This song, recorded by the Byrds in December, 1966, is musically very similar to the Beatles' Paperback writer, a hit earlier that year. (The Beatles were heavily influenced by the Byrds during this period.)

Textually, it is a little more explicit. In the Beatles song, all the sarcasm is its crazy falsetto accompaniment; Paul McCartney lyrics are tame and distant, about a man who wants to leave his "sturdy job" at the Daily Mail to become a paperback writer. Roger McGuinn doesn't shroud his sarcasm, but directly addresses the hypocrisy and straightjacketing that pop musicians have to take from their record companies in order to serve their commercial interests.