Yellow Submarine (song): Difference between revisions
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==Inspiration== |
==Inspiration== |
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McCartney was living in [[Jane Asher]]'s parents' house at the time when he first composed the song in his head:<ref name="MilesPage106"> Miles, ''Many Years From Now'' (1998) p106</ref> "I was laying in bed in the Asher's garret... I was thinking of it as a song for Ringo, which it eventually turned out to be, so I wrote it as not too rangey [too many notes] in the vocal, then started making a story, sort of an ancient mariner, telling the young kids where he'd lived. It was pretty much my song as I recall... I think John helped out. The lyrics got more and more obscure as it goes on, but the chorus, melody and verses are mine."<ref name="YellowSubmarinequotesGeocities"/> In 1980, Lennon talked about the song: "'Yellow Submarine' is Paul's baby. [[Donovan]] helped with the lyrics. I helped with the lyrics too. We virtually made the track come alive in the studio, but based on Paul's inspiration. Paul's idea. Paul's title... written for Ringo."<ref name="YellowSubmarinequotesGeocities"/> Donovan added the words, "Sky of blue and sea of green".<ref name="OldiesAboutFontenot"/> McCartney also said: "It's a happy place, that's all. You know, it was just... We were trying to write a children's song. That was the basic idea. And there's nothing more to be read into it than there is in the lyrics of any children's song."<ref name="YellowSubmarinequotesGeocities">{{cite web |first= |last= |url=http://www.geocities.com/~Beatleboy1/dba10sub.html |title=Yellow Submarine (quotes) |publisher=Geocities |accessdate=2008-09-09}}</ref> |
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===Recording=== |
===Recording=== |
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Revision as of 17:11, 10 September 2008
| "Yellow Submarine" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| A-side | "Eleanor Rigby" |
"Yellow Submarine" is a 1966 song by The Beatles (credited to Lennon/McCartney) which was recorded by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Although it had previously been released on the Revolver album, it became the title song for the 1968 animated United Artists film, also called Yellow Submarine. It is also the title for the soundtrack album to the film, released as part of The Beatles' music catalogue.
The song was better received in Britain than in the United States. The single went to #1 on every major British chart, remained at #1 for four weeks and charted for 13 weeks. It won an Ivor Novello Award for the highest certified sales of any single issued in the UK in 1966. However, it failed to reach #1 on the American charts. A contributing factor may have been the "bigger than Jesus" controversy.
Inspiration
McCartney was living in Jane Asher's parents' house at the time when he first composed the song in his head:[1] "I was laying in bed in the Asher's garret... I was thinking of it as a song for Ringo, which it eventually turned out to be, so I wrote it as not too rangey [too many notes] in the vocal, then started making a story, sort of an ancient mariner, telling the young kids where he'd lived. It was pretty much my song as I recall... I think John helped out. The lyrics got more and more obscure as it goes on, but the chorus, melody and verses are mine."[2] In 1980, Lennon talked about the song: "'Yellow Submarine' is Paul's baby. Donovan helped with the lyrics. I helped with the lyrics too. We virtually made the track come alive in the studio, but based on Paul's inspiration. Paul's idea. Paul's title... written for Ringo."[2] Donovan added the words, "Sky of blue and sea of green".[3] McCartney also said: "It's a happy place, that's all. You know, it was just... We were trying to write a children's song. That was the basic idea. And there's nothing more to be read into it than there is in the lyrics of any children's song."[2]
Recording
Produced by George Martin and engineered by Geoff Emerick, "Yellow Submarine" was finished after five takes on 26 May 1966 (with special effects being added on 1 June 1966) in studio two at Abbey Road Studios.[3] On the second session the studio store cupboard was ransacked for special effects, which included chains, a ship's bell, tap dancing mats, whistles, hooters, a tin bath filled with water, wind and thunderstorm machines, as well as a cash register, which was later used on Pink Floyd's song "Money".[4]
Lennon blew through a straw into a pan of water to create a bubbling effect, McCartney and Lennon talked through tin cans to create the sound of the captain's orders, and Abbey Road assistant engineers John Skinner and Terry Condon twirled chains in a tin bath to create water sounds.[3] After the line, "and the band begins to play", Emerick found a recording of a brass band and changed it slightly so it could not be identified, although it is thought to be a recording of Georges Krier and Charles Helmer's 1906 composition, "Le Reve Passe". To stay with the children's story theme, the original recording had a spoken intro by Starr, but the idea was abandoned on June 3 1966.[3] "Yellow Submarine" was mixed on 2, 3, and 22 June 1966.[5]
Credits
- John Lennon – acoustic guitar (1964 Gibson J160E) backing vocals
- Paul McCartney – bass guitar (1964 Rickenbacker 4001S) rhythm guitar (1964 Epiphone FT-79 "Texan") backing vocals
- George Harrison – tambourine, backing vocals
- Ringo Starr – lead vocals, drums, harmonica[3]
Various people – including Neil Aspinall, Pattie Boyd, Donovan, Mal Evans, Marianne Faithfull, and Brian Jones – unofficially contributed to the recording (sound effects such as the "party" noises, laughter, clinking glasses, etc.) as well as chauffeur Alf Bicknell, and studio engineers Skinner and Condon. When it was finished, Evans strapped on a marching bass drum and led everybody in a line around the studio doing the conga dance while banging on the drum.[4]
Promotion and chart positions
The "Yellow Submarine" single was the Beatles' thirteenth UK single. It was released in the UK on 5 August as a 'double A side' with "Eleanor Rigby", and in the United States on 8 August. The Revolver album was released the next day.[6]
In the United States, the single was #2 on the Billboard "Hot 100", #1 in Record World, and #2 in Cashbox, where it was held off #1 by The Supremes' "You Can't Hurry Love".[3]
The single went to #1 on every major British chart, remained at #1 for four weeks and charted for 13 weeks.[3] It won an Ivor Novello Award for the highest certified sales of any single issued in the UK in 1966. No promotional film clip was made, so some TV programs (including the BBC's Top Of The Pops) created their own clips from stock footage.
The single was released during the controversies about the "Butcher Cover" (the Yesterday and Today album cover)[3] and John Lennon's remarks about Christianity,[7] and are cited as part of the reason the song failed to reach #1 on all US charts. Despite this, it sold 1,200,000 copies in only four weeks and earned the Beatles their twenty-first US Gold Record award, beating the record set by Elvis Presley.
Cover versions and tributes
In 1968, Apple Records issued a single by the Black Dyke Mills Band, which featured a cover version of "Yellow Submarine" as the B-side. In 1966 Maurice Chevalier recorded a version in French ("Le sous-marin vert"). The song was also covered by Roots Manuva in 2002, on his Badmeaningood 2 album.[8] It has entered popular usage as a children's song, such as in Fun Song Factory, when it was once combined with colourful props and actions.
In 2005, a 51-foot long yellow submarine metal sculpture was placed outside Liverpool's John Lennon Airport. The sculpture was built by apprentices from the Cammell Laird shipyard, and had been used as part of Liverpool's International Garden Festival in 1984.[9]
Notes
- ^ Miles, Many Years From Now (1998) p106
- ^ a b c "Yellow Submarine (quotes)". Geocities. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Fontenot, Robert (1999-08-20). "Yellow Submarine: The history of this classic Beatles song". Oldies About. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Spitz, The Beatles (2005) p612
- ^ "Yellow Submarine Lennon/McCartney". Steve's Beatles. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
- ^ Spitz, The Beatles (2005) p629
- ^ Spitz, The Beatles (2005) p627
- ^ "Badmeaningood 2". MTV. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
- ^ "Standing outside the terminal building at Liverpool's John Lennon airport". Icons. 1999-08-20. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
References
- Lewisohn, Mark (1990). EMI's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years. Hamlyn. ISBN 0-681-03189-1.
- Martin, George (1994). All You Need Is Ears. St. Martin's Griffin (New York). ISBN 978-0312114824.
- Miles, Barry (1997). Many Years From Now. Vintage-Random House. ISBN 0-7493-8658-4.
- Spitz, Bob (2005). The Beatles, The Biography. Little, Brown and Company (New York). ISBN 1-84513-160-6.
- The Beatles (2003). The Beatles Anthology (DVD). Apple records. ASIN: B00008GKEG.
