This was the song that solidified my admiration of the Beatles as a teenager. It happened to be on the radio one night, which may seem strange to have such a deep cut off the White Album playing on FM radio, but songs that tell stories about "out in Dakota" tend to get some preference out in Dakota where I lived. At the time, I had limited experience with, and thus my doubts about, the creative depth of the Beatles. But I remember speeding backroads alone, over rainbows of hilly prairie road, randomly hearing "Rocky Raccoon" for the first time, and being so taken with the idea that a little song like this could tell one compact, complete, coherent story, beginning, middle, and end. Multiple characters are introduced in a distinct setting; motivation is established; there is a surprising, poetic climax; and there is even a pithy denouement. The music itself is so tuneful, with such an overpowering sense of foreboding, with an outstanding instrumental digression.

There may not be a Paul McCartney song I love more.