The Beatles Plus 50 It was fifty years ago today…

Like “Sun King” and “Mean Mr. Mustard,” “Polythene Pam” and “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” were recorded as a unit, then stitched into the larger fabric of the medley. In this case it’s a John song and a Paul song smashed together, but they still fit.

Both are based on real events, more or less. The story behind “Pam” goes back to 1963, when John hung out with Liverpool poet and personality Royston Ellis, whom he called the “converging point of rock’n’roll and literature.” Said John:

I had a girl and he had one he wanted me to meet. He said she dressed up in polythene, which she did. She didn’t wear jackboots and kilt, I just sort of elaborated. Perverted sex in a polythene bag. Just looking for something to write about.

This makes one wonder if there might not have been more to “Bagism” that John and Yoko were letting on.

As for “Bathroom Window,” a fan did once really crawl in through Paul’s bathroom window, or maybe it was one of the Moody Blues’; details are murky. It seemed cute and harmless at the time — things like that were less creepy before the Manson Family.

The Super Deluxe Edition includes take 27 of both (take 39 was the master). At the beginning of “Pam,” you can hear Paul trying to give John some suggestions about the structure of the song. “If you don’t do so much to start off with, cause you blow it all… you give away all your best bits.” It might be good advice, but John does not seem inclined to listen. Instead he talks about the drumming, comparing Ringo to the Dave Clark Five’s drummer — which is, let’s see… Dave Clark. Hmm, I never knew that. This “was clearly not meant as as a compliment,” according to Geoff Emerick; the boys from Liverpool looked down on their erstwhile Tottenham rivals.

There is also a reference to the Who: “It’s like ‘Tommy’ in here.” It’s not clear from the context if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

One little variant: You’ll notice that Paul sings,

So I quit the police department
Got myself a proper job

Instead of “steady job.” The variant is better, I think; “steady” never seemed quite right. But that’s neither here nor there, really. Truth be told, I don’t have any way to end this thing. It’s Christmas Eve, give me a break.