Oh! Darling

original song written and composed by Lennon-McCartney

"Oh! Darling" is a song of The Beatles written by Paul McCartney[1] (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and is the fourth song on the Abbey Road album.

"Oh! Darling"
Song by The Beatles
from the album Abbey Road
Released26 September 1969
Recorded20 April – 11 August 1969
GenreBlues rock
Length3:26
LabelApple Records
Songwriter(s)Lennon/McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin
Abbey Road track listing

Background

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McCartney later said, "When we were recording 'Oh! Darling' I came into the studios early every day for a week to sing it by myself because at first my voice was too clear. I wanted it to sound as though I'd been performing it on stage all week."[2]

In a 1980 interview with Playboy magazine, John Lennon said, "'Oh! Darling' was a great one of Paul's that he didn't sing too well. I always thought I could have done it better—it was more my style than his. He wrote it, so what the hell, he's going to sing it."[1]

George Harrison described the song as "a typical 1950s–'60s-period song because of its chord structure."[3]

Let It Be session

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After an early attempt at this song on 27 January 1969 during the Let It Be sessions, Lennon announced, "Just heard that Yoko's divorce has just gone through", after which he and the band burst into an improvised version of the song, singing "I'm free at last" instead of a part of the lyric.[4]

Covers

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Personnel

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Personnel per Ian MacDonald[5]
  1. 1.0 1.1 Sheff 2000, p. 203.
  2. The Beatles 2000, p. 339.
  3. Bernard 1993, p. 106.
  4. Lewisohn 1988, p. 168.
  5. MacDonald 2005, p. 350.

Other websites

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  • The Beatles (2000). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-2684-8.
  • Bernard, Shane K. (1993). Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.
  • Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
  • MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3.
  • Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.