I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Desmond has a barrow in the marketplace
Molly is the singer in a band
Desmond says to Molly, "Girl, I like your face"
And Molly says this as she takes him by the hand
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
Desmond takes a trolley to the jeweler's store
Buys a twenty carat golden ring
Takes it back to Molly waiting at the door
And as he gives it to her she begins to sing
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on (yeah)
In a couple of years they have built a home sweet home
With a couple of kids running in the yard
Of Desmond and Molly Jones
Happy ever after in the marketplace
Desmond lets the children lend a hand
Molly stays at home and does her pretty face
And in the evening she still sings it with the band, yes
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on (hey)
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
In a couple of years they have built a home sweet home
With a couple of kids running in the yard
Of Desmond and Molly Jones
Hey, happy ever after in the marketplace
Molly lets the children lend a hand
Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face
And in the evening she's a singer with the band, yeah
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on (hey)
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
And if you want some fun
Take ob-la-di, bla-da
Ah, thank you
Molly is the singer in a band
Desmond says to Molly, "Girl, I like your face"
And Molly says this as she takes him by the hand
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
Desmond takes a trolley to the jeweler's store
Buys a twenty carat golden ring
Takes it back to Molly waiting at the door
And as he gives it to her she begins to sing
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on (yeah)
In a couple of years they have built a home sweet home
With a couple of kids running in the yard
Of Desmond and Molly Jones
Happy ever after in the marketplace
Desmond lets the children lend a hand
Molly stays at home and does her pretty face
And in the evening she still sings it with the band, yes
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on (hey)
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
In a couple of years they have built a home sweet home
With a couple of kids running in the yard
Of Desmond and Molly Jones
Hey, happy ever after in the marketplace
Molly lets the children lend a hand
Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face
And in the evening she's a singer with the band, yeah
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on (hey)
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah
La-la, how their life goes on
And if you want some fun
Take ob-la-di, bla-da
Ah, thank you
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Paul did indeed make an error at the end, and the other three Beatles liked it enough that the kept it in. The phrase Ob-la-di Ob-la-da means "life goes on". Also, Paul actually heard the phrase from a Nigerian congo player in a group called Bad Manners named Jimmy Anonmuogharan Scott Emuakpor. Jimmy actually tried to sue him for using that phrase, a lot of events followed, and Jimmy dropped the case after Paul payed the support money that Jimmy owed his ex-wife and they both became close friends afterward.
paul screwed up in the end of the song: "Happy ever after in the market place Molly lets the children lend a hand. Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face And in the evening she’s singer with the band."
they felt it went along with the general silliness of the choon, so they kept the take.
...at least that's the story i heard.
Correct! I heard an old version that they never meant to release when they had both times "Desmond lets the children lend a hand, Molly stays at home and does her pretty face".
@roger wilco Especially in today's political climate
i dont know how anyone can h8 this song, its so upbeat and cherpy
Bad Manners? Surely not the same Bad Manners that had a string of Ska hits in the early 1980s, fronted by a huge skinhead named Buster Bloodvessel? Which coincidentally was also the name of the bus driver in Magical Mystery Tour...
This song is totally the funnest song every written!! It's awesome! I want to make a fun song like that.
An error in the following comment I made:
Its not the "Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face", which is correct, but the "And in the evening he's a singer with the band" line which should read "And in the evening SHE'S a singer with the band"
Paul actually wrote this song after being in Rishi Kesh (not sure if that's the spelling). It's a very happy song, I enjoy it lots.
wasnt this the theme song to a show?
@shenry10 yes! It was a show in the late 80’s or early 90’s about a family with an autistic son. I can’t remember the name of the show. Maybe Life Goes On?
Roger is right. And after Paul sings "...lend a hand" you can hear John shouting "Foot!" and George yelling "Leg!".
Musically, a completely incompetent attempt at white Reggae (see also Simon & Grfunkel's "Why Don't You Write Me?") but a great singalong standard.
Paul had a Jamaican friend who was a bandleader, and he was the originator of the phrase "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da life goes on bra".
The Offspring had a hit that was basically a paradoy of this, "Why Don't You Get a Job". Beatles are much better.