How The Beatles’ ‘Rocky Raccoon’ Inspired XTC’s ‘Dear God’ (Maybe)

TL;DR:

• Andy Partridge was asked if The Beatles’ “Rocky Raccoon” influenced XTC’s “Dear God.”
• He discussed how a book inspired “Dear God.”
• The Beatles’ “Rocky Raccoon” was covered by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.

XTC’s “Dear God” may have been inspired by The Beatles‘ “Rocky Raccoon.” A member of XTC explained why people identified him with “Rocky Raccoon” during his time in college. In addition, “Rocky Raccoon” was covered by Micky Dolenz of The Monkees.

XTC’s Andy Partridge could only play The Beatles’ ‘Rocky Raccoon’ in college

Andy Partridge is a singer and songwriter from the band XTC. In the 2013 book The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters, Partridge was asked if Paul McCartney’s guitar picking on “Rocky Raccoon” influenced XTC’s “Dear God.” “Not totally, no,” he replied. “My nickname at Swindon Art College was Rocky because ‘Rocky Raccoon’ was the only song I could play through at the time.”

The interviewer joked Partridge wasn’t called “Rocky” because of his Rocky Balboa-style athleticism. “Exactly,” he said, laughing. “I was so skinny at the time I wouldn’t wear short-sleeved shirts; my arms were like a knot in a piece of fishing line. I was the youngest one in the class, 15, and everybody else was a lot older than me. They made a special exemption because they said I was artistically talented. There was a degree of bullying; they’d stand me on the desk and say, ‘Play that song, come on, play it, Rocky.’

“But did ‘Dear God’ come from ‘Rocky Raccoon?'” he added. “Possibly. Sometimes you’re dicking around trying to work out a song and you find one of your own. That’s how ‘Books Are Burning’ came about. I was trying to find the chord structure to The Beach Boys’ ‘I Get Around.'”

Andy Partridge wasn’t satisfied with XTC’s ‘Dear God’ although it expressed his atheism

Partridge was asked what he was trying to accomplish when he penned “Dear God.” Notably, the tune is a barrage of common criticisms of Christianity. After seeing a book of children’s letters addressed to God, Partridge got upset because he saw it as indoctrination.

He chose to write his own letter to God from his atheist perspective. Partridge wanted “Dear God” to reflect his feelings on the matter without sounding like a juvenile tantrum. Partridge wasn’t satisfied with the song, so he kept it off all of XTC’s studio albums.

The Beatles’ ‘Rocky Raccoon’ was not a hit but it inspired covers by notable singers

The Beatles’ “Rocky Raccoon” was never a single, so it never appeared on the Billboard Hot 100. The Fab Four included the tune on The White Album. That record reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for nine weeks, lasting on the chart for 215 weeks in total.

Meanwhile, “Rocky Raccoon” became something of a standard. The track inspired covers by Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, Jack Johnson, Eddie Vedder, and Charlie Parr.

The Beatles’ “Rocky Raccoon” is a beloved children’s song but may have influenced an adult song by XTC.