When The Beatles were making music, it must have felt like the whole world was watching and waiting. They were the biggest group in the industry, amassing countless fans across the world, young and old, while significantly transforming the trajectory of rock music. Thus, they must have often felt a sense of pressure to record songs that would uphold this reputation, and for the most part, they didn’t have much of a problem in producing incredible songs.
Yet, they certainly made some questionable musical decisions, perhaps as a result of pressure to churn out chart-topping singles and albums or simply because one member’s creative vision overtook the rest. This seemed to be the case when Paul McCartney penned ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’, which appeared on their eponymous album, also known as The White Album. The record features 30 songs, and ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ is certainly a weaker number.
For John Lennon, it sounded like “granny shit”, with Geoff Emerick recalling in Here, There, Everywhere, “John went ballistic” when he heard McCartney’s ideas for the song. “Ranting and raving, he headed out the door, with Yoko trailing closely behind, and we thought that we’d seen the last of him that evening. But a few hours later, he stormed back into the studio, clearly in a highly altered state of mind.”
While McCartney later asserted that Lennon liked the song – evidently, the fact that he agreed to record it seems like enough proof that he didn’t utterly despise it – ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ retains a legacy as one of The Beatles’ worst songs. But is the song really all that bad? It hit number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was praised by various critics upon its release for being a more lighthearted and cheerful number on the album. It clearly wasn’t derided at the time, but as the years have gone on, it has quickly proved to be one of the most dated-sounding and cheesy tracks the band ever made.
Inspired by Jimmy Scott-Emuakpor, a Nigerian conga player, McCartney used the titular phrase, which Scott-Emuakpor would often exclaim, as the chorus of the track. The song has a sweet sentiment, with McCartney telling the story of Desmond, a market worker, and Molly, a singer, who form a relationship and begin a family. “In a couple of years, they have built a home sweet home/ With a couple of kids running in the yard,” he sings, as a peppy beat backs his optimistic musings.
There’s a nursery rhyme quality to the song, although the instrumentals were actually inspired by ska and reggae. It seems as though McCartney’s musical inspiration falls flat in his hands – the song sounds much more inspired by music hall than it does ska or reggae. The whole song has a corny sensibility, particularly reflected in the delivery of “La, la, how their life goes on”. The adding background clapping doesn’t help, and the doddering bassline makes the song a laborious listen. They could’ve easily left ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ in the studio.
Perhaps those who don’t like the song are just too cynical. For many, it’s an uplifting track that celebrates a simple love story, encouraging a communal sing-song through its chorus. It’s designed to be a fairly inoffensive track with enough appeal to attract listeners of any age, and in that respect, it does work. Yet, for The Beatles, a forward-thinking band who even influenced the creation of heavy metal with ‘Helter Skelter’ (from the same album), ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’ sounds firmly stuck in the past.
