Oh! Darling is a song of The Beatles composed by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) and appearing as the fourth song on the Abbey Road album in 1969. Its working title was "Oh! Darling (I'll Never Do You No Harm)".
McCartney later said of recording the track, "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." He would only try the song once each day,if it was not right he would wait until the next day. In order to make sure he got every precious first take right, McCartney would practice the song in the bathtub. He once lamented that "five years ago I could have done this in one take".
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."
George Harrison described the song as "a typical 1950s-'60s-period song because of its chord structure."
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, substituting "I'm free at last" for a part of the lyric. The song and the following improvisation are included on The Beatles Anthology 3 CD.
The basic track was recorded on 20 April 1969, but there were many overdub sessions, including multiple attempts at the lead vocal by McCartney (as described above). According to Ian MacDonald, the backing vocals were "exquisite", but "sadly underplayed in the mix." The line up from the 50th Anniversary of Abbey Road states Paul on Piano, John on Guitar, George on Bass and Ringo on Drums. Billy Preston played an Organ in this session that was unused in the final mix
Lyrics[]
Oh! Darling, please believe me
I'll never do you no harm
Believe me when I tell you
I'll never do you no harm
Oh! Darling, if you leave me
I'll never make it alone
Believe me when I beg you
Don't ever leave me alone
When you told me you didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly broke down and cried
When you told me you didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly broke down and died
Oh! Darling, if you leave me
I'll never make it alone
Believe me when I tell you
I'll never do you no harm
When you told me you didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly broke down and cried
When you told me you didn't need me anymore
Well you know I nearly broke down and died
Oh! Darling, please believe me
I'll never let you down
Believe me when I tell you
I'll never do you no harm
Personnel[]
- John Lennon - Backing Vocals and Rhythm Guitar (1965 Epiphone 230TD Casino)
- Paul McCartney - Lead and Backing Vocals, Piano (Hamburg Steinway Baby Grand Piano])
- George Harrison - Backing Vocals and Bass Guitar (1966 Fender Jazz Bass)
- Ringo Starr - Drums (1968 Ludwig Hollywood Maple)
- Billy Preston - Hammond Organ (Hammond RT-3) *unused in the final mix*
External links[]
- Chords of this Song at tabfan.com