Oo You (song) • The Paul McCartney Project

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Album This song officially appears on the McCartney LP.

Timeline This song has been officially released in 1970

Only Our Hearts

Oobu Joobu

Master release

McCartney

By Paul McCartney

Related sessions

This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions

"McCartney" home recordings

Late December 1969 to Jan 03, 1970

"McCartney" sessions at Morgan Studios

Feb 12-20, 1970

Mixing "Hot As Sun", "Every Night"

Feb 24, 1970

Playback of "Oo You"

Mar 16, 1970

Related songs

Don't Cry Baby

Officially appears on McCartney - Archive Collection

Related interviews

"McCartney" press release Q&A

Apr 09, 1970 • From Apple Records

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Song facts

“Oo You” is a track from Paul McCartney’s debut solo album, “McCartney“, released in April 1970.

The first three tracks were recorded at home as an instrumental that might someday become a song. This, like Man We Was Lonely, was given lyrics one day after lunch just before we left for Morgan Studios, where it was finished that afternoon. Vocals, electric guitar, tambourine, cow bell and aerosol spray were added at Morgan and it was mixed there. On the mix, tape echo was used to move feedback from guitar from one side to another.
Paul McCartney, from the press release of “McCartney”, April 1970

An instrumental version, mixed with a track named “Don’t Cry Baby“, was released in the “McCartney – Archive Collection” in 2011. Some early takes of “Oo You” have also been bootlegged.

From PopMatters, 2010:

“Oo You” opens side B of the McCartney album, and despite the fact that it is such a great, bluesy little rocker, it isn’t discussed much. […]
Not surprisingly, “Oo You” started out as an instrumental track. McCartney’s opening suggestion of “More guitar” might lead you to think that someone else was playing the electric guitar on it, but like the tambourine, cowbell, and “aerosol spray” heard on the track, it was all Paul. Reportedly ad-libbed on the spot, it was written and recorded on the same day as the album’s previous track, “Man We Was Lonely”. However, it wasn’t completed until a tape echo was used to move the guitar’s feedback “from one side to another”. On that same date of February 12th, 1970, McCartney also worked on “Junk”, “Singalong Junk”, “Hot As Sun”, and “Teddy Boy”.
Even though it seems to be ignored by McCartney himself, “Oo You” is critically praised all over the internet as one of the album’s best “deep cuts”. As a testament to this, there are many amateur covers of it on YouTube.

From the press release of “McCartney”, April 1970

Last updated on April 14, 2022

Lyrics

Look like a woman
Dress like a lady
Talk like a baby
Love like a woman.

Chorus. Oo you
Walk like a woman
Sing like a blackbird
Eat like a hungry
Cook like a woman

Chorus. Oo you
Look like a woman
Oo Dress like a lady
Oo Talk like a baby (golly golly golly goo-goo)
Love like a woman – oo – oo you.

Variations

A Stereo version • From "McCartney"

A1992 1992 remaster • From "McCartney (by DCC Compact Classics)"

A1993 1993 remaster • From "McCartney (1993)"

A2011 2011 remaster • From "McCartney - Archive Collection"

A2020 2020 half-speed mastering • From "McCartney (50th Anniversary)"

B Instrumental version • From "McCartney - Archive Collection"

C Early take, backing track

D Jam #1

E Jam #2

F Alternate take

Officially appears on

McCartney

LP • Released in 1970

2:50 • Studio version • A • Stereo

Paul McCartney :: Aerosol spray, Bass, Cow bell, Drums, Electric guitar, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals

Robin Black :: Mixing engineer, Recording engineer

Session Recording:: Late December 1969

Studio :: Home studio, Cavendish Avenue, St.John's Wood

Session Overdubs:: Feb 12-20, 1970

Studio :: Morgan Studios, London

Session Mixing:: Feb 12-20, 1970

Studio :: Morgan Studios, London

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon

McCartney (by DCC Compact Classics)

CD • Released in 1992

2:50 • Studio version • A1992 • Stereo • 1992 remaster

Paul McCartney :: Aerosol spray, Bass, Cow bell, Drums, Electric guitar, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals

Robin Black :: Mixing engineer, Recording engineer

Steve Hoffman :: Remastering

Session Recording:: Late December 1969

Studio :: Home studio, Cavendish Avenue, St.John's Wood

Session Overdubs:: Feb 12-20, 1970

Studio :: Morgan Studios, London

Session Mixing:: Feb 12-20, 1970

Studio :: Morgan Studios, London

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon

McCartney (1993)

Official album • Released in 1993

2:50 • Studio version • A1993 • Stereo • 1993 remaster

Paul McCartney :: Aerosol spray, Bass, Cow bell, Drums, Electric guitar, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals

Robin Black :: Mixing engineer, Recording engineer

Peter Mew :: Remastering

Session Recording:: Late December 1969

Studio :: Home studio, Cavendish Avenue, St.John's Wood

Session Overdubs:: Feb 12-20, 1970

Studio :: Morgan Studios, London

Session Mixing:: Feb 12-20, 1970

Studio :: Morgan Studios, London

McCartney - Archive Collection

Official album • Released in 2011

2:50 • Studio version • A2011 • Stereo • 2011 remaster

Paul McCartney :: Aerosol spray, Bass, Cow bell, Drums, Electric guitar, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals

Robin Black :: Mixing engineer, Recording engineer

Guy Massey :: Remastering

Steve Rooke :: Remastering

Simon Gibson :: Remastering

Session Recording:: Late December 1969

Studio :: Home studio, Cavendish Avenue, St.John's Wood

Session Overdubs:: Feb 12-20, 1970

Studio :: Morgan Studios, London

Session Mixing:: Feb 12-20, 1970

Studio :: Morgan Studios, London

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon

McCartney - Archive Collection

Official album • Released in 2011

3:08 • Outtake • B • Stereo • Medley with "Don't Cry Baby". Instrumental version. In the liner notes, it is indicated this track was mixed at Abbey Road on April 21, 1970. This seems unlikely as, on April 21, 1970, Paul had left London to go to Scotland.