“Rocky’s Revival” ( 2018, Watercolor and Gouache, 18″x22.5″)
This is a commemoration of the popular Beatles’ ballad from the album that may be considered their finest achievement.
Our scorned hero from the song of the same name, is depicted with a blackened eye, and traces of a lipstick smear on his cheek, ( a fleeting kiss goodbye ) as he awaits his rival in the saloon with gun in hand.
Here is a brief excerpt from an insightful commentary in the New Yorker – by Jordan Orlando, on the newly remastered release of
the Beatles’ White Album :
* “… already, blue notes intrude on the carnival: images of American landscapes, from Miami Beach to “the black mining hills of South Dakota,” juxtaposed with gun violence; the Saturday-matinée cowboy Rocky Raccoon receiving a fast-draw wound, followed, apparently, by divine grace…”
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-accidental-perfection-of-the-beatles-white-album?utm_source=facebook&mbid=social_facebook&utm_brand=tny&utm_social-type=owned&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR3ZBccquc8Dk1SRpm2lC47BYa68Oclp8-lpBFhI7RRaDGzoYxi0BFBWYzU
Lyrics
Now somewhere in the Black Mining Hills of South Dakota
there lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon
And one day his woman ran off with another guy
Hit young Rocky in the eye
Rocky didn’t like that
He said, “I’m gonna get that boy”
So one day he walked into town
Booked himself a room in the local saloon
And one day his woman ran off with another guy
Hit young Rocky in the eye
Rocky didn’t like that
He said, “I’m gonna get that boy”
So one day he walked into town
Booked himself a room in the local saloon
Rocky Raccoon checked into his room
Only to find Gideon’s Bible
Rocky had come, equipped with a gun
To shoot off the legs of his rival
His rival it seems, had broken his dreams
By stealing the girl of his fancy
Her name was Magill, and she called herself Lil
But everyone knew her as Nancy
Now she and her man, who called himself Dan
Were in the next room at the hoe down
Rocky burst in, and grinning a grin
He said, “Danny boy, this is a showdown”
But Daniel was hot, he drew first and shot
And Rocky collapsed in the corner
Only to find Gideon’s Bible
Rocky had come, equipped with a gun
To shoot off the legs of his rival
His rival it seems, had broken his dreams
By stealing the girl of his fancy
Her name was Magill, and she called herself Lil
But everyone knew her as Nancy
Now she and her man, who called himself Dan
Were in the next room at the hoe down
Rocky burst in, and grinning a grin
He said, “Danny boy, this is a showdown”
But Daniel was hot, he drew first and shot
And Rocky collapsed in the corner
Now the doctor came in, stinking of gin
And proceeded to lie on the table
He said, “Rocky, you met your match”
And Rocky said, “Doc, it’s only a scratch
And I’ll be better, I’ll be better, Doc, as soon as I am able”
And proceeded to lie on the table
He said, “Rocky, you met your match”
And Rocky said, “Doc, it’s only a scratch
And I’ll be better, I’ll be better, Doc, as soon as I am able”
Now Rocky Raccoon, he fell back in his room
Only to find Gideon’s Bible
Gideon checked out, and he left it, no doubt
To help with good Rocky’s revival
Only to find Gideon’s Bible
Gideon checked out, and he left it, no doubt
To help with good Rocky’s revival
Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul Mccartney
Rocky Raccoon lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
* ( excerpt from, “The Accidental Perfection of the Beatles’ White Album”, by Jordan Orlando in the New Yorker, November 2018 )
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