Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Track 134 on The Beatles (The Original Studio Recordings)

Producer

Paul McCartney’s attempt at Ska. John Lennon and George Harrison absolutely loathed this song. Lennon stated that he hated how much time was devoted to it, calling it… Read More

Nov. 22, 19681 viewer653.7K views

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

[Verse 1]
Desmond has a barrow in the marketplace
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

[Chorus]
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da
Life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da
Life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on

[Verse 2]
Desmond takes a trolley to the jeweler's store (Choo-choo-choo)
Buys a twenty-karat golden ring (Ring)
Takes it back to Molly waiting at the door
And as he gives it to her, she begins to sing (Sing)

[Chorus]
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da
Life goes on, brah (La-la-la-la-la)
La-la, how their life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da
Life goes on, brah (La-la-la-la-la)
La-la, how their life goes on
Yeah

[Bridge]
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 (Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha)

[Verse 3]
Happy ever after in the marketplace
Desmond lets the children lend a hand (Arm, leg)
Molly stays at home and does her pretty face
And in the evening, she still sings it with the band
Yes!

[Chorus]
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da
Life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on (Heh-heh)
Yeah, ob-la-di, ob-la-da
Life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on

[Bridge]
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 (Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha)
Yeah!

[Verse 4]
Happy ever after in the marketplace
Molly lets the children lend a hand (Foot)
Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face
And in the evening, she's a singer with the band (Yeah)

[Chorus]
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da
Life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
Yeah, ob-la-di, ob-la-da
Life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on

[Outro]
(Ha-ha-ha-ha) And if you want some fun (Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha)
Take Ob-la-di-bla-da
Ahh, thank you

Embed

About

Genius Annotation

Paul McCartney’s attempt at Ska. John Lennon and George Harrison absolutely loathed this song. Lennon stated that he hated how much time was devoted to it, calling it “Paul’s granny music”. Apparently, quite a few people share Lennon’s view, as a 2004 BBC poll named it the single worst song of all time.

“Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is the fourth track on the Beatles' ninth studio album, The Beatles (more well known as the The White Album).

The song reached No.1 in the Australian, Austrian and Swiss charts. It also separately received No.1 and No.7 in the Japanese Oricon singles and international charts.

That same year, The Marmalade had a cover single that reached no. 1 in the UK single charts.

Rob Sheffield, writer for Rolling Stone Magazine, and author of Dreaming The Beatles, wrote this about John and Paul’s experience recording the song, in his book:

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Translations

Genius Answer

What did The Beatles say about "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"?

Genius Answer

John did like that song. I think so. […]
What happened was: me, George, and Ringo were kinda' slaving over this. And John wasn’t there. He was late. Again. So, we’re not getting anywhere with it. […]
So, John comes into the studio, and he says, “What are you doing?” […]
I say “Ob-La-Di.”
He goes, “Oh! Oh, that one!”
He goes over to the piano. […]
[Paul mimics piano intro]
And we all fall in behind him and go, “Yes!”

—Paul McCartney (2018)

What did the other Beatles think of the song?

Genius Answer

John Lennon, by this point infatuated with Yoko Ono and addicted to heroin, hated working on “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” He described the song as “Paul’s granny shit”: