Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" | ||
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| Single by The Beatles | ||
| from the album The Beatles | ||
| B-side(s) | Julia | |
| Released | 22 November 1968 Album 8 November 1976 Single |
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| Format | vinyl record 7" | |
| Recorded | Abbey Road: 3 July 1968 | |
| Genre | Rock and roll / Reggae | |
| Length | 3:08 | |
| Label | Capitol 4347 (US only) | |
| Writer(s) | Lennon-McCartney | |
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| The Beatles singles chronology | ||
| "Got to Get You into My Life" (1976) |
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (1976) |
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (1978) |
| Music sample | ||
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"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" (file info) |
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| The Beatles track listing | ||
| "Glass Onion" (3 of disc 1) |
Ob-la-di, Ob-La-Da (4 of disc 1) |
Wild Honey Pie (5 of disc 1) |
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a Beatles song originally released on the double-disc album The Beatles (also known as The White Album), and later released as a single. It is a Paul McCartney composition (credited to Lennon-McCartney).
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[edit] Musical composition
The song was a conscious homage to the emerging reggae movement (lyrical reference: "life goes on, bra"), possibly related to the growing Jamaican population in Britain, although it is heavily blended with honky tonk. Aside from the syncopated beat, the song also employed metre schemes and devices not used in the Beatles' previous works and demonstrated the group's highly experimental nature at the time of its recording.
McCartney originally thought of the melody to be delivered at a much slower pace. However, John Lennon was not pleased with the song. He thought it was annoying and irrelevant. Lennon was experimenting with acid at the time McCartney ran the song by him. Lennon, to satirise the effort, purposely sped up the tempo. McCartney was surprised at how good it sounded, and decided to stick with the faster version.
There was much light-hearted humour during the final recording of the vocals (perhaps to ease the tension that the song was causing the Beatles because of its numerous re-makes). At 1:42, after the line "Desmond lets the children lend a hand", Lennon shouts "arm!" followed by Harrison's shout of "leg!" Then at 2:33 after the line "Molly lets the children lend a hand," Harrison says "foot." This may have been the reason that McCartney flubbed the lyrics on the second half of the song.
The character of Desmond in the song is a reference to the late ska and reggae legend Desmond Dekker.
[edit] Lyrics
The light-hearted lyrics tell and retell the story of a couple named Desmond and Molly; the simple, upbeat lyrics are often punctuated by laughter, shouts, and sounds that accompany the lyrics in the background. The second time that the story is retold, the names are switched around in certain places. McCartney described the switch as a slip of the tongue; he decided to keep it in because none of the other Beatles wanted to run through the song again. Longtime Beatles associate Pete Shotton, who was present at the session, confirmed Paul's statement that the switch-up was accidental in his memoir The Beatles, Lennon and Me.
[edit] Controversy
Nigerian musician/singer Jimmy Scott later claimed that the phrase "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" was originally his; Scott sued McCartney for compensation for using the phrase in the lyrics and as the title of the song. According to McCartney, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" merely was a common saying of the Yoruba tribe, and Scott had simply taught the saying to McCartney. It reportedly means "Life goes on", words which are also heard in the song. The case was settled out of court.
[edit] Cover versions
- Arthur Conley.
- Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, on the album Music of the Beatles.
- Maria Muldaur, on the album The blues White album.
- Marmalade (reached number one in 1968).
- No Doubt.
- Youssou N'Dour, on the album 7 Seconds.
- Daniel O'Donnell, on the albums The Jukebox Years, Rock 'n' roll show.
- Persuasions, on the album The Persuasions sing the Beatles.
- Phish, on the album Live Phish Volume 13.
- Shango, on the album Shango.
- Celia Cruz (a version in Spanish), on the album Tropical Tribute to the Beatles.
- The Heptones, on the album Mellow Dubmarine.
- The cast of Life Goes On during the show's opening sequence
[edit] In Popular Culture
- The song is referenced in Savoy Truffle composed by George Harrison
- This song's lyrics were mentioned in the "Full House" episode "The Big Three-O." Jesse drives Danny's red convertible Bullet into the San Francisco Bay. Danny, attempting to not mind, states, "Hey! Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!"
- John Williamson, while covering The Offspring's "Why Don't You Get A Job" as a musical challenge for the Andrew Denton Breakfast Show, segued into "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" when he noticed the strong (intentional) similarity between the songs.
- During the home games of the National Hockey League team the Vancouver Canucks, the song is always played at least once.
- Spanish/French fusion singer Manu Chao references the phrase repeatedly at the end of his 2001 hit single, "Me Gustas Tú."
- A cover version served as the theme song on the ABC television series Life Goes On, sung by the cast with Patti LuPone on lead vocals.
- The song came top in an online poll of the worst songs ever. [1]
- An edited cover was performed by the Australian comedy duo the Scared Weird Little Guys with the words completely replaced with morse code.
| Preceded by "Lily the Pink" by The Scaffold |
UK number one single (Marmalade version) January 1, 1969 |
Succeeded by "Lily the Pink" by The Scaffold |
| Preceded by "Lily the Pink" by The Scaffold |
UK number one single (Marmalade version - 2nd period at top) January 15, 1969 |
Succeeded by "Albatross" by Fleetwood Mac |
[edit] References
- ^ Beatles classic voted worst song from The BBC (November 10, 2004)
