What are they saying in "Old Brown Shoe"?

[Nil]

What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown
Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
the song. Am I missing something obvious?

[Jeff]

Sorry, Nil, I don't know the answer to your question. Is it something
like blank blank let it down?

Speaking of Gary Brooker, I have an album by him called "Lead me
to the water" in which George Harrison plays slide on one song. I
forget name of song. Need to transfer this song to CD.

[Nutella]

I think they are saying "Cranberry Sauce".

[Donna]

I don't have any idea what's being said, either, but you're probably
right in thinking that they're nonsense syllables. I used to have a boy
in my class whose last name was Scutto and, as a kid, I heard it as if
"Scutto... Scutto, too" was being repeated. These things tend to stick
because I still hear it that way.

[scouser]

Maybe "Let it go, Let it down" - "wurrrring rings on every
finger"!!!

George played on "Mineral Man" and "The Cycle" too on the Gary Brooker
album you mention.

[jtees4]

Sorry....I have no idea, but it probably has something to do with Paul
being dead, at least when played backwards and facing the East.

****
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=789610
http://www.reviewmymusicnow.com

[Jeff]

Thanks so much for the info.

Jeff

[richforman]

Just want to say, excellent post/question because it is a real
mystery, one of the few remaining ones, I don't think anyone knows the
answer or at least I don't remember seeing/hearing it, and it's a
question that always comes to mind whenever one hears the tune yet
hasn't been brought up much here. After all these years I have never
even been able to come up with a guess as to what's being said there!
And it's frustrating because you want to sing along with it so you
have to make up gibberish that's not even close!

richforman

[jaMesa]

It is a great question.

I grew up hearing it as "do that, do that shoe".

But now I'll have to go back to it with fresh ears...

[copperhead]

On Mar 15, 11:17 am, jaMesa <jmx...@gmail.com> wrote:

I always heard it as:

Truly.... Truly gone...

[Nil]

On 15 Mar 2010, copperhead <copper...@hotmail.com> wrote in
rec.music.beatles:

> On Mar 15, 11:17 am, jaMesa <jmx...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I always heard it as:
>
> Truly.... Truly gone...

I don't think that's what's on the Beatles record. The first bit could
be, but the second bit rhymes more with "goo" or "shoe".

But I think you're right about the Concert for George version. Booker
sings at one point, "Yes I'm..." + whatever the phrase is. It sounds
like "truly gone" in that context.

I guess that makes some sense in this lyric. The song seems to be about
changing for the better, leaving behind his "old brown shoe" (that is,
an dull, repressive zoo where some try to drag him down". So, the song
is like a declaration of Independence.

[rwalker]

On Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:17:33 -0700 (PDT), jaMesa <jmx...@gmail.com>
wrote:

snip

>
>I grew up hearing it as "do that, do that shoe".
>
>But now I'll have to go back to it with fresh ears...

While I knew it couldn't possibly be right, I always heard it as:
"Sit down, do dat do."

[BLACKPOOLJIMMY]

"Who knows, who knows now"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC0J-hpIsYY

[BLACKPOOLJIMMY]

There is a bit of a shout-out to Ringo on this song: "If I grow up,
I'll be a singer/Wear rings on every finger"

[Nil]

On 15 Mar 2010, BLACKPOOLJIMMY <Blackpo...@aol.com> wrote in
rec.music.beatles:

> "Who knows, who knows now"
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC0J-hpIsYY

I don't think that's it either. The first part could be heard as that,
but it's a bit of a stretch. But the second part is something else.

I just consulted my "Beatles Complete Scores" book, and they have it
as, "Tu-la, tu-ru-tu". It does sound pretty close to that. Does that
have any meaning? Some obscure Welsh phrase? Could it be.... SATAN?!?

Here's the parts in question, first the Beatles track, then the Concert
for George. I ran it through a karaoke filter that minimized the
backing track a bit, though it's still not very clear:

<http://home.comcast.net/~esionder/temp/OBS2.mp3>

I'm pretty convinced the CFG version says "Truly, truly gone." But the
other...

[BLACKPOOLJIMMY]

On Mar 15, 3:26�pm, Nil <redno...@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote:
> On 15 Mar 2010, BLACKPOOLJIMMY <Blackpoolji...@aol.com> wrote in

Yikes...now I'm getting "Too late, too late now" Maybe in response to
"another take" request?

Mystery continues.

[abe slaney]

I always heard nonsense syllables that sounded like:
doo dow - doo daht doo

[The Nice Mean Man]

On Mar 14, 5:57 pm, Nil <redno...@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote:

He's saying that it isn't his problem that all of those kids starved
before they could receive any of that Concert for Bengle Desh aid.
That's what it sounds like to me.

[troglodog]

I always heard "too long to that girl".

[The Nice Mean Man]

On Mar 15, 8:03 pm, troglodog <troglo...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I always heard "too long to that girl".

Well, that makes a lot of sense....

The Nice Mean Man

[brilton]

In the "Concert For George" version, they are clearly singing "Truly,
truly gone". On George's own "Live In Japan", they seem to be singing
something like "Do-lay, doot doo-law". On the original record, it's
really anyones guess, as it seems to keep changing as they go.

[The Harmonic Wheel]

On Mar 15, 10:22 pm, Robocop <robo...@rmb.com> wrote:

> Dreadful song

Great lyric.

[scouser]

On Mar 16, 3:22 am, Robocop <robo...@rmb.com> wrote:
> Poisoned Rose wrote:
> >I'm not saying this is "right," but I always processed it as sort of a
> >lip-lazy "Who loves...who loves you?"
>
> Good answer, but it sounds like the OP was deceptively posing the
> question to confirm what he hears rather than seeking input.
>
> Dreadful song though. Nick Andrews was right.

Great favourite of Eric Claptons - so he would be in disagreement with
Nick Andews! Great rocking number.

[iarwain]

I have no idea what they're saying. But there's something funny about
Old Brown Shoe in that it always used to be the one Beatle song I
didn't know the words to when I was growing up. I didn't know the
whole "for your sweet top lip I'm in the queue" bit for the longest
time (what a weird lyric). Most Beatle songs are so well enunciated
(a secret to their success?) but this one's kind of garbled, like a
Rolling Stones song. Not as bad as Mick Jagger singing though.

[jtees4]

On Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:50:46 -0400, rwalker <rwa...@despammed.com>
wrote:

I hear something close to yours...I hear Du - aa...Do- a -doo
(well the second part is close anyway)

[The Harmonic Wheel]

Maybe he wrote it originally for Ringo.

Hmmmm.

[iarwain]

I always heard it as "Do it, through and through" or something like
that. I'm not saying that's what it is, that's just what my brain
interpreted it as.

[marcuscp]

On Mar 17, 7:10 am, Robocop <robo...@rmb.com> wrote:

> rich wrote:
> >Just want to say, excellent post/question because it is a real
> >mystery, one of the few remaining ones, I don't think anyone knows the
> >answer or at least I don't remember seeing/hearing it, and it's a
> >question that always comes to mind whenever one hears the tune yet
> >hasn't been brought up much here.
>

> The bigger mystery is why they included this dreadful song on 67-70.
> Definitely a candidate for worst ever recording. Embarassing.

Fantastic song. One of my faves - great fun to play live.

[brilton]

That's nonsense. Ringo certainly wasn't the only - or the first - pop
start to wear lots of rings. Fats Domino springs to mind straight away.

[murray...@yahoo.com]

On Sunday, March 14, 2010 4:57:55 PM UTC-5, Nil wrote:
> What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown
> Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
> different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
> syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
> Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
> late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
> the song. Am I missing something obvious?

Too loud... Turn it down

[gj]

On Fri, 2 May 2014 19:42:07 -0700 (PDT), murray...@yahoo.com
wrote:

Speaking of OBS, I was listening to this as an mp3 through headphones
and for the first time really heard what Paul was doing on the bass.
Pretty neat.

-GJ

[zippl...@gmail.com]

I used to practice that on bass, over 30 years ago, playing along
with the song. It's somewhat complicated, stretching your fingers.

[Fattuchus]

On Monday, March 15, 2010 12:33:25 AM UTC-4, Donna wrote:
> Nil wrote:
> >
> > What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown
> > Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
> > different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
> > syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
> > Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
> > late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
> > the song. Am I missing something obvious?
>

> I don't have any idea what's being said, either, but you're probably
> right in thinking that they're nonsense syllables. I used to have a boy
> in my class whose last name was Scutto and, as a kid, I heard it as if
> "Scutto... Scutto, too" was being repeated. These things tend to stick
> because I still hear it that way.

Hello, Donna!

[Nil]

On 07 May 2014, Fattuchus <fatt...@yahoo.com> wrote in
rec.music.beatles:

Donna died four years ago when the shelves of her walk-in closet
collapsed on her, burying her under hundred pounds of shoes, and
breaking her neck instantly. Ironically, none of the shoes were brown.

[demp...@gmail.com]

On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 5:57:55 PM UTC-4, Nil wrote:
> What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown
> Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
> different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
> syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
> Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
> late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
> the song. Am I missing something obvious?

I always heard it as: "Good as, good as new!"
but others have it as "Truly, truly gone." but the last syllable seems to
rhyme more with "new" or "shoe" than with "gone".
Conan O'[Brien, covered "old Brown Show" during his "Georgefest" concert in 2014 and he and Jimmy Divito seem to know the words so maybe you can ask Conan! :-)

[hislop]

It sounds like:
do dowww do dat do
repeat

[Marcus]

On Monday, July 20, 2015 at 6:23:55 AM UTC-4, hislop wrote:

> >
>
> It sounds like:
> do dowww do dat do
> repeat

I think your interpretation is close.

It's just consonants paired with long-sounding vowels.

Gibberish.

[hislop]

Back when groups used backing vocals, they often just said what suited
without using actual words, or barely actual words.

[Marcus]

do wah, do dah do

[gj]

On Mon, 20 Jul 2015 15:25:57 -0700, poisoned rose
<pro...@poisonedrose.com> wrote:

>demp...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> I always heard it as: "Good as, good as new!"
>> but others have it as "Truly, truly gone." but the last syllable seems to
>> rhyme more with "new" or "shoe" than with "gone".
>> Conan O'[Brien, covered "old Brown Show" during his "Georgefest" concert in
>> 2014 and he and Jimmy Divito seem to know the words so maybe you can ask
>> Conan! :-)
>

>"Truly gone"?? No way.
>
>I have a feeling that I wrote the same response to this old thread in
>the past, but I always instinctively heard the fade as "Who loves...who
>loves you?"
>
>Thinking about the question more logically, it might make more sense if
>it's "Who knows [something]," since "Who knows, baby, you may comfort
>me" is a central line of the song. "Who knows you"? "Who knows who"?

For years I heard 'Suzie, Suzie Q'.

-GJ 2.0

[Marcus]

Just listened to the Harrison in Japan version of the song(from his 1991 tour) and it sounds like they are singing, "Hoo Day, Hoot Doot Day"

One thing I realized from looking at the lyrics of that song was that I didn't remember them all.

[jdid...@gmail.com]

I opted to hear my name here so I say they're singing/repeating "Woo now, Suzie Q" :)

[word...@gmail.com]

On Monday, 15 March 2010 15:10:10 UTC-4, BLACKPOOLJIMMY wrote:

>
> There is a bit of a shout-out to Ringo on this song: "If I grow up,
> I'll be a singer/Wear rings on every finger"

Yes, I like that shout-out. :{]

I also like the use of "If" in place of the expected "When"... I find that somehow very . . . "Georgian".

Cheers to Blackpool from Toronto. [I trust they've patched up all 'em holes in the road, by now...)

// Steve //

[Wordsmith]

On Tuesday, 16 March 2010 13:18:45 UTC-4, The Harmonic Wheel wrote:

> > I'll be a singer/Wear rings on every finger"
>
> Maybe he wrote it originally for Ringo.
>
> Hmmmm.

I can't cite sources, but I think I read, or heard from George's own lips (in a documentary) that it was about leaving the Beatles and the recent bullshit, much of which landed on him: Even his mentor, John, was slagging his music writing ability (Imagine!) Paul was acting like the King Beatle and telling George he was relying to much on the Wah-Wah pedal, resulting in George's first solo single, Wah-Wah ("I don't need your waaaah - waaaah!").

In this analogy, the old brown shoe is the inferior position into which he'd been slotted in The Beatles. Contemporaneously, he was writing Wah-Wah, with the line "And I know now how sweet life can be / If I keep myself free."

And at the end of Old Brown Shoe, he's (at least in the Gary Brooker version), "Truly, truly gone!"

// Word //

[IBen Getiner]

On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 5:57:55 PM UTC-4, Nil wrote:
> What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown
> Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
> different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
> syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
> Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
> late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
> the song. Am I missing something obvious?

Why are we seeing all of these old, fucking dead-assed posts? The right asses have already been kicked and the clever shit has already been said. It is truly the sign of a morally bankrupt culture to be looking back to a previous culture for 'new' ground to be plowed in...

[Wir Munchen Liebschoen]

The original title was "Old Brown Jew". The song was a tribute to Sammy
Davis Jr. The chanting at the end was "Sammy, Sammy jew".

[genuineuni]

On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 7:25:01 PM UTC-4, Jeff wrote:

> On Mar 14, 4:57 pm, Nil <redno...@REMOVETHIScomcast.net> wrote:
> > What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown  
> > Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
> > different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
> > syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
> > Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
> > late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
> > the song. Am I missing something obvious?
>

> Sorry, Nil, I don't know the answer to your question. Is it something
> like blank blank let it down?
>
> Speaking of Gary Brooker, I have an album by him called "Lead me
> to the water" in which George Harrison plays slide on one song. I
> forget name of song. Need to transfer this song to CD.

I had an 80's Gary Brooker album, autographed!

[chester]

I made a big doody bomb on an 80's Gary Brooker album.

[drbl...@gmail.com]

It’s good as, good as you
The slogan adopted at protest marches by the homosexual community and later abbreviated to GAY

George had spent time in San Francisco haughty ashburry district in 68

[Norbert K]

I read that George visited Haight-Ashbury in '67 or so. IIRC, it was a dreary experience. George was mobbed with ratty street kids who expected him to perform for him and got hostile when he wouldn't share their drugs.

[zippl...@gmail.com]

Norbert, my brother lived in Hawaii for three and a half years in the late 80s, and he talked about seeing
George Harrison’s house. He also said Harrison wanted to buy some pot and the people who sold him
some were angry because they figured since he was wealthy, he should have paid a lot of money for it.
He also said that Harrison was very pissed off about people getting too close to his property. I wouldn’t
mind living there. You?

[Norbert K]

Me, neither. If I were George, I'd have grown my own marijuana. It's easy, and he liked gardening.

[jtees4]

True, he hated it, was very turned off by the folks there. I guess he
didn't expect the filth and nasty people. He literally ran to his car
and told the driver to get out of dodge.

[Norbert K]

Yeah, I remember that he was expecting a vibrant, stylish scene - an instead encountered scraggly drop-outs who expected him to be their guru. The fact that he had taken acid shortly before arriving in the Haight no doubt intensified the ugliness of the situation.

[smerto...@gmail.com]

I'm currently creating a karaoke file for this song and wondered about the shouting on the intro. Using my own tried and trusted method of slowing the tempo (reducing by 30%) and lowering tje pitch (again by about 30%) this is what I hear:

Yeh yeh yeh
Too loud, too
Too loud
Too loud, too loud
Too loud
Too-doo-too (Too loud, too)
Too too-doo-too (Too loud, turn it dow n)
Too too-doo-too (Too loud, turn it down)
Too too-doo-too (Too loud, turn it down)
Too too-doo-too (Too loud, turn it down)
Too too-doo-too (Too loud, turn it down)

I've shown the last 6 lines as two parts, one in parentheses and the other not, since it's two voices shouting over each other. One voice sounds like Paul. I assume the other is George or John.

[dpfin...@gmail.com]

Ive searched everywhere on and off for a couple years. I found this on Beatles.com. The fade out at the end of OLD BROWN SHOE is: (Tu la Tu ru tu)I cant find any meaning or origin. Google it and a Beatles reference comes up among other things.4/2/19

[prim...@gmail.com]

"I gotta get outta this place"?

[drbl...@gmail.com]

It’s good as good as you. The slogan chanted in San Francisco in support of homosexuality and later abbreviated to GAY

[Norbert K]

On Tuesday, May 6, 2014 at 4:10:13 PM UTC-4, gj wrote:
> On Fri, 2 May 2014 19:42:07 -0700 (PDT), murray...@yahoo.com
> wrote:

>
> >On Sunday, March 14, 2010 4:57:55 PM UTC-5, Nil wrote:
> >> What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown
> >> Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
> >> different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
> >> syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
> >> Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
> >> late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
> >> the song. Am I missing something obvious?
> >

> >Too loud... Turn it down
>

> Speaking of OBS, I was listening to this as an mp3 through headphones
> and for the first time really heard what Paul was doing on the bass.
> Pretty neat.
>
> -GJ

It's George on bass.

[cuppajoe2go]

D'oh!

I'm not even sure if I replied to this thread at some point but I've always considered OBS to be one of Ringo's best recorded performances with that "flat tire shuffle" and all. Just recently, however, I've been hearing that Paul actually played drums on the track. I don't believe that for one minute!

[mackma...@gmail.com]

Sounds to me like "hoola, hoola hoo"
with this tribute band playing it.
The guitar solo was pretty good on this.

[Nil]

On 27 Jun 2020, drbl...@gmail.com wrote in rec.music.beatles:

> It's good as good as you. The slogan chanted in San Francisco
> in support of homosexuality and later abbreviated to GAY

That could be what they're singing, it scans right (but I don't think
that's it,) but your bit about "gay" meaning "good as you" is complete
hogwash.

[Keith Woods]

On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 4:57:55 PM UTC-5, Nil wrote:
> What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown
> Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
> different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
> syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
> Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
> late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
> the song. Am I missing something obvious?

It sounds like "Ooh Lord, too late now" to me.

[Norbert K]

On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 5:57:55 PM UTC-4, Nil wrote:
> What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown
> Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
> different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
> syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
> Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
> late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
> the song. Am I missing something obvious?

I'll go with nonsense syllables: "Do-lah, do-lay-do."

[Heath Filmore II]

It's "You know, who loves you." Heavily phased.

[RJKe...@yahoo.com]

I'll buy that. It makes sense in the context of the song, and I think I hear it.

[Curtis Eagal]

On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 2:57:55 PM UTC-7, Nil wrote:
> What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown
> Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
> different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
> syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
> Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
> late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
> the song. Am I missing something obvious?

George Harrison might have been thinking of the Cole Porter song he covered later as a solo artist on "Thirty Three & 1/3," since the repetition sounds like,

'TRUE LOVE!
Truly True!'

That seems simple, but try playing it backwards - there's a tie-in with an early idea for the title of "Abbey Road."

The 1969 album was to be called something to do with Mount Everest, also associated with a brand of cigarettes so they scrapped that idea; McCartney has likened the title they went with to "Monastery Avenue."

So in reverse the vocals in the coda of 'Old Brown Shoe' sound like repeating,

'Higher -
Than Mount Everest'

[Norbert K]

You lost me with the "Try playing it backwards" stuff.

However, "True love, truly true" is the best suggestion I've heard. I was previously open to it being nonsense syllables.

[Curtis Eagal]

Some source is giving the transcription prominently online as:

"You know who loves you"

The dvd captions for their film debut have the line in the title track "So why I love to come home" instead as "So why on earth should I moan?"

Most people wouldn't think to try reversing anything, but I heard a live witness to a conference during a White Album session saying the subject was how a lyric change would affect the resulting reverse-composition in tandem. The sound engineers said after "Revolver" everything was played backwards before being okayed. A version of "Blue Jay Way" even has the reverse track running simultaneously mixed in at points.

The song covers the same subliminal territory as "Hey Bulldog," which got cut from a version of the "Yellow Submarine" animated film: the "Bulldog" riff ends like ' - real nightmare'; the "Shoe" riff ends like '- had a dream.' Both songs work fine on their own, but slightly conflicting nuances when considered together. A similar situation with their cover versions of shelved "Leave My Kitten Alone" versus included "Honey Don't," a redundancy that fans would not have probably consciously noticed if both had been put on "Beatles For Sale."