Music
Paul McCartney wrote songs about many subjects, including love, friendship, temporary secretaries, and yellow submarines. Few fans know he wrote a song about a milkshake.
Ram star Paul McCartney wrote songs about many subjects, including love, friendship, temporary secretaries, and yellow submarines. Few fans know he wrote a song about a milkshake. On the surface, the tune seems a lot more risque.
1 Paul McCartney song from ‘Ram’ was inspired by nonsense his children used to say
During a 2021 interview with PaulMcCartney.com, the “Silly Love Songs” singer discussed his early solo career. “I was very into surrealism at that particular time, so I wrote songs like ‘Monkberry Moon Delight,’ which is again totally surreal,” he said. “The word ‘monkberry’ actually came from our kids! That was how they said ‘milk’ when they were little — ‘Can I have some monk?’ — you know, in the way that kids get funny names for things. So, ‘Monkberry Moon Delight’ to me was like a milkshake!”
Paul contrasted his surrealist lyrics with his more recent work. “I haven’t done that recently — maybe it’s time to go back to it?” the “Band on the Run” singer said. “It was just a thing that I liked doing because it was fun and not too serious. If you’re not in the mood for writing a love song, then it’s not wise to try and write one, but you might be in the mood to write something a little crazy.”
‘Monkberry Moon Delight’ from ‘Ram’ sounds like it could be about sex or drugs
Nobody would ever come to the conclusion that “Monkberry Moon Delight” was about a milkshake just by listening to it. For starters, the track has an ominous vibe, largely thanks to Paul’s wild, screaming vocals. When people think of milkshakes, they think of the joys of comfort food, not rock ‘n’ roll screaming.
Beyond that, the lyric where the song mentions monkberry moon delight doesn’t seem to be about food. The line in question is “I gazed at that terrible sight / Of two youngsters concealed in a barrel / Sucking monkberry moon delight.” That line sounds more like a sexual metaphor than anything. Considering plenty of The Beatles’ songs and Paul’s solo songs are built around innuendo, fans should be forgiven if they assume there’s a risque meaning behind “Monkberry Moon Delight.” After all, people generally don’t refer to drinking a milkshake as “sucking” it.
Back when “Monkberry Moon Delight” came out in 1971, rock ‘n’ roll was awash in surreal songs. It was common for rock fans from the 1960s and 1970s to assume oddball songs were about drugs. Listeners thought tracks like The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” and “Puff, the Magic Dragon” by Peter, Paul and Mary were about illicit substances. “Monkberry Moon Delight” met the same fate.
How Paul McCartney’s ‘Monkberry Moon Delight’ performed
“Monkberry Moon Delight” was never a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune’s parent album, Ram, reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and lasted on the chart for 42 weeks.
The Official Charts Company reports “Monkberry Moon Delight” was not a hit in the United Kingdom either. There, Ram was even more popular. In the U.K., the record was No. 1 for two of its 25 weeks on the chart.
“Monkberry Moon Delight” isn’t one of Paul’s most popular or meaningful songs — but it has an interesting backstory.
