"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is a song by The Beatles released on the double-disc album The Beatles (also known as The White Album), and later released as a single. It was written primarily by Paul McCartney, though credited to Lennon/McCartney.
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Composition
The song was written around the time that reggae was beginning to become popular in Britain. The tag line "ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, bra" was an expression that Nigerian conga player Jimmy Scott, an acquaintance of McCartney, used. The song is in the key of Bb and written in 4/4.
According to studio engineer Geoff Emerick, John Lennon openly hated the song, calling it "Paul's granny shit".[1] After leaving the studio during recording of the song (after several days and literally dozens of takes of the song, trying different tempos and styles), Lennon returned while under the influence of marijuana, went immediately to the piano and played the opening chords much louder and faster than they had been played before. He claimed that was how the song should be played, and this is the version they ended up using.[2]
When singing the vocals for the song, specifically the last verse of the song when sung the second time, McCartney made a slip and said "Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face", rather than Molly, and had Molly letting "the children lend a hand". Reportedly, this mistake was kept in because the other Beatles liked it.[3] George Harrison and Lennon yell "arm" and "leg" during a break in the song; between the lines "..Desmond lets the children lend a hand" and "Molly stays at home..."[4]
The Beatles' use of the name Desmond is considered to be a nod to Desmond Dekker, the Jamaican ska artist. The song's style resembles the ska that Dekker recorded in the 1960s. Dekker later covered the song as part of a medley with "Wise Man".
The lyrics for "Savoy Truffle", composed by Harrison and also on The Beatles, include the line "We all know ob-la-di-bla-da, but can you show me where you are."[5]
Releases and live performances
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-la-Da" was released on The Beatles on 22 November 1968.[6] Eight years later it was released as a single with "Julia" as the B-side.[7]
The very first time the song was performed live by one of the Beatles was on 2 December 2009, as McCartney played the song in Hamburg, Germany on the first night of a European tour.[8]
Reception
The song came top in an online BBC poll of the worst songs ever.[9] Conversely, Richie Unterberger of allmusic said the song "was one of the most popular songs on the White Album, one that could have easily been a hit single had it been released on 45."[10]
Lawsuit
Jimmy Scott later sued McCartney for compensation for using the phrase in the lyrics and as the title of the song.[3] According to McCartney, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" was merely a common saying of the Yoruba tribe, and Scott had simply taught the saying to him. It reportedly means "Life goes on", words which are also heard in the song. Scott dropped the case when McCartney paid Scott's legal expenses for an unrelated issue.[3]
Personnel
- Paul McCartney – vocal, bass, handclaps, vocal percussion
- John Lennon – backing vocal, piano, vocal percussion
- George Harrison – acoustic guitar, backing vocal, handclaps, vocal percussion
- Ringo Starr – drums, bongos, percussion, handclaps, vocal percussion
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald[11] and Mark Lewisohn[2]
- Horns arranged by George Martin
Cover versions
- Amateur Transplants, on the album Unfit to Practice as "Urology Clinic A".
- Arthur Conley, on the album More Sweet Soul.
- Jimmy Cliff, as a bonus track on the CD version of Humanitarian.[12]
- Celia Cruz (a version in Spanish), on the album Tropical Tribute to the Beatles.
- Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, on the album Music of the Beatles.
- Daniel O'Donnell, on his albums The Jukebox Years and Rock 'N' Roll Show.
- James Last, on the albums "Die grössten Songs von The Beatles" (1983) and "James Last & Friends" (1998) (as a part of the "Beatles Medley")
- Maria Muldaur, on the album The Blues White Album.
- Marmalade (reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in 1969).[13] Their version sold around half a million in the UK, and a million copies globally by April 1969.[14]
- The Bedrocks, a West Indian band from Leeds (reached number 20 in the UK Singles Chart in 1968).[15]
- The Spectrum (reached number 19 on the Germany singles chart in 1968)
- No Doubt, on the albums Boom Box, Live in the Tragic Kingdom.
- Dick Hyman recorded an instrumental electronic music version of the song in the 1960s.
- Persuasions, on the album The Persuasions Sing the Beatles.
- Phish, on the album Live Phish Volume 13.
- Shango, on the album Shango.
- The Heptones, on the album Mellow Dubmarine.
- The Gas House Gang, on the album The Gas House Gang's 5th.
- The King's Singers, on the album The Beatles Connection.
- The Punkles did a punk cover of this song on their fourth album.
- Youssou N'Dour, on the album 7 Seconds.
- The cast of Life Goes On during the show's opening sequence
- Pato Fu, a Brazilian band, on the album Gol de Quem?.
- Arik Einstein (a version in Hebrew).
- Vesyolye Rebyata (Весёлые Ребята), on the 1970 EP.
- House of Heroes in concerts. The song is featured on the House of Heroes Meets The Beatles EP that was released digitally on iTunes and AmazonMP3 in the summer 2009.
- A slightly changed version called "Desmond" was recorded by Happy Mondays on their debut album Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out), but the song was removed from later reprints of the album due to royalty problems.[16]
Chart positions
The Beatles version
|
|
Marmalade version
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[13] | 1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart[20] | 1 |
| Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart[21] | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[22] | 2 |
Notes
- ^ Emerick & Massey 2006, p. 246.
- ^ a b Lewisohn 1988, pp. 140-142.
- ^ a b c Turner 2005, p. 154.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 141.
- ^ Leonard 1993, pp. 849–851.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 200–201.
- ^ a b Wallgren 1982, p. 109.
- ^ WMMR 2009.
- ^ BBC News 2004.
- ^ Unterberger 2009.
- ^ MacDonald 2005, pp. 294-295.
- ^ Gallucci 2008.
- ^ a b Roberts 2006, p. 351.
- ^ Murrells 1978, p. 243.
- ^ Roberts 2006, p. 51.
- ^ Remmer 2009.
- ^ austriancharts.at 2009a.
- ^ hitparade.ch 2009a.
- ^ a b Oricon 2009.
- ^ austriancharts.at 2009b.
- ^ norwegiancharts.com 2009.
- ^ hitparade.ch 2009b.
References
- Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, ed (1993). The Beatles - Complete Scores. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-7935-1832-6.
- "The Beatles - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da". austriancharts.at. 2009a. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=The+Beatles&titel=Ob%2DLa%2DDi%2C+Ob%2DLa%2DDa&cat=s.
- "The Beatles - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da". hitparade.ch. 2009a. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?key=71&cat=s.
- "Beatles classic voted worst song". BBC News. 10 November 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3998301.stm.
- "Paul McCartney Says He's Doing All He Can to Fight Global Warming". WMMR. 4 December 2009. http://www.wmmr.com/music/news/story.aspx?ID=1172062.
- Emerick, Geoff; Massey, Howard (2006). Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 1-592-40179-1.
- Gallucci, Michael (2008). "Review of Humanitarian". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jpfqxqlkldke~T1. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
- "Japan #1 IMPORT DISKS". Oricon. 2009. http://www18.ocn.ne.jp/~hbr/JPP1.htm.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3.
- "The Marmalade - Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da". norwegiancharts.com. 2009. http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?key=66&cat=s.
- "The Marmalade - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da". austriancharts.at. 2009b. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?key=66&cat=s.
- "The Marmalade - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da". hitparade.ch. 2009b. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?key=66&cat=s.
- Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- Remmer, Dennis (2009). "Factory Communications UK Discography". http://home.dialix.com/~u3336/factory/facuk4.html. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
- Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- Turner, Steve (2005). A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song (3rd ed.). New York: Harper Paperbacks. ISBN 0-06-084409-4.
- Unterberger, Richie (2009). "Review of "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:kcfqxx8jldae. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
- Wallgren, Mark (1982). The Beatles on Record. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-45682-2.
External links
| Preceded by "Lily the Pink" by The Scaffold "Lily the Pink " by The Scaffold |
UK number one single (Marmalade version) 1 January 1969 15–22 January 1969 |
Succeeded by "Lily the Pink " by The Scaffold "Albatross" by Fleetwood Mac |
| Preceded by "Fru Johnsen" by Inger Lise Rypdal |
Norwegian VG-lista number-one single (Marmalade version) 05/1969-12/1969 |
Succeeded by "Oj, oj, oj så glad jeg ska bli" by Kirsti Sparboe |
| Preceded by "Little Arrows" by Leapy Lee |
Ö3 Austria Top 40 number-one single (Marmalade version) 15 February 1969 |
Succeeded by "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" by The Beatles |
| Preceded by "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" by Marmalade |
Ö3 Austria Top 40 number-one single (The Beatles version) 15 March - 15 April 1969 |
Succeeded by "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival |
| Preceded by "Eloise" by Barry Ryan |
Swiss Music Charts number-one single (The Beatles version) 28 January - 4 March 1969 |
Succeeded by "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells |
| Preceded by "I Started a Joke" by the Bee Gees |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one single (The Beatles version) 8 March - 12 April 1969 |
Succeeded by "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)" by Peter Sarstedt |
| Preceded by "Manchester and Liverpool" by Pinky and the Fellas "Manchester and Liverpool" by Pinky and the Fellas |
Japanese Oricon International Chart number one single (The Beatles version) 7–28 April 1969 12–19 May 1969 |
Succeeded by "Manchester and Liverpool" by Pinky and the Fellas "La Pioggia" by Gigliola Cinquetti |
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