At the time, some observers such as Roy Carr and Tony Tyler of New Musical Express presumed the song was recorded by McCartney in response to the BBC ban of his previous single, the political "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", but McCartney has denied this, saying that it was a sincere effort to write a song for children. In fact, the song was written before "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", as a demo of the song can be heard during an interview recorded for radio station WRKO in December 1971.

The song was virulently attacked by rock critics at the time, although a few critics thought it to be deliberately ironic. It reached the top 10 in the UK, peaking at number nine. However, many US radio stations chose instead to play the pop/rock B-side, "Little Woman Love". Apple Records in the US even revised the picture sleeve for the single to credit both sides by name (see reverse cover), but the single still failed to rise above number 28 in the US.

The song was released as a single on 12 May 1972 in the UK, moved back from its original planned date of the 5th. The US release occurred on 29 May. On 25 May, the band mimed a performance of the song for BBC TV's Top of the Pops TV show. Over a week later, on 6 June, the band mimed yet again to the song. The song was included as a bonus track on the remastered version of Wild Life released in 1993.

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