It’s well known that Paul McCartney was one of the creative engines that propelled The Beatles. He wrote dozens of hit songs for the Fab Four, timeless classics that helped shape modern music. He’s decades removed from the band’s breakup, but Macca doesn’t plan to stop writing songs anytime soon. And why would he? Paul is a genius songwriter, as he showed with The Beatles’ hit “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.”
Paul McCartney revealed the origins of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”
He was a creative linchpin for The Beatles, but Paul displayed a knack for songwriting long before he helped found the band. He penned the classic Beatles song “I Saw Her Standing There” while skipping school with John Lennon.
That creative tandem was responsible for most of the Fab Four’s hit songs, tunes that helped usher in sweeping changes in pop music. One of Paul’s songs that left a lasting impression was the White Album’s “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” He revealed the origins during a 2018 stop on Howard Stern’s radio show (via YouTube):
“We used to go to the clubs late at night — drink, dance, maybe a little food. There was a friend of mine who I befriended in the clubs, an African guy called Jimmy Scott. We would jive together, you know, just, ‘Hey man, what’s going on?’ He would say, ‘Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, brah,’ and I just loved it. I would go, ‘Ob-la-di, Jimmy.’ So I wrote the song — music and lyrics together, which is kind of often how it happens. You just get some chords, and you make a song up.”
Paul McCartney on how he came up with The Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da”
He makes it sound so simple. The genius of Paul’s songwriting is that it was that easy for him.
Paul’s genius as a songwriter was on full display with ‘Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da’
Paul’s genius wasn’t only that he could string together a few chords, toss in some lyrics, and create a hit song. The other part of his brilliance was that he could find inspiration anywhere and do something with it.
Let’s take Paul at his word with “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and assume Jimmy Scott’s phrase inspired the song. It takes a special ear and a creative mind to turn a simple saying into a complete song. And not just any song, but an instantly recognizable, imminently catchy song that tells a complete story in three minutes.
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It’s not like Macca had the words squirreled away somewhere and waited for a suitable melody to whip them out. No, he put the entire song together — music and lyrics — at the same time. The arduous recording process lasted several days and saw John storm out of the studio, but the backbone of the song was already there.
Paul’s genius was that he had his ear open for inspiration, found it with Scott’s saying, added music and lyrics, and penned a hit song in a flash.
The song came with some controversy
The whimsical nature of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” divided The Beatles (John reportedly hated it) and their fans. That wasn’t the only bit of controversy surrounding the song.
Scott sought co-writing credits since Paul used his saying as the song’s title. The plagiarism controversy didn’t sit well with Macca, who claimed the common phrase wasn’t worthy of a writing credit. Scott and Paul eventually sorted out their differences, but it was a sour note for any otherwise upbeat song, which reached No. 49 on the Billboard charts (albeit in 1976).
Whether you love it or loathe it, the way “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” came together illustrates Paul McCartney’s genius as a songwriter. The Beatles are gone, but Macca remains, still writing and performing engaging, uplifting music.
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