played them all great,is a very good album,so is Red Rose Speedway, his critically acclaimed Band On The Run album where only he and Denny Laine played every instrument and Venus and Mars is a great rock Wings album from start to finish! And he produced all of these albums by himself too. I think his best post Beatles sound was 1970-1975 though.
Yeah, Band on the Run and Venus and Mars are really good records. The rest of Macca's solo stuff isn't that hot.
fab4fan wrote:
I guess you can't hear how truly *awful* Led Zeppelin songs sound because this song is a ZILLION times better!!!!
I'm with firery trigon (sp?) here, and, not insignificantly, George Martin, who thought the white album and Let It Be were the sound of the Fabs losing their way --- the white album really isn't very good. I mean, Ob La Effin Di? The Fabs made some timeless records --- Abbey Road, especially --- but this ain't one of em. And easy on the sweeping Zep generalizations --- their hit to miss ratio was as least as good as the Fabs.
fab4fan wrote:
You can't possibly have heard all of his solo/Wings music his first solo album McCartney where he played every instrument by himself at age 27,and played them all great,is a very good album,so is Red Rose Speedway, his critically acclaimed Band On The Run album where only he and Denny Laine played every instrument and Venus and Mars is a great rock Wings album from start to finish! And he produced all of these albums by himself too. I think his best post Beatles sound was 1970-1975 though.
I worry about you.
fab4fan wrote:
The White album is mostly *brilliant* and they did so many different styles of music so well! And they wrote and played some of their hardest great rock on this album,John's Yer Blues,Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey,Paul's Back In The USSR,Birthday,Helter Skelter which has been rightfully called one of the first heavy metal songs,and George's While My Guitar Gently Weeps!
Hm, I wonder if that's my problem with it... it feels like a hollow collection of imitations. They don't have any meaning or truth, just "And now the Beatles do honky tonk! And now they're making fun of the Beach Boys!" The ones that feel more authentic are the ones I like.
fab4fan wrote:
The White album is mostly *brilliant* and they did so many different styles of music so well!...
Yeh. "You had to be there." I can remember it so well: us sitting in our student house, gathered round my mate's ludicrously expensive hifi, and watching reverentially as he placed Side 1 on the turntable for the first time. (This was well before every sodding track was hyper-marketed weeks in advance in the media: we had no idea what to expect.) Every track on the two LPs was an exciting new mystery - every single track, and imho they all still live on as "classic break-throughs". Jeez - I sound like - and am - a cheesy old git. Damn! It happened to me, too!
I remember being 16, and at a trailer park in South Jersey, in the pine barrens WITH THE JERSEY DEVIL. We used to sing this song all the time, every single word. I can still do it. One day, driving down a road, we thought we saw the Jersey Devil. It was a BIG ASS owl. Very scary.
firerytrigon wrote:
One of my all time most hated tracks.
I guess you can't hear how truly *awful* Led Zeppelin songs sound because this song is a ZILLION times better!!!!
kismet700 wrote:
I was always more a Lennon fan than McCartney but this is one of his better songs, in my opinion. I dislike most of his post-beatles stuff.
You can't possibly have heard all of his solo/Wings music his first solo album McCartney where he played every instrument by himself at age 27,and played them all great,is a very good album,so is Red Rose Speedway, his critically acclaimed Band On The Run album where only he and Denny Laine played every instrument and Venus and Mars is a great rock Wings album from start to finish! And he produced all of these albums by himself too. I think his best post Beatles sound was 1970-1975 though.
natural_tools wrote:
Sorry, but I just don't like the white album. Over-indulgent, chaotic and generally makes me change the station. This is what happens when you get so popular that people won't tell you when you're making a mess. There are a few good singles mixed in, but not this one. Just my opinion.
The White album is mostly *brilliant* and they did so many different styles of music so well! And they wrote and played some of their hardest great rock on this album,John's Yer Blues,Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey,Paul's Back In The USSR,Birthday,Helter Skelter which has been rightfully called one of the first heavy metal songs,and George's While My Guitar Gently Weeps!
Odyzzeuz wrote:
My 16-year-old daughter asked me the other day what this song is about, and I just had to laugh. Like so much of the Beatles' stuff, it's mostly just a lot of pleasant nonsense.
What you just said is full of nonsense! Do you know what Let It Be,Julia,For No One,You Won't See Me, I'm Looking Through You,Don't Let Me Down, In My Life,We Can Work It Out,A Day In The Life,Help,etc etc are really about?! NOT nonsense!!!!
My 16-year-old daughter asked me the other day what this song is about, and I just had to laugh. Like so much of the Beatles' stuff, it's mostly just a lot of pleasant nonsense.
Faulplz wrote:
I have to agree here - though it hasn't always been intolerable for me, I do find that I hate it a little bit more every time I hear it. Perhaps it's like hearing your spouse tell the same joke 50 times over the course of your relationship?
Oh, THAT's why....
According to iTunes, listeners who purchased this also purchased, "Grandma got run over by a reindeer"...
One of my all time most hated tracks.
my gosh get a sense of humor. just go with it, it's fun to listen to.
blinkblink wrote:
Ditto, one of my least favourites.
One of my FAVORITES!!!
Faulplz wrote:
I have to agree here - though it hasn't always been intolerable for me, I do find that I hate it a little bit more every time I hear it. Perhaps it's like hearing your spouse tell the same joke 50 times over the course of your relationship?
I was just thinking, thank God I don't have to jam up my 10s with another Beatles tune (my 10s seem heavy on Beatles). I dislike this one intensely. More of a toss off than 909 but way more pretentious. 4
maxmox wrote:
How self-referential. No-one owns culture and if someone gets the goods on yours it's time for you to look outside your box.
Huh?
Alpine wrote:
I like most Beatles music. This has always been intolerable for me.
I have to agree here - though it hasn't always been intolerable for me, I do find that I hate it a little bit more every time I hear it. Perhaps it's like hearing your spouse tell the same joke 50 times over the course of your relationship?
lmic wrote:
I used to feel exactly this way about the W.A.. Then it hit me - this is their novelty/parody album - working on a totally different level of fun and whimsy than most of their stuff. Rocky here for example, pays homage to barrelhouse ragtime, "Back in the USSR" to Beach Boys-style surf music, etc.
How self-referential. No-one owns culture and if someone gets the goods on yours it's time for you to look outside your box.
freddyfender wrote:
Jesus who?
He was a pitcher for the Yankees, I think. /going straight to Hell
gjeeg wrote:
I picture McCartney and the boys watching westerns on US TV while holded up in hotels while the world went mad about them, and then getting inspired to write something like this.
Yep, Close but it was in India
natural_tools wrote:
Sorry, but I just don't like the white album. Over-indulgent, chaotic and generally makes me change the station.
I used to feel exactly this way about the W.A.. Then it hit me - this is their novelty/parody album - working on a totally different level of fun and whimsy than most of their stuff. Rocky here for example, pays homage to barrelhouse ragtime, "Back in the USSR" to Beach Boys-style surf music, etc.
God, I used to play this to death at campfires and other unappropriate places, wondering why everyone suddenly started to crawl to their tents Still like the song, though.
natural_tools wrote:
Sorry, but I just don't like the white album. Over-indulgent, chaotic and generally makes me change the station.
This from someone who has 6 Moody Blues or Pink Floyd tunes rated 10's.
Okay, now I'm singing "Don't Pass Me by, Don't make me cry, Don't make me bluuuueeeeee....." in my head.
I like the piano work and melody, which counts for something, at least.
Alpine wrote:
I like most Beatles music. This has always been intolerable for me.
Ditto, one of my least favourites.
I like most Beatles music. This has always been intolerable for me.
classic.......the kinda of bug that never dies !
natural_tools wrote:
Sorry, but I just don't like the white album. Over-indulgent, chaotic and generally makes me change the station. This is what happens when you get so popular that people won't tell you when you're making a mess. There are a few good singles mixed in, but not this one. Just my opinion.
I agree with you thinking that beatles white album surely should been really godlike if at the time they provided to choose only 12 or 13 good songs for a single, but mighty album.... anyway I think at rocky rackoon as one of the best songs in the album (and one of the best Paul's songs of ourse)
One of their greatest, without any doubt.
Augustus wrote:
i forever hear shminking of gin.
Me too! but I'm grateful to hear the work they put in in the studio to get to where they got.
Sorry, but I just don't like the white album. Over-indulgent, chaotic and generally makes me change the station. This is what happens when you get so popular that people won't tell you when you're making a mess. There are a few good singles mixed in, but not this one. Just my opinion.
Great Paul song on the White Album
i forever hear shminking of gin.
Bah. You guys and your "better Beatles songs to play.". Enjoy this one. And be happy
Mary_Jane wrote:
my favorite beatles song ever. period.
??? I am speechless. I am without speech. Must be some sort of nostalgia thing for you. This is pretty much at the bottom of their repertoire, along with Yellow Submarine, for me.
freddyfender wrote:
Jesus who?
Trouble wasn't with Jesus - it was with Ray Davis. The Beatles were more popular than the Kinks and that is the real travesty