|
John said that 'Mean Mr. Mustard' was inspired by a newspaper story about a miser who concealed his cash wherever he could in order to prevent people forcing g him to spend it. The line about stuffing a 'ten bob note' (a British ten shilling note) up his nose John admitted was his own invention, claiming that it had nothing to do with snorting cocaine. Tony Bramwell believes another colourful London character also provided John with inspiration for this song. "There was an old 'bag lady' who used to hang around the Knightsbridge end of Hyde Park, close to the army barracks," he remembers. "He had all her possessions in plastic bags and slept in the park. I'm sure that she had something to do with the song." Written in India, 'Mean Mr. Mustard' was recorded with 'Sun King' in one continuos piece. In the original version, Mr. Mustard had a sister called Shirley but John changed it to Pam when he realized that it could more easily segue into 'Polythene Pam'. |
|