Beatles Involved:
John and George
Listenability:
4.5 out of 5
Co-written by Yoko this track is arguably one of John's greatest ballads. It features some delicate, melodic guitar picking by George which adds to the richness of the song. The lyrics, chord structure, John's piano playing (which is augmented by Nicky Hopkins on keyboard) all combine to produce a gentle, affective sound.
What They Said About It:
John:
You hear Yoko's classical influence. She was trained as a classical musician all her life, and she only went mad, avant garde, later in life, you know, (laughter) like a lot of people do. And she...Yoko:
Mike Douglas: Let's be honest, John, when she met you...
No, she went bananas before she met me. (laughter) We're both bananas, that's why we fell in love. But this song, you can hear the classical influence of Yoko . . . has influenced me on this. And this is 80% her lyric and 50% her tune on this, and it really influenced me. You can hear a Japanese influence. Taken from conversation on Mike Douglas Show.
We wrote it together... Taken from conversation on Mike Douglas Show.
In most love songs you're making people feel hot or whatever about each other. But instead of that, he's saying, "I see it clearly for the first time." It's not so much about sexual interest or "I miss you" - it's more to do with true love. Taken from Rolling Stone 2010 - An article in which Yoko placed 'Oh My Love' at the top of her Top 10 John Lennon songs.
Other Bits and Pieces
- Bono of U2 fame is also a fan of 'Oh My Love'. In a 2005 interview with Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone magazine he said:
I remember John singing “Oh My Love.” It’s like a little hymn. It’s certainly a prayer of some kind – even if he was an atheist. “Oh, my love / For the first time in my life / My eyes can see / I see the wind / Oh, I see the trees/ Everything is clear in our world.” For me it was like he was talking about the veil lifting off, the scales falling from the eyes. Seeing out the window with a new clarity that love brings you. I remember that feeling. Taken from Rolling Stone November 2005
- There is a lot of footage available of this song being recorded. The following clip is one of the most interesting. It includes John playing the piano and calling out the chords to George who is playing along on guitar. John doesn't know the name of one of the chords and has to ask Yoko. Later in the clip George and Yoko briefly converse and then John borrows George's steel guitar and is suitably impressed.
- The 1971 version has little in common with the 1968 demo of the same song, apart from the opening line. You can hear the demo version on the clip below.
- Here's a link to an isolated track of George's guitar playing:
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