Video Classics: The Beatles – ‘Why Don’t We Do It in the Road’

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When Spring is in full bloom, the weather warms, and blossoms are on the tree, it is only natural that people’s minds turn to tender thoughts of love. Throughout the ages, the gentle words of poets and artists have given voice to our fairer emotions and the noblest of human affections. Century after century, artists have spoken for so many of us when we have trouble expressing the depth of feeling within our hearts, from Plato to Shakespeare to Robert Frost. But perhaps most poignant is the hauntingly beautiful phrase by the Beatles that offers up the sum of human longing in the simple, elegant words ‘Why don’t we do it in the road?’

Well, maybe not.

Perhaps the single “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road” would sound a bit more elegant if readers knew a bit of background from its creator, Paul McCartney, who gained inspiration for the song from an experience he had while on a spiritual retreat in India. From Wikipedia …

“A male [monkey] just hopped on the back of this female and gave her one, as they say in the vernacular. Within two or three seconds he hopped off again and looked around as if to say, ‘It wasn’t me,’ and she looked around as if there’d been some mild disturbance … And I thought … that’s how simple the act of procreation is … We have horrendous problems with it, and yet animals don’t.”

Again, maybe not.

In all seriousness, “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road” (which appeared on the Beatles’ self-titled album also known as ‘The White Album’) was never meant to be great art, just a fun and entertaining little number that McCartney knocked off one day. Unfortunately, it came late in the band’s career, and John Lennon was none too happy that Paul had gone off with Ringo Starr to record the song, leaving him and George Harrison out of the loop. He talked about the resentment in later interviews, while McCartney downplayed the incident, saying Lennon and Harrison were busy finishing something up so Starr and he just recorded the song quickly, almost as a lark. He also pointed out that Lennon had gone off to record his own songs, too (like “Julia” and “Revolution 9?). It was a bit of contention that remained unresolved even up to the time of Lennon’s death.

The original recording can be found below, with McCartney providing vocals, keyboard, guitar and bass, and Ringo Starr providing drums and hand claps. Because the song came so soon before the band’s breakup, neither a promotional video nor live performance video exists.

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