Beatles: Hey Bulldog Meaning

Song Released: 1968

Hey Bulldog Lyrics

sheepdog … standin’ in the rain
bullfrog … doin’ it again
some kind of happiness is measured out in miles
what makes you think you’re something special when you smile?

child-like … no one understands
jack knife … in your sweaty hands
some...

1. anonymous

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   Sep 5th 2021 !⃝

   It’s a song about J. Edgar Hoover. The Beatles knew they were probably under the microscope of Hoover - nicknamed “Bulldog.” This song was a fun way for them to indirectly strike back at him sarcastically.
2. anonymous

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   Feb 1st 2018 !⃝

   I think it's about getting to know your divine self. Bull God, you have horns in your head that are called Foreamen. For Amen. In other words, you can talk to me, when said, is standing at the door of your mind and knocking! You think you know me but you haven't got a clue- true words as we have not gone inside to know our "true" selves. Listen to your fears is our cosmic self waiting thru infinity for us to wake to our divine nature. Bull God. That's us.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
3. anonymous

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   Jan 26th 2016 !⃝

   I have thought for decades that the song is about Brian Jones.
4. anonymous

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   Jan 23rd 2012 !⃝

   I got the impression that this song is about someone telling a friend that they (the friend) think too much of themselves, and that they have actually deteriorated into something of a loser, and that's why they're lonely. But, that someone says that they still have great respect for their friend and that they'll talk to the friend if they feel lonely.
5. anonymous

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   Dec 19th 2010 !⃝

   This song is about Paul's bulldog. You guys look waaaaay too far into this. Have you even listened to the song?

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
6. thomasfly

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   Jun 8th 2009 !⃝

   This song is the first of Lennon's compositions that may be characterized as "lyrical impressionism," the most glaring / salient example of which is "I Am the Walrus."
   
   From WikiPedia: the "musical impressionism (of the 19th century) focused on suggestion and atmosphere rather than strong emotion or the depiction of a story."
   
   It’s not clear that Lennon consciously set out to create a new "artistic movement" in popular/rock music – in other words, that one day he said to himself, “I think I’ll write some songs that superficially appear to be nonsensical and meaningless – which, in fact, HAVE NO concrete meaning - but which, nonetheless, strongly suggest some kind of meaning … conveying an interpretation and / or feeling subliminally.”
   
   But, as if to acknowledge that he was “up to something,” "I Am the Walrus" itself refers to another example: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds;" and the last example by Lennon, "Come Together," contains the phrase, "he has walrus gumboot."
   
   Precisely why Lennon wrote such songs is open to speculation. Probably he wrote them because he could (and not many good songwriters can), but Lennon also seemed to enjoy being a bit inscrutable at times, as if his ability to mystify the masses were evidence of his intellectual superiority (which perhaps it was).
   
   Much of the mood of the song is created by the refrain, "you can talk to me - if you’re lonely, you can talk to me!" though like other examples of impressionistic lyrics, the song stirs one's feeling with aphorisms (little gems of truth) such as "some kind of innocence is measured out in years."
   
   The song is also an example of the wonderful interplay between Lennon and McCartney, two very different (to a certain degree, diametrically opposed) personalities, salient examples of which are "A Day in the Life" and "I've Got a Feeling."
   
   In this song, specifically, McCartney "corrupts" the ambiance of Lennon's avant-garde lyrics with his clowning at the end (which Lennon replies to, with his own clowning), turning it into a fun, rollicking, quintessentially rock-n-roll song - superbly illustrated in cartoon version in "Yellow Submarine."
   
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_fSLuWwS2c
   
   From WikiPedia: "Geoff Emerick, the Beatles' engineer, would subsequently claim this was the last song the band recorded that featured a team dynamic, with enthusiasm from every member."
   
   Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy" is yet another example of "lyrical impressionism."
7. Beatlenut

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   May 29th 2008 !⃝

   It's random stuff in their lives at the time.
   
   Sheepdog - Paul had a sheepdog named Martha
   
   Wigwam - this could come from "Paddy's Wigwam" a nickname given to the Catholic Church in Liverpool. It's shaped like a teepee outside, and there's a park beside it.
8. anonymous

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   Apr 13th 2008 !⃝

   This song sounds like a song about a young people who do criminal acts.
9. anonymous

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   Mar 30th 2008 !⃝

   A wigwam is the same thing as a teepee.
10. beatles921

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    Jan 12th 2008 !⃝

    I heard that the original title of this song was "Hey Bullfrog" however Paul was supposedly tripping on lsd and began barking like crazy while John was fininshing writing it and John was so amused by this that he changed the title of the song and recorded Paul's rediculous barking and that is whats heard at the end of the song
11. anonymous

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    Dec 29th 2006 !⃝

    It's a great song it probably doesn't have a meaning. I saw an interview with Larry Kane and John Lennon. He asked if the songs have meanings he said" no they don't so everyone can just settle down. Actually I find it quite funny though to watch everyone freaking out trying to discover what they mean".
12. capitalist

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    Oct 11th 2006 !⃝

    I have a spark but not a fire on this one. I will research two items and get back to y'all but here is what I think:
    
    The bulldog is england, and the "some kind of innocence" that is "measured out in years" concerns: (a) empire; and (b) a long history, both of which lennon is saying are nice laurels but you (england) have sat on them for so damn long you are regressing into a socialist mire of self-loathing, sweaty hands and general loser-ship. So england can talk to John (the beatles), if england is lonely she can commisserate w/the beatles, but at the end of the day I (john) am fighting against legal deportation back there and living here in the dakota, new york, new york, neeeeewwwww yorrrrrrk.
    
    Paraphrasing here: "even if it kills me."
    
    further research needed: what is a wigwam?
    
    Regards. A cap.

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