The song Paul McCartney banned Weird Al Yankovic from releasing: “He didn’t want a parody”
It’s one thing to stand your moral ground, but entirely another when you’re Paul McCartney objecting to the potential for a parody cover because of a chicken.
Depending on the type of artist, when Weird Al Yankovic comes calling, it can either prove to be a blessing or a curse. On one hand, it’s a high honour, of sorts – you’re so famous that one of the most renowned musical comedians in the world is willing to encompass you in his illustrious repertoire. But on the other hand, it could be something that haunts you forever.
In the case of Macca, it was less to do with the prospect of a roast from Yankovic himself that he was hesitant towards than it was with the subject matter that was being proposed to go with it. His dietary requirement of vegetarian cuisine seems as though it would be an unlikely sticking point, but when you’re an international rock icon, apparently, these things really matter.
As it turned out, the former Beatle had no issue with the fact that Yankovic wanted to use Wings’s iconic hit ‘Live and Let Die’ for a cover. The problem was in the sense that he wanted to transform the rock anthem into ‘Chicken Pot Pie’, and being one of the world’s most famous vegetarians, there was a bit of consternation.
Put it this way, it probably wouldn’t have gone down all that well within his marriage either, given that Linda was famed for her vegetarian food brand, among other things. In this sense, lyrics such as, “When we were young Bernie’s Deli was down the block/ He made great liver pâté/ But if there’s one thing in this world that I like better than a corn beef on rye/ It’s chicken pot pie,” were more than slightly frowned upon.
Yankovic tried to plead in defence that it was meant as nothing more than a joke, but McCartney was having absolutely none of it. “Paul didn’t want me to do it because he’s a strict vegetarian and he didn’t want a parody that condoned the consumption of animal flesh,” the parodist later told Conan O’Brien.
But ever the eager writer, he did come up with some alternative lyrical suggestions. Yankovic added, “He said, ‘You can do something else like tofu pot pie.’ I said, ‘No, the chorus of my song will be ‘Bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk’ and tofu doesn’t make any noise. It’s not going to work.”
With that crushingly definitive blow that tofu was never going to be an adequate meat replacement, the ruling from Macca was final: Yankovic would not be allowed to record the song. Somewhat cheekily, however, the comedian managed to get away with performing the majority of ‘Chicken Pot Pie’ live during his sets in the 1990s.
It was a wonder McCartney never took him to court, but then again, the law definitely has bigger fish – or, indeed, tofu – to fry. The pair had been in each other’s orbits before, and it wasn’t the first time Yankovic had poked fun at the musician’s vegetarianism, but turning that mockery into a lasting legacy was evidently a step too far in their pretend beef.
