Album This song officially appears on the The Beatles (Mono) LP.
Timeline This song was officially released in 1968
Timeline This song was written, or began to be written, in 1968, when Paul McCartney was 26 years old)
This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:
“Get Back” gets an Ivor Novello award
May 10, 1970
Feb 19 to Mar 24, 1967 (Paul)
A fella who used to hang around the clubs used to say Jamaican accent , “OB-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on,” and he got annoyed when I did a song of it, ’cause he wanted a cut. I said, “Come on, Jimmy, it’s just an expression. If you’d written the song, you could have had to cut.” He also used to say, “Nothin’s too much, just outa sight.” He was just one of those guys who had great expressions, you know.
Paul McCartney – Interview with Playboy, 1984
From Wikipedia:
“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles (also known as “the White Album”). It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. Following the album’s release, the song was issued as a single in many countries, although not in Britain or America, and topped singles charts in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and West Germany. When belatedly issued as a single in the United States in 1976, it peaked at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100.
McCartney wrote “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” in a cod Jamaican ska style and appropriated a phrase popularised by Jimmy Scott, a London-based Nigerian musician, for the song’s title and chorus. Following its release, Scott attempted, unsuccessfully, to receive a composing credit. The recording sessions for the track were marked by disharmony as McCartney’s perfectionism tested his bandmates and their recording staff. The song was especially disliked by John Lennon, and a heated argument during one of the sessions led to Geoff Emerick quitting his job as the Beatles’ recording engineer. A discarded early version of the track, featuring Scott on congas, was included on the band’s 1996 compilation Anthology 3.
The Beatles’ decision not to release the single in the UK or the US led to several cover recordings by other artists, who sought to achieve a chart hit with the song. Of these, Marmalade became the first Scottish group to have a number 1 hit in the UK when their version topped the Record Retailer chart in late 1968. Despite the song’s popularity, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” has been ridiculed by some commentators for its lightheartedness. From 2009, McCartney has regularly performed the song in concert.
Background and inspiration
Paul McCartney began writing “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” during the Beatles’ stay in Rishikesh, India, in early 1968. Prudence Farrow, one of their fellow Transcendental Meditation students there, recalled McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison playing it to her in an attempt to lure her out of her room, where she had become immersed in intense meditation. McCartney wrote the song when reggae was becoming popular in Britain; author Ian MacDonald describes it as “McCartney’s rather approximate tribute to the Jamaican ska idiom”. The character of Desmond in the lyrics, from the opening line “Desmond has a barrow in the market-place”, was a reference to reggae singer Desmond Dekker, who had recently toured the UK. The tag line “Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah” was an expression used by Nigerian conga player Jimmy Scott-Emuakpor, an acquaintance of McCartney. According to Scott’s widow, as part of his stage act with his band Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, Scott would call out “Ob la di”, to which the audience would respond “Ob la da”, and he would then conclude: “Life goes on.”
Following the release of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” in November 1968, Scott tried to claim a writer’s credit for the use of his catchphrase. McCartney said that the phrase was “just an expression”, whereas Scott argued that it was not a common expression and was used exclusively by the Scott-Emuakpor family. McCartney was angry that the British press sided with Scott over the issue. According to researchers Doug Sulpy and Ray Schweighardt, in their study of the tapes from the Beatles’ filmed rehearsals at Twickenham Film Studios in January 1969, McCartney complained bitterly to his bandmates about Scott’s claim that he “stole” the phrase. Later in 1969, while in Brixton Prison awaiting trial for failing to pay maintenance to his ex-wife, Scott sent a request to the Beatles asking them to pay his legal bills. McCartney agreed to pay the amount on the condition that Scott abandon his attempt to receive a co-writer’s credit.
Recording
The Beatles gathered at Harrison’s Esher home in Surrey in May 1968, following their return from Rishikesh, to record demos for their upcoming project. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was one of the 27 demos recorded there. McCartney performed this demo solo, with only an acoustic guitar. He also double-tracked his vocal, which was not perfectly synchronised, creating an echoing effect.
The formal recording of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” took place in July and involved several days of work. The first completed version of the track, recorded between 3 and 5 July, featured Scott playing congas and a trio of saxophonists. At McCartney’s insistence, the band remade the song in an effort to capture the performance for which he was aiming. In doing so, according to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, “the Beatles were creating another first: the first time they had especially recruited session musicians and then rejected the recording.”
Work began on the new version on 8 July. In the recollection of Geoff Emerick, the band’s recording engineer, Lennon “openly and vocally detested” the song, calling it “more of Paul’s ‘granny music shit'”, although at times he appeared enthusiastic, “acting the fool and doing his fake Jamaican patois”. Having left the studio at one point, Lennon then returned under the influence of marijuana. Out of frustration at being made to continually work on the song, he went straight to the piano and played the opening chords louder and faster than before, in what MacDonald describes as a “mock music-hall” style. Lennon claimed that this was how the song should be played, and it became the version that the Beatles ended up using. McCartney nevertheless decided to remake the track once more. During the afternoon session on 9 July, the Beatles recorded a new basic track, which Lewisohn says possibly featured McCartney playing the drums instead of Ringo Starr. Despite this further work, McCartney conceded that the basic track from the previous day was adequate, and the band returned to the 8 July recording for overdubs during the evening session.
McCartney’s perfectionism annoyed his bandmates, and when their producer, George Martin, offered him suggestions for his vocal part, McCartney rebuked him, saying, “Well you come down and sing it.” According to Emerick, the usually placid Martin shouted in reply: “Then bloody sing it again! I give up. I just don’t know any better how to help you.” The following day, Emerick quit working for the group; he later cited this exchange between McCartney and Martin as one of the reasons, as well as the unpleasant atmosphere that had typified the White Album sessions up to that point.
In the final verse, McCartney made an error by singing, “Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face” (rather than Molly), and had Molly letting “the children lend a hand”. This mistake was retained because the other Beatles liked it. Harrison and Lennon yell “arm” and “leg” between the lines “Desmond lets the children lend a hand” and “Molly stays at home”.
The lyrics of Harrison’s White Album track “Savoy Truffle” include the lines “We all know Ob-la-di-bla-da / But can you show me where you are?” Like Lennon, Harrison had been vocal in his dislike of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”. According to music journalist Robert Fontenot, the reference in “Savoy Truffle” was Harrison’s way of conveying his opinion of McCartney’s song.
Releases and live performances
“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was released on The Beatles on 22 November 1968. As one of the most popular tracks on the album, it was also issued as a single, backed by “While My Guitar Gently Weeps“, in many countries, although not in the main commercial markets of the UK and the United States. McCartney had wanted the single released in these two countries also, but his bandmates vetoed the idea. In November 1976, Capitol Records issued the song as a single in the US, with “Julia” as the B-side. The sleeves were white and individually numbered, as copies of the White Album had been. The discarded version of the song, known as “Take 5” and featuring Scott on congas, was released on the Anthology 3 compilation in 1996.
The first time the song was performed live by any of the Beatles was on 2 December 2009, when McCartney played it in Hamburg, Germany, on the first night of a European tour. Author Howard Sounes comments that, despite Lennon’s derision of the song, it “went down a storm” in Hamburg – the city where the Beatles had honed their act in the early 1960s. McCartney included “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” in his set list for the 2009 tour and in the set list for tours he made through to 2012. He also performed it in front of Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, then at San Francisco’s Outside Lands concert on 9 August 2013. McCartney again featured the song in his set list for his 2013–15 Out There! tour and his 2016–17 One on One tour, as well as his 7 September 2018 Grand Central Terminal concert.
Reception
“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” topped singles charts in West Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Australia and Japan over 1968–69. In 1969, Lennon and McCartney received an Ivor Novello Award for the song. When belatedly issued as a single in the US, in 1976, “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” peaked at number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100. According to author Steve Turner, it has been described as the first song in the “white ska” style. In Australia, where the song was part of a doubled A-sided single (backed with the George Harrison composition While My Guitar Gently Weeps), the record achieved sales of over 50,000 copies, being eligible for the award of a Gold Disc.
In his contemporary review of the White Album, for Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner called “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” “fun music for a fun song about fun”, adding, “Who needs answers?” Record Mirror‘s reviewer said it was the album’s “most pleasant and best recorded track” and praised the “chuck-chuck piano and drum sound”. Nik Cohn, writing in The New York Times, gave the double LP an unfavourable review in which he criticised the Beatles for resorting to musical pastiche. He said that “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” was “mock-West Indies” and that like the album’s other examples of “mock-[music]”, “none of it works, it all loses out to the originals, it all sounds stale.” The NME‘s Alan Smith admired the “good-to-be-alive groove” and said the song was “a great personal favourite”. He added: “Heard it once, can’t stop. Hanclapping fun à la West Indies, sung with warmth by Paul … This is going to be a smash [hit] for somebody …”
Ian MacDonald described “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” as “one of the most spontaneous-sounding tracks on The Beatles” as well as the most commercial, but also a song filled with “desperate levity” and “trite by McCartney’s standards”. Conversely, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic includes it among McCartney’s “stunning” compositions on the album. Ian Fortnam of Classic Rock magazine groups it with “Martha My Dear“, “Rocky Raccoon” and “Honey Pie” as examples of the “awful lot of sugar” McCartney contributed to the White Album, in an attempt to make it more “palatable” in response to Lennon’s determination to include his eight-minute avant-garde piece “Revolution 9“.
“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is often the subject of ridicule. In 2004, it was included in Blender magazine’s list titled “50 Worst Songs Ever!” and was voted the worst song of all time in an online poll organised by Mars. In 2012, the NME‘s website editor, Luke Lewis, argued that the Beatles had recorded “a surprising amount of ropy old toss”, and singled out “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” as “the least convincing cod-reggae skanking this side of the QI theme tune”. That same year, Tom Rowley of The Daily Telegraph said the track was a “reasonable choice” for derision, following the result of the Mars poll, and it subsequently came second (behind “Revolution 9”) in the Telegraph‘s poll to determine the worst Beatles song. […]
We went to a cinema show in a village where a guy put up a mobile screen and all the villagers came along and loved it. I remember walking down a little jungle path with my guitar to get to the village from the camp. I was playing ‘Desmond has a barrow in the market place…’ […]
I had a friend called Jimmy Scott who was a Nigerian conga player, who I used to meet in the clubs in London. He had a few expressions, one of which was, ‘Ob la di ob la da, life goes on, bra’. I used to love this expression… He sounded like a philosopher to me. He was a great guy anyway and I said to him, ‘I really like that expression and I’m thinking of using it,’ and I sent him a cheque in recognition of that fact later because even though I had written the whole song and he didn’t help me, it was his expression.
It’s a very me song, in as much as it’s a fantasy about a couple of people who don’t really exist, Desmond and Molly. I’m keen on names too. Desmond is a very Caribbean name.
Paul McCartney – From “The Beatles Anthology” book, 2000
Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da wasn’t me trying to be far out. It was just that I knew this guy Jimmy Scott, an African guy from the London club scene, and he had this great turn of phrase. He’d say, “Ob-la-di ob-la-da, life goes on, bruv!” and I took that and created a story around two characters. That choppy, reggae sound was appealing and quite a new thing
Paul McCartney – Interview with The Guardian, November 2008
THE PROBLEM WAS, OUR GIGS FINISHED SO LATE THAT RESTAURANTS and pubs had closed by the time we got back to London, so the only way we could get a drink and something to eat was to ‘go down a club’, as they used to say. That became a way of life. We would drive home from a gig and immediately go to a club. The Bag O’Nails was one of my favourites. The Speakeasy. The Revolution. The Scotch of St James. The Cromwellian. Later when the other guys were married and living in the suburbs, I would often go by myself.
It was in one of these clubs that I met Jimmy Scott, the Nigerian conga player whom I liked a lot. Jimmy had a couple of catchphrases he used all the time, one of which was ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, life goes on, bra’. Some people think ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ is a Yoruba phrase that means something like comme ci, comme ça. Some people think it’s a phrase Jimmy Scott made up. And there are others who think ‘bra’ refers to a brassiere, rather than an African version of ‘bro’.
I liked the comme ci, comme ça, que sera sera sentiment. So I set out to write a humorous little ‘character song’ about Desmond and Molly and their kids. It’s a combination of African and Jamaican elements. […]
Paul McCartney – From “The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present“, 2021
From The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations:
[a] stereo 12 Oct 1968.
UK: Apple PCS 7067 white album 1968, Apple PCSP 718 The Beatles 1967-1970 1973.
US: Apple SWBO 101 white album 1968, Apple SKBO-3404 The Beatles 1967-1970 1973.
CD: EMI CDP 7 46443 2 white album 1987, EMI CDP 7 97039 2 The Beatles 1967-1970 1993.[b] mono 12 Oct 1968.
UK: Apple PMC 7067 white album 1968.The mono [b] lacks handclaps in the intro, heard in [a].
Desmond has a barrow in the market place
Molly is the singer in a band
Desmond says to Molly, "Girl I like your face"
And Molly says this as she takes him by the hand
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da life goes on brah
La la how the life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da life goes on brah
La la how the life goes on
Desmond takes a trolley 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
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da life goes on brah
La la how the life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da life goes on brah
La la how the life goes on
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
Desmond lets the children lend a hand
Molly stays at home and does her pretty face
And in the evening she still sings it with the band
Yeah, ob-la-di, ob-la-da life goes on brah
La la how the life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da life goes on brah
La la how the life goes on
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, hey
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 still sings it with the band
Yeah, ob-la-di, ob-la-da life goes on brah
La la how the life goes on
Yeah, ob-la-di, ob-la-da life goes on brah
La la how the life goes on
And if you want some fun take ob-la-di-bla-da
LP • Released in 1968
3:09 • Studio version • B • Mono
Paul McCartney : Bass part on distorted acoustic guitar, Handclaps, Percussion, Vocals Ringo Starr : Conga drum, Drums, Handclaps, Maracas, Percussion John Lennon : Backing vocals, Handclaps, Piano George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Handclaps George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Rex Morris : Saxophone James Gray : Saxophone Cyril Reuben : Saxophone
Session Recording: Jul 08, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 09, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 15, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 12, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
LP • Released in 1968
3:09 • Studio version • A • Stereo
Paul McCartney : Bass part on distorted acoustic guitar, Handclaps, Percussion, Vocals Ringo Starr : Conga drum, Drums, Handclaps, Maracas, Percussion John Lennon : Backing vocals, Handclaps, Piano George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Handclaps George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Rex Morris : Saxophone James Gray : Saxophone Cyril Reuben : Saxophone
Session Recording: Jul 08, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 09, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 15, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 12, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Official album • Released in 1973
3:09 • Studio version • A • Stereo
Paul McCartney : Bass part on distorted acoustic guitar, Handclaps, Percussion, Vocals Ringo Starr : Conga drum, Drums, Handclaps, Maracas, Percussion John Lennon : Backing vocals, Handclaps, Piano George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Handclaps George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Rex Morris : Saxophone James Gray : Saxophone Cyril Reuben : Saxophone
Session Recording: Jul 08, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 09, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 15, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 12, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
LP • Released in 1973
3:09 • Studio version • A • Stereo
Paul McCartney : Bass part on distorted acoustic guitar, Handclaps, Percussion, Vocals Ringo Starr : Conga drum, Drums, Handclaps, Maracas, Percussion John Lennon : Backing vocals, Handclaps, Piano George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Handclaps George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Rex Morris : Saxophone James Gray : Saxophone Cyril Reuben : Saxophone
Session Recording: Jul 08, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 09, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 15, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 12, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
7" Single • Released in 1976
3:09 • Studio version • A • Stereo
Paul McCartney : Bass part on distorted acoustic guitar, Handclaps, Percussion, Vocals Ringo Starr : Conga drum, Drums, Handclaps, Maracas, Percussion John Lennon : Backing vocals, Handclaps, Piano George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Handclaps George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Rex Morris : Saxophone James Gray : Saxophone Cyril Reuben : Saxophone
Session Recording: Jul 08, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 09, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 15, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 12, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Official album • Released in 1996
2:56 • Outtake • C • Stereo • Alternate version. The fruit of three days' work in number two studio at Abbey Road, this outtake of Paul's Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da included overdubs of three saxophones and conga drums. Passed over in favour of a re-make that began the following week, however, it proved the first instance that the Beatles had brought in session musicians to augment a recording that would remain unissued.
Paul McCartney : Acoustic guitar, Bass part on distorted acoustic guitar, Vocals Ringo Starr : Drums John Lennon : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Engineer, Recording engineer Rex Morris : Saxophone Richard Lush : Second engineer James Gray : Saxophone Jimmy Scott : Conga drum Cyril Reuben : Saxophone
Session Recording: Jul 03, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 04, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 05, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
The Beatles (Mono - 2009 remaster)
Official album • Released in 2009
3:09 • Studio version • B2009 • Mono • 2009 mono remaster
Paul McCartney : Bass part on distorted acoustic guitar, Handclaps, Percussion, Vocals Ringo Starr : Conga drum, Drums, Handclaps, Maracas, Percussion John Lennon : Backing vocals, Handclaps, Piano George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Handclaps George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Rex Morris : Saxophone Paul Hicks : Remastering Guy Massey : Remastering Sean Magee : Remastering Allan Rouse : Project co-ordinator James Gray : Saxophone Cyril Reuben : Saxophone
Session Recording: Jul 08, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 09, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 15, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 12, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
The Beatles (Stereo - 2009 remaster)
Official album • Released in 2009
3:09 • Studio version • A2009 • Stereo • 2009 stereo remaster
Paul McCartney : Bass part on distorted acoustic guitar, Handclaps, Percussion, Vocals Ringo Starr : Conga drum, Drums, Handclaps, Maracas, Percussion John Lennon : Backing vocals, Handclaps, Piano George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Handclaps George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Rex Morris : Saxophone Guy Massey : Remastering Steve Rooke : Remastering Allan Rouse : Project co-ordinator James Gray : Saxophone Cyril Reuben : Saxophone
Session Recording: Jul 08, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 09, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 15, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 12, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
1967-1970 (2010 remastered version)
Official album • Released in 2010
3:09 • Studio version • A2009 • Stereo
Paul McCartney : Bass part on distorted acoustic guitar, Handclaps, Percussion, Vocals Ringo Starr : Conga drum, Drums, Handclaps, Maracas, Percussion John Lennon : Backing vocals, Handclaps, Piano George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Handclaps George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Rex Morris : Saxophone Guy Massey : Remastering Steve Rooke : Remastering Allan Rouse : Project co-ordinator James Gray : Saxophone Cyril Reuben : Saxophone
Session Recording: Jul 08, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 09, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 15, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 12, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
The Beatles (Mono - 2014 vinyl)
LP • Released in 2014
3:09 • Studio version • B2014 • Mono • 2014 remaster
Paul McCartney : Bass part on distorted acoustic guitar, Handclaps, Percussion, Vocals Ringo Starr : Conga drum, Drums, Handclaps, Maracas, Percussion John Lennon : Backing vocals, Handclaps, Piano George Harrison : Acoustic guitar, Backing vocals, Handclaps George Martin : Producer Geoff Emerick : Recording engineer Rex Morris : Saxophone Sean Magee : Remastering James Gray : Saxophone Steve Berkowitz : Remastering Cyril Reuben : Saxophone
Session Recording: Jul 08, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 09, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road
Session Overdubs: Jul 15, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
Session Mixing: Oct 12, 1968 • Studio EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road
On The Run - Bologna, Italy - November 26, 2011
Unofficial live
3:35 • Live
Concert From the concert in Bologna, Italy on Nov 26, 2011
On The Run - Bologna, Italy - November 27, 2011
Unofficial live
3:41 • Live
Concert From the concert in Milan, Italy on Nov 27, 2011
Unofficial live
3:44 • Live
Concert From the concert in Montreal, Canada on Jul 26, 2011
Unofficial live
3:42 • Live
Concert From the concert in Hamburg, Germany on Dec 02, 2009
Unofficial live
4:01 • Live
Concert From the concert in Mexico City, Mexico on May 28, 2010
Concert Dec 02, 2009 in Hamburg
Concert Dec 03, 2009 in Berlin
Concert Dec 16, 2009 in Cologne
Concert Dec 22, 2009 in London
Concert Sep 07, 2018 in New York
“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” has been played in 359 concerts and 1 soundchecks.
Nov 17, 2024 • Mexico • Mexico City • Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
Mexico City • Foro Sol • Mexico
Nov 14, 2024 • Part of Got Back Tour
Mexico City • Foro Sol • Mexico
Nov 12, 2024 • Part of Got Back Tour
Monterrey • Estadio BBVA • Mexico
Nov 08, 2024 • Part of Got Back Tour
San José • Estadio Nacional • Costa Rica
Nov 05, 2024 • Part of Got Back Tour
The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present
"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" is one of the songs featured in the book "The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present," published in 2021. The book explores Paul McCartney's early Liverpool days, his time with the Beatles, Wings, and his solo career. It pairs the lyrics of 154 of his songs with his first-person commentary on the circumstances of their creation, the inspirations behind them, and his current thoughts on them.
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