"Chicken Pot Pie" is an unreleased parody song written by "Weird Al" Yankovic.[1] It was written as a parody of "Live and Let Die" by Paul McCartney and Wings; however, Yankovic voluntarily decided not to release it after McCartney declined to support the parody, as he felt it conflicted with his vegetarianism and condoned the consumption of meat.[2]
History
"Weird Al" Yankovic is an American musician, specializing in performing parodies of popular songs. At an airport, the British singer Paul McCartney approached him and said to him: "anytime you want to do one of my songs, it's yours".[3][4] Two years passed before Yankovic decided to parody McCartney's James Bond song "Live and Let Die" and wrote "Chicken Pot Pie".[3][4]
Under American law (specifically the 1994 case Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.), Yankovic is not legally required to seek the permission of an artist whose song he wishes to parody, but he chooses to do so as a matter of courtesy.[5][6] Consequently, Yankovic contacted McCartney to seek his blessing. Despite showing initial enthusiasm for being parodied,[7] McCartney declined to approve the song. Yankovic stated: "Paul didn't want me to do it because he's a strict vegetarian and he didn't want a parody that condoned the consumption of animal flesh."[5] McCartney did say that he would grant consent if it were retitled "Tofu Pot Pie", but Yankovic refused, citing that the chorus would contain the mimicking of a chicken clucking.[5]
Yankovic has performed segments of the song during live concerts,[7] debuting it in 1992 as part of his "Fast Food Medley" (a compilation of segments of some of Yankovic's food related songs).[3] Yankovic and McCartney never held any ill will over the declination, with McCartney agreeing to a comedy interview between the two in 1996.[8]
