Paul McCartney when asked about Helter Skelter,
“Umm, that came about just ‘cuz I’d read a review of a record which said, “and this group really got us wild, there’s echo on everything, they’re screaming their heads off.” And I just remember thinking, “Oh, it’d be great to do one. Pity they’ve done it. Must be great — really screaming record.” And then I heard their record and it was quite straight, and it was very sort of sophisticated. It wasn’t rough and screaming and tape echo at all. So I thought, “Oh well, we’ll do one like that, then.” And I had this song called “Helter Skelter,” which is just a ridiculous song. So we did it like that, ‘cuz I like noise.”
The lyrics make so much sense now that I learned it’s a ride:
When I get to the bottom
I go back to the top of the slide
Where I stop and turn
and I go for a ride
Till I get to the bottom and I see you again
