Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da Lyrics




(Lennon/McCartney)




Desmond has a barrow in the market place
Molly is the singer in a band
Desmond says to Molly-girl I like your face

Obladi oblada life goes on bra
Lala how the life goes on
Obladi Oblada life goes on bra
Lala how the life goes on.

Desmond takes a trolly to the jewellers store
Buys a twenty carat golden ring
Takes it back to Molly waiting at the door
And as he gives it to her she begins to sing.

In a couple of years they have built
A home sweet home
With a couple of kids running in the yard
Of Desmond and Molly Jones.

Happy ever after in the market place
Molly lets the children lend a hand
Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face
And in the evening she's a singer with the band.

 
Lead Singer: Paul

Recording: 7/3/68, 7/3/68, 7/5/68, 7/8/68, 7/9/68, 7/11/68, 7/15/68
Mixing: 7/8/68, 7/11/68, 7/15/68, 10/12/68
Length: 3:08
Take: 23

Anomalies

0:02
Paul says "remember to step it up, John," then coughs, then hums a few notes to hit it right. Best heard when this track is OOPS'd. Laughter and joking by the other Beatles too.
0:10
Clap to mark the start of vocal track.
1:08, 1:17
Three clicks at each of the two points
1:18
John says "home", in reference to the following line.
1:42
After the line "lets the children lend a hand", the first time George says "arm", John says "leg"
2:04
In the words "Life goes on, bra / La la how the" there is a vocal punch in, marked by an audible tweet just after. This is a by-product of the two separate erasing operations, causing an audible sound.
2:13
John says and spells out "home" at 2:13.
2:33
After the line "lets the children lend a hand", the second time John says "foot".
The title comes from a Reggae band called Jimmy Scott and his Obla Di Obla Da Band.
Paul McCartney wrote this, and The Beatles spent a great deal of time recording and overdubbing it. John, George, and Ringo became very annoyed.
John Lennon hated this song. He didn't like a lot of McCartney's later songs with The Beatles, feeling they were trite and meaningless.
A #1 hit in England for Marmalade in 1968.
The guitars were over-modulated on purpose to get the desired effect.
One of the first songs with a Reggae beat to have pop success.
Paul mistakenly sang "Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face." It was intended to be "Molly," but Paul decided to leave it in to create confusion.
Lennon played the piano part.
After doing a huge number of takes (around 60), Paul continued on trying to record this as a slow song. John was in the other room listening while doing drugs. After getting high, he was very frustrated to hear Paul record it slow so many times. He subsequently burst into the recording room, pushed Paul aside and got on the piano playing the song very fast and upbeat. The fast and happy recording on the infamous White Album is the result. (Thanks to Charles Barrows) (thanks, Bompsy - Madison, WI)
This was used as the theme to the TV show Life Goes On. It was sung by Patti LuPone and the rest of the cast. (thanks, Nora - richfield, MN)
 
The White Album Lyrics   

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