Oh! Darling

The first time “Oh! Darling” plays, there’s no doubt about it: it’s a song that exudes the spirit of the 1950s, but with that drive that only The Beatles could bring to it. McCartney wrote it with the intention of making it sound as if he’d been singing it on stage for months, and the result is a raw, heart-wrenching voice that pierces your chest. It’s not a song you happen to stumble upon; it demands your attention, because every note seems to come from a place where emotion knows no filter. The chord progression, as George Harrison rightly noted, has the feel of classic rock and roll, but with that touch of swamp pop that makes it unique: a sound that, ironically, many in Louisiana thought was by a local musician when they first heard it.

Recorded in April 1969 at EMI Studios in London, the session was a meticulous process. McCartney arrived early every day for a week to sing the song solo, because his initial vocal take sounded too clean. He would only attempt to record it once a day; if it didn’t turn out right, he’d wait until the next day. He even practiced in the bathtub to make sure every take was perfect. Engineer Geoff Emerick recalled that McCartney sang with the backing track playing through the speakers—not through headphones—to simulate the feeling of a live concert. The song appeared on *Abbey Road*, the last album they recorded as a band before breaking up, although the album was completed after *Get Back* had already been released. In 1970, Apple Records released it as a single in Japan alongside “Here Comes the Sun,” and years later, in 1996, an early version of the song—featuring Billy Preston on keyboards—was included on *Beatles Anthology 3*. The song also had a touching moment in 2022, when McCartney and Chrissie Hynde performed it as a tribute to the Foo Fighters’ drummer.