The dark truth behind The Beatles’ most erotic song
While The Beatles were revered for many reasons, their image didn’t typically include an affinity for the seedier elements of life. They generally left that side of things to The Rolling Stones, who were more comfortable embracing that side of rock and roll. However, on rare occasions, those darker aspects still found a way to creep into The Beatles’ world.
One subject that was largely off the table for The Beatles, though, was sex, which didn’t align with their clean-cut reputation. There are a couple of songs written by the various members of the Fab Four that quiver with a certain sensual romance. For example, take ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ from Paul McCartney’s first solo album. The track sees McCartney do his best to shed his ‘cute image’ and howls for Linda like never before.
Furthermore, there’s ‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?’, which appears sensual at first but was actually written about monkeys. Beyond that, The Beatles’ discography contains only minor references to sex and very few songs that use sex as their subject matter. As a result, the Fab Four were seen as whiter-than-white clean souls, which was somewhat of a contrast compared to the dangerous image that followed The Rolling Stones.
The Beatles’ creations mostly had safe, inoffensive lyrics that could be played in a car full of children. However, they did record one song that certainly didn’t meet that criteria, which saw the band hit out at the predatory sexual advances of a certain Maharishi. As the years passed, John Lennon became more familiar with using material from his own life as the inspiration for his songs. By the mid-1960s, the musician had taken a leaf out of Bob Dylan’s book and started writing in a more autobiographical style, crafting classic tracks like ‘She Said She Said’ and ‘In My Life’.
In the group’s early days, this concept was alien to the Fab Four, but once Lennon adopted the method, his songwriting improved significantly. As he experienced slices of life, it would soon play out on the next Beatles record.
During The Beatles’ trip to India in 1968, John started writing songs based on real people. Take ‘Dear Prudence‘, for example, about Mia Farrow’s sister. ‘Sexy Sadie’, meanwhile, focuses on Mia herself, though she is not the titular Sadie.
The Beatles’ time in India was a highly publicised affair and ended as a far cry from the secluded getaway Harrison had originally envisioned. As well as their respective wives, The Beatles invited fellow musicians Donovan and Mike Love, not to mention both Farrow sisters. For a while, everything was as tranquil as the gang had hoped, but things turned much darker after an allegation surfaced that the Maharishi made a non-consensual sexual advance at Mia Farrow.
Lennon promptly confronted the Maharishi. “I was the spokesman – whenever the dirty work came, I actually had to be the leader – and I said ‘We’re leaving,'” John recalled during a conversation with Rolling Stone.
“‘Why?’ he asked, and all that shit and I said, ‘Well, if you’re so cosmic, you’ll know why.'” Just before returning to England, John sat down to vent his frustrations and ended up with ‘Sexy Sadie’.
“It was the last piece I wrote before I left,” he told Playboy. Initially, the piece featured the line “Ma-ha-rishi, what have you done, you made a fool”. Later, George Harrison told Lennon that it sounded ridiculous and that it would be better to change ‘Maharishi’ to ‘Sexy Sadie’.
Harrison’s suggestion was likely informed by his lack of faith in the initial rumour. “Someone started the nasty rumour about Maharishi, which swept the media for years,” George said in Anthology. “[But] this whole piece of bullshit was invented. Just go ask Mia Farrow,” he added.
While Farrow hasn’t spoken in detail about the experience, according to Elle, she once wrote of the ordeal, “Suddenly I became aware of two surprisingly male, hairy arms going around me.” This incident led to her leaving the ashram, and The Beatles also distancing themselves from the Maharishi.
At the time of the Indian retreat, Farrow had endured a similar rise to The Beatles, albeit in a different field. In addition to being a Hollywood rising star, her marriage to the much older Frank Sinatra had reached breaking point, and she desperately needed an escape from the chaos. However, just like for The Beatles, the trip didn’t have the desired effect on Farrow.
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