Comments on: Oh! Darling

By: John

John — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 16:55:38 +0000

Absolutely! I’m glad some people know what they are talking about when it comes to vocals. John didn’t have the range. He could have only hit those notes with his falsetto and it would have been very thin. Paul sang it with guts and muscle that only he had. Nothing at all against JL but it upsets me when people rate Paul’s vocals and they don’t have a clue.

By: John

John — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 16:43:49 +0000

In the early Beatle days John was great but never ever had the range and soulfulness of Paul. I loved John’s vocals but I am a singer and I’ve been singing Beatles my whole life and Paul hits notes with a quality that John never could. The raspiness that some people wrongly criticize at times is only attainable by developing those muscles that make it happen. It’s not a mistake it’s amazing. Both John and Paul had it better than anyone in the early days. John lost it especially after the break up. I’m just saying. Paul lost it too as he aged. They were the two best ever.

By: HouTex

HouTex — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 22:32:54 +0000

Oh! Darling…has always been a favorite of mine. I remember in the late 70’s as a 10 year old hearing it for the first time. I had just become aquainted with music…and specifically 50’s music, and The Beatles. I remember thinking, after hearing Oh! Darling, it had to be a cover of some 50’s tune. I was convinced I had heard it before. To this day…when I hear it…I cannot shake the eery feeling that I have heard it somewhere before by an earlier band, even though I know…it is an original Beatles tune. It is brilliantly done. Buddy Holly would have been proud.

By: Kalle

Kalle — Sun, 01 Jul 2018 08:17:18 +0000

For No One may be written in the third person but the writer is still very much addressing himself. Oh Darling is a fabulous song but to use it to compare two different relationships under very different circumstances is pretty unfair. I doubt whether Paul would be destroyed – he’s tough.

By: Joneo

Joneo — Sat, 19 May 2018 13:30:53 +0000

In regards to the vocal range debate, I don’t think John would’ve been able to hit the high notes with the force that Paul did. Paul sang the bridge to “A Hard Day’s Night” because John couldn’t reach those high notes. I think he would’ve been great singing the verses on ” Oh! Darling” though.

By: Slave

Slave — Fri, 04 May 2018 06:30:06 +0000

Completely agree. I also feel this song was to John, therefore Paul had to sing it. In interviews I heard Paul say “hello darling” to men so it’s plausible the darling could be John.

By: Stephen Pierce

Stephen Pierce — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 20:07:34 +0000

Oh, you mean when he wasn’t ripping off Bob Dylan (“Hey, you’ve got to hide your love away” “Norwegian Wood”) That’s been pointed out many times. Don’t be silly in your bias.

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 21:01:38 +0000

Because it is a total BITCH to sing. Most of their stuff from the latter days we only meant for consumption by the fans, not performance.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 01:45:19 +0000

Just listened to the isolated vocals again… sorry, LOVE John, but he couldn’t have matched this. John would have done a cool version, but the high notes belted without screaming are just a level of technicality above John’s ability. And I adore John rawness and vulnerability in his voice.

By: cjde341Jim

cjde341Jim — Thu, 10 Aug 2017 23:56:58 +0000

What about the last six notes? Played up by the nut or down by the bridge?

By: Jeff Carlson

Jeff Carlson — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 00:12:37 +0000

I’m a John guy, but this is belting by McCartney at it’s best, a masterpiece in recorded performance. Yeah I’d love to have heard John belt it, but at best I think he’d equal it, avoiding some of the higher parts, which Paul might pull off in the background. One thing great about Abbey road is how the Beatles are back to really singing together, along with the razor sharp performances, none of the slop of other late period Beatles albums. John and Paul were so much better together than not.

By: MikeP

MikeP — Sat, 01 Jul 2017 01:41:07 +0000

Yes, it is clearly piano strings being plucked.

By: Paul Knudsen

Paul Knudsen — Thu, 18 May 2017 01:01:03 +0000

A Great Version of a Classic(Ballad) Rock n Roll Song ….Beatles Style

By: Hennyon

Hennyon — Mon, 08 May 2017 06:59:23 +0000

Really? I thought it was piano strings (fingerpicked, not hammered).

By: DarrenS

DarrenS — Thu, 28 Jan 2016 20:41:51 +0000

I was thinking about this song today and it struck me as how much of a companion piece this is to For No One. The exception is that OD is a first person account of the break up whereas FNO is a 3rd person account. In each scenario, the woman is leaving the man and he is heartbroken. FNO is sung from the outside, with a melancholy sense of loss that one would have when telling a sad tale of others. OD is sung from the inside, with all of the heartache and loss just bursting forth from the man who is losing is love.

Now, I have never heard this theory before, nor do I think it is what Paul had in mind, but I think it adds a new layer to the story. Perhaps it also reflected Paul’s feelings for his loves at those times and what their losses would do to him. In 66, with Jane Asher, he would be heartbroken but dispassionate. In 69, with Linda, it would destroy him.

Again, just a thought. Love the song immensely.

By: Anton

Anton — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 07:29:26 +0000

I always thought John sang that song. It was so much in John’s style it never occurred to me it was not him until reading about here today in The Beatles Bible. The quote from John, even if it was a semi-jealous dig at Paul (it was not the first), validates my perspective.

By: Presskh

Presskh — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 18:35:54 +0000

Agree. You had three multi-talented musical icons in the same band (and a very good drummer) – that’s what made them so special and unique among all rock bands.

By: Golden Slumber

Golden Slumber — Sat, 25 Jul 2015 02:47:59 +0000

John’s playing on Paul’s songs, such as piano on this and Obladi-Oblada, organ on I’m Down, lead guitar on Get Back, Honey Pie, and on George’s For You Blue, bass on Helter Skelter, just to name a few, show what a great musician and collaborator he was. People usually mention that about Paul, but not as much about John and George, who were also pretty apt at doing that.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 22:46:52 +0000

Regarding John’s quote, John was incapable of complimenting Paul without following it up with a criticism. He was often jealous of Paul’s talent. Before anyone accuses me of Lennon bashing, let me assure you I love them both equally, but they both had faults, and John was insecure about Paul’s superior vocal versatility as evidenced by his constant back handed compliments. John did not have the ability to perform this song because he didn’t have the range. No amount of “training” would have changed that.
They each wrote songs they were good at singing; Paul would not have sounded nearly as good singing Help! for example. Oh! Darling, as with everything else The Beatles did, happened exactly the way it was suppose to.

By: Ernesto Arias

Ernesto Arias — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 01:16:47 +0000

Oh Darling, I’ve been looking for a video where Paul sing this live but I found nothing. Even in his concerts, past & present I did not find one. Why???