There Are 2 Bob Dylan References in Paul McCartney’s ‘Junior’s Farm’
There are two subtle Bob Dylan references in Paul McCartney‘s “Junior’s Farm.” However, they complete the Wings tune. Here’s what Paul had to say about them.
Years before Bob Dylan inspired Paul McCartney’s ‘Junior’s Farm,’ they smoked pot together
The first time Paul met Dylan was with The Beatles. He introduced the group to marijuana. In The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul said it blew their “tiny little minds.”
Dylan and his roadie turned up at The Beatles’ hotel room in New York City in the summer of 1964. The singer-songwriter had recently released Another Side of Bob Dylan, and The Beatles were starstruck. They’d admired each other from afar for years.
A little party commenced in the band’s hotel room. Then, Dylan disappeared into the back. The band thought he’d gone to the toilet. However, drummer Ringo Starr returned from the room looking “a bit strange.” Ringo announced to his bandmates that Dylan had pot. They asked him what it felt like. He told them the ceiling was moving and coming down.
That was all the rest had to hear. They practically ran into the back room to Dylan, who gave them each a puff. However, Paul said that The Beatles might’ve had too much of Dylan’s marijuana. After one puff, they thought it wasn’t working. So, they kept smoking. Then, suddenly, it hit them in the face, and they ran amuck.
“We were giggling, laughing at each other,” Paul wrote. “I remember George trying to get away, and I was sort of running after him. It was hilarious, like a cartoon chase. We thought, ‘Wow, this is pretty amazing, this stuff.'”
Years later, in the early 1970s, Paul started growing marijuana on his farm in Scotland. However, Dylan gave so much more to The Beatles than pot. He inspired them and continued to after they broke up. Dylan inspired Paul’s “Junior’s Farm.”
There are two Dylan references in Paul’s ‘Junior’s Farm’
Dylan wasn’t the only inspiration on Paul’s “Junior’s Farm.” Following The Beatles’ split, Paul and his family retreated to Paul’s Scottish farm. Staying there gave Paul the freedom to think after a hectic 10 or so years of being with The Beatles. It inspired Paul to write “Junior’s Farm,” specifically lyrics like: “Down to Junior’s Farm where I want to lay low.”
Events like Richard Nixon’s impeachment and skyrocketing grocery prices also inspired some of the song’s lyrics. While Paul’s own farm inspired him, Dylan also influenced the farm aspect. Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm” had come out almost a decade earlier, in 1965. Paul wrote that the song “definitely was an influence on this song.”
Meanwhile, the “Eskimo” in “Junior’s Farm” is “probably” Mighty Quinn from Dylan’s song “Quinn the Eskimo.”
The singer-songwriter also influenced an entire Wings album
Dylan didn’t just influence Paul’s “Junior’s Farm.” He inspired an entire album, at least in spirit.
In 1971, Paul and Wings released their debut album, Wild Life. During a 2018 interview on his website, Paul revealed that he wanted to record Wild Life as fast as Dylan.
Paul said, “Well, I wanted to make an album just like that! [Clicks his fingers.] And Bob Dylan had just done an album in a few days, kind of thing. So I thought, ‘Yeah,’ you know. ‘That’d be good. Give it a freshness.’ That was the approach for putting ‘Wild Life’ together.”
Wings were able to record the album fast. They finished it in eight days. However, that didn’t do it any favors. In The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, Roy Carr, and Tony Tyler called Wild Life “rushed, defensive, badly timed, and over-publicized.” It only reached No. 11 on the U.K. charts and No. 10 in the U.S.
Still, Dylan had given Paul the idea, and he continued to inspire the former Beatle.
