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Among several elements that "Piggies" incorporates from classical music, the track features harpsichord and orchestral strings in the baroque pop style, which are contrasted by Harrison's acerbic lyrics and the sound of grunting pigs. He intended it as a light-hearted satire on consumerism and class distinction. During Harrison's Liverpool visit in early 1968, George's mother, Louise, responded to his request for assistance with the lyrics by providing the line "What they need's a damn good whacking". Through its theme of social strata within a community of farm animals (in this case, one consisting entirely of pigs), the song references George Orwell's 1945 novel Animal Farm. According to Harrison's early draft of "Piggies", the lyrics contained a final verse, subsequently cut for the Beatles' recording that ends with the animals "Paying piggy thanks – to thee Pig Brother!" Musicologist Walter Everett cites these words as evidence that Harrison's main inspiration for the song was Orwell's work, particularly "his fable of autocracy masquerading as democracy, Animal Farm".