"Back in the U.S.S.R." is a song by The Beatles written by Paul McCartney (John Lennon shares songwriting credits), and which opens the double-disc album The Beatles (a.k.a. The White Album).

The song describes: a bad flight from the United States to the Soviet Union on board a British BOAC airplane; the "superior" beauty of Soviet women over those of the Western world; the sound of balalaikas ringing; and the incredible fortune of returning to a communist state.

The song was a parody of Chuck Berry's Back in the U.S.A. and the Beach Boys' California Girls, also containing a reference to Georgia on My Mind. The title was inspired in part by Harold Wilson's "I'm Backing Britain " campaign.

A conservative American backlash against the song rapidly ensued, citing the song as evidence of left-wing Beatle propaganda. McCartney's recent confession of having used LSD (combined with Lennon's assertion that the Beatles were "bigger than Jesus") made The Beatles the target of a new anti-rock campaign. A flustered McCartney responded: "Back In The USSR is a hands-across-the-water-song...They like us out there. Even though the bosses in the Kremlin may not, the kids do."

Due to the backlash, McCartney never performed the song live until he headlined at Glastonbury 2004.

"Back in the USSR" was released by Parlophone as a single in the UK in 1976. It featured the song "Twist and Shout" on Side B.

A note of trivia: The name to this song is featured in a recent NPR puzzle from Will Shortz as the answer to the question, "What popular 60's song name can be formed from the letters of 'Sick Sunbather'."

External links

• Song lyrics
• All Music Guide review
• Alan W. Pollack's Notes On...