Octopus's Garden
Ringo Starr sat on a boat belonging to comedian Peter Sellers in Sardinia during 1968. He ordered fish and chips for lunch but received squid instead. This was the first time he had eaten squid, and he later described it as rubbery with a taste like chicken. The boat's captain told him about octopuses traveling along the sea bed. They pick up stones and shiny objects to build gardens. Starr wanted to escape mounting hostility among his bandmates. He admitted that he just wanted to be under the sea too.
George Harrison provided uncredited assistance while developing the song's chord changes. Footage from the documentaries Let It Be and The Beatles: Get Back shows Harrison helping Starr work out the song on piano. John Lennon joined in playing drums during these sessions. Harrison commented that Octopus's Garden is Ringo's song. He noted it was only the second song Ringo wrote. Harrison added that the song gets very deep into the listener's consciousness because it is so peaceful. He suggested Ringo might be writing cosmic songs without realizing it.
The basic instrumental track was recorded on the 26th of April 1969 at Abbey Road Studios. The lineup included two electric guitars played by Harrison and Lennon. Paul McCartney handled bass guitar duties while Starr played drums. Starr also provided a temporary guide vocal on this date. Take 2 of the recording features this guide vocal with Starr singing the first verse three times. This take appears as Track 14 on Disc 2 of Anthology 3. George Martin did not produce the session, but his apprentice Chris Thomas assisted in the control room. Thirty-two takes were required before the band was satisfied with the track.
Engineers created unique bubbling audio textures using milk straws and guitar amplifiers. Alan Parsons suggests the effect was probably achieved using tremolo produced by a guitar amplifier. Harrison added the sound of bubbles by blowing through a straw into a glass of milk at Starr's request. Mark Lewisohn notes backing vocals by McCartney and Harrison during the guitar solo were put through compressors and limiters. Dynamic signal processing does not produce such modulation effects. The final result created a gurgling sound that defined the song's atmosphere.
The song received a remix in 2006 for the Beatles album Love. The remix begins with Starr's vocals over orchestration from Good Night. It transitions into the original instrumental backing track on the line I'd ask my friends. Sound effects from Yellow Submarine appear in the background throughout the version. During the guitar solo, the drum track is replaced with that of Lovely Rita. The song ends with the beginning guitar riff from Sun King. This integration brought together elements from other classic tracks.
Jim Henson's Muppets made three video cover versions of the song across television shows. They appeared on Sesame Street Episode 19 in 1969. A second performance aired on The Ed Sullivan Show in March 1970. The third version came on The Muppet Show Episode 312 in 1978. Kermit the Frog performed alongside his nephew Robin the Frog and Miss Piggy. Oasis and Noel Gallagher used lyrics from Octopus's Garden in their own work. The phrase I'd like to be under the sea appears in Take Me Away. The refrain also surfaces about forty seconds from the end of The Masterplan.
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Common questions
Who wrote the song Octopus's Garden and when was it recorded?
Ringo Starr wrote the song Octopus's Garden while George Harrison provided uncredited assistance with chord changes. The basic instrumental track for the song was recorded on the 26th of April 1969 at Abbey Road Studios.
What inspired Ringo Starr to write Octopus's Garden in 1968?
Ringo Starr wrote Octopus's Garden after eating squid on a boat belonging to Peter Sellers in Sardinia during 1968. He wanted to escape mounting hostility among his bandmates and imagined being under the sea like the octopuses described by the boat captain.
How did engineers create the bubbling sound effects in Octopus's Garden?
Engineers created unique bubbling audio textures using milk straws and guitar amplifiers during the recording sessions. Harrison added the sound of bubbles by blowing through a straw into a glass of milk at Starr's request.
When was the song Octopus's Garden remixed for the Beatles album Love?
The song received a remix in 2006 for the Beatles album Love. This version integrates elements from other classic tracks including orchestration from Good Night and drum tracks from Lovely Rita.
Which television shows featured video cover versions of Octopus's Garden by Jim Henson's Muppets?
Jim Henson's Muppets made three video cover versions of the song across Sesame Street Episode 19 in 1969, The Ed Sullivan Show in March 1970, and The Muppet Show Episode 312 in 1978. Kermit the Frog performed alongside Robin the Frog and Miss Piggy in these appearances.