Original Version recorded August 20 1968
Ukulele version recorded February 22 2012
Suphajon ‘Tae’ Klinsuwan: Vocals
Warin ‘Pat’ McBlain: Vocals
David Barratt: Ukulele and everything else
Produced by David Barratt at The Abattoir Mobile, Bang Na, Thailand
Executive Producer: Wor Nor Bor
Written by Paul McCartney
Credited to Lennon & McCartney
ABOUT THE SONG
A solo recording by Paul McCartney, Wild Honey Pie was a singalong written in Rishikesh, India, and recorded at the end of the session for Mother Nature’s Son.
McCartney also recorded another demo, Etcetera, during the same session. I’ve never heard it so if you have a copy please send it to me.
Paul likes to use ‘we’ to indicate a group process that really didn’t exist on this track. It is jarring and ultimately more of an amateurish noise than anything else. But Patty Harrison liked it so somehow her vote ruled the day!? I guess John says he was okay with it, too, but I can’t help but wonder about the combined forces of Martin-McCartney trying to keep ‘Revolution 9’ off but allowing this.
Sometimes it helps to understand works of art (paintings, music, whatever) if you consider the moment when they were created.
In 1968, when the Beatles were recording songs like Wild Honey Pie and Revolution 9 and You Know My Name, Look up the Number, there was a social revolution going on around the western world. People were sort of waking up to realize that they could do whatever they felt like and no one could force stupid old rules on them.
The Beatles were the worldwide role models for this revolution. When you listened to a new Beatle album in 1968, you sat back and thought, "Gee–they’re doing anything they feel like and it sounds kind of cool. I want to do that too."
“Wild Honey Pie” is just musical sound crafted on tape. But it’s breaking the rules of what a "properly recorded song" is supposed to sound like. Lennon did the same with Revolution #9. If you were born after 1970, it’s very hard to understand the kind of suffocating rules and regulations that people used to live under….
Maybe today we’re actually creeping back to the way it used to be!
But what “Wild Honey Pie” is all about is FUN, which is why we asked Thai comedy duo and presenters of the Thai PBS show “Full English Breakfast” “Tae & Pat” to perform it. Sung/ranted in both Thai and English
Fun is the cornerstone of Thai culture – they call it ‘sanook’.
It is, therefore, no surprise the ukulele – itself synonymous with fun – has gripped this musical nation by the G-string. In the sunshine state the beat on the street is ‘Sanookulele!’
‘Uke Fever’ is sweeping Thailand, which is more than can be said for the local municipal workers. The name ‘Jason Mraz’ is on the lips of the MTV generation, which is no mean feat considering the twist-factor for Thai tongues. As TV educators, it is Tae and Pat’s mission to help the locals say ‘Jason Mraz’ and, as confirmed strummers themselves, they are also committed to spreading the charm of this ‘little guitar’ to an even wider audience via their weekly TV show, ‘English Breakfast’.
The guys jumped at the opportunity to join TBCOU project, especially when offered the track ‘Wild Honey Pie’. As neither is known for learning their lines for the TV show, this ‘lyric-lite’ number proved the ideal vehicle these lazy ukulele lovers.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Suphajon ‘Tae’ Klinsuwan: 28-year-old Tae spent his early years in the US. He thinks ‘pants’ are what you wear on your legs.
Warin ‘Pat’ McBlain: 14-year-old Pat is a confirmed anglophile and gets embarrassed by the word ‘pants’ because he thinks you’re talking about underwear.