Wiki
-
Length
2:51
"Octopus's Garden" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written and sung by Ringo Starr (credited to his real name Richard Starkey), from their 1969 album Abbey Road. George Harrison, who assisted Starr with the song, commented: "'Octopus's Garden' is Ringo's song. It's only the second song Ringo wrote, and it's lovely." He added that the song gets very deep into the listener's consciousness "because it's so peaceful. I suppose Ringo is writing cosmic songs these days without even realising it." It was the last song released by the Beatles featuring Starr on lead vocals.
Composition
The idea for the song came about when Starr was on a boat belonging to comedian Peter Sellers in Sardinia in 1968. He ordered fish and chips for lunch, but instead of fish he got squid (it was the first time he had eaten squid, and he said, "It was OK. A bit rubbery. Tasted like chicken.") The boat's captain then told Starr about how octopuses travel along the sea bed picking up stones and shiny objects with which to build gardens. Starr's songwriting was further inspired by his desire to escape mounting hostility among the Beatles; he would later admit that he had "just wanted to be under the sea, too". Uncredited assistance in developing the song's chord changes was provided by Harrison, who can be seen helping Starr work the song out on piano, with Lennon later joining in with drums, in the documentaries Let It Be (1970) and The Beatles: Get Back (2021), both using the same footage.
The song, which contains the lyrics "Oh what joy for every girl and boy/Knowing they're happy and they're safe," is sometimes thought of as being a song for children, like "Yellow Submarine" or "All Together Now". It has also been performed by the Muppets several times in various episodes of their shows.
The basic instrumental track was recorded 26 April 1969, with the Beatles lineup of two electric guitars (Harrison and Lennon), bass guitar (McCartney) and drums (Starr). Starr also provided a temporary guide vocal on this date. (Take 2 of the recording, featuring this guide vocal, Starr singing the first verse three times, is track 14 on disc 2 of Anthology 3.) In the absence of George Martin, the Beatles themselves were listed as producer, with Martin's apprentice Chris Thomas present in the control room to assist. Thirty-two takes were required before the Beatles were satisfied with the track.
Recording
The basic instrumental track was recorded 26 April 1969, with the Beatles lineup of two electric guitars (Harrison and Lennon), bass guitar (McCartney) and drums (Starr). Starr also provided a temporary guide vocal on this date. (Take 2 of the recording, featuring this guide vocal, Starr singing the first verse three times, is track 14 on disc 2 of Anthology 3.) In the absence of George Martin, the Beatles themselves were listed as producer, with Martin's apprentice Chris Thomas present in the control room to assist. Thirty-two takes were required before the Beatles were satisfied with the track.
The backing vocals by McCartney and Harrison during the guitar solo were put through compressors and limiters to create a gurgling sound. At Starr's request, Harrison added the sound of bubbles by blowing through a straw into a glass of milk.
Track descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. Feel free to contribute!
All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
![All Things Must Pass (50th Anniversary) [Super Deluxe]](https://lastfm.freetls.fastly.net/i/u/300x300/ad6f36412e2e164f5e6c93287870d05c.jpg)
