also at the ashram during the period, supports Lennon's story in her autobiography; she writes, "Then a self-important, middle-aged American woman arrived, moving a mountain of luggage into the brand-new private bungalow next to Maharishi's along with her son, a bland young man named Bill. People fled this newcomer, and no one was sorry when she left the ashram after a short time to go tiger hunting, unaware that their presence had inspired a new Beatles song – 'Bungalow Bill.'" Musical structure The song opens with a flamenco guitar phrase, played from a standard Mellotron bank of pre-recorded rhythms and phrases by studio engineer Chris Thomas. It is unknown how the sample was chosen. The solo involves all seven notes of the Phrygian mode, including a Spanish-sounding II, a natural seventh from the harmonic minor scale and a blues-sounding 5. On some CD reissues, this solo closes the previous track, "Wild Honey Pie". The opening guitar solo is followed by the chorus in the key of C major, shifting between V (G on "Bungalow") and iv (Fm on "what did you"). What follows is a relative minor bridge starting with Am (on "He went out") then shifting to VI (F on "elephant") and VII (G on "gun"). Lennon then uses a V (E on "all-American") VII (G on "bullet-headed") i (Am on "Saxon-mother's") and VI (Fm on "son") to get back to the C major key. It is sung by all four Beatles, Ringo's then-wife Maureen, and Yoko Ono. The Mellotron reappears during the verses, played by Lennon, using mandolin samples, and during the outro, played by Thomas, using trombone samples. Lennon, who wrote the song, is the primary lead singer. Like the majority of Beatles songs written by either Lennon or Paul McCartney, it is credited to Lennon–McCartney. Legacy In Revolution in the Head, Ian MacDonald describes "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" as a "lapse into tub-thumping banality." Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its release, Jacob Stolworthy of The Independent listed "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" at number 24 in his ranking of the White Album's 30 tracks. He agreed with Lennon's statement that the song is "a bit of fun" and that "despite arriving early on, "Bungalow Bill" lingers in the mind as a slice of tone-shifting oddness." Personnel John Lennon – lead vocal, acoustic guitar, Hammond organ, Mellotron Paul McCartney – backing vocals, bass