Ringo Starr Wrote The Beatles’ ‘Octopus’s Garden’ After Asking for Some Eggs
Ringo Starr said he had the idea for The Beatles’ “Octopus’s Garden” after he asked for an egg dish. He only asked for the eggs because someone first offered him food that was a lot more exotic! “Octopus’s Garden” became only one of two tunes Ringo wrote for the Fab Four by himself. Both of the songs in question have something major in common.
Ringo Starr thought up The Beatles’ ‘Octopus’s Garden’ after he was feeling fed up
During a 1981 interview with Rolling Stone, Ringo discussed a fateful lunch he had. “Things were getting a bit rough, and I’d left The Beatles for a couple of weeks because I couldn’t take it anymore,” Ringo recalled. “So I went on holiday with my family to Sardinia.
“A friend lent us a boat, and one day the captain served us some octopus for lunch,” he added. “Naturally we went, ‘Urrgghh-ah! No thanks. Have you got any egg and chips?'” Egg and chips is a popular British dish of fried eggs and French fries.
Ringo Starr wrote 2 song for The Beatles and they were country rock songs
Afterward, Ringo discussed what happened afterward. “But I started talking to the captain, and he told me all about octopuses, how they go round the sea bed and pick up stones and shiny objects and build gardens,’ he recalled. “I thought, ‘How fabulous!’ cause at the time, I just wanted to be under the sea, too.
“I wanted to get out of it for a while,” he added. “Of course, I ended up going back to the group because I couldn’t play with anyone better. But that’s how ‘Octopus’s Garden’ came about.” “Octopus’s Garden” became the only song Ringo wrote for The Beatles by himself, with the exception of “Don’t Pass Me By” from The White Album. Interestingly, both of the songs are country rock tracks.
How ‘Octopus’s Garden’ did on the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom
“Octopus’s Garden” was never a single so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appeared on the album Abbey Road. That record topped the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks. It spent a total of 490 weeks on the chart, making it The Beatles’ most popular studio album in the United States.
The Official Charts Company reports “Octopus’s Garden” didn’t become a hit in the United Kingdom either. Meanwhile, Abbey Road was No. 1 for 17 weeks in the U.K., staying on the chart for 97 weeks altogether. Like many of The Beatles’ songs, Abbey Road became a hit twice in the U.K. Upon rerelease, the record was No. 1 for one more week, lasting another 45 weeks on the chart.
Even though the tune was not a hit, it still inspired covers. The Muppets and Raffi both put their spins on “Octopus’s Garden.” The tune was a musical number in the animated TV series The Beatles.
“Octopus’s Garden” is one of The Beatles’ best novelty songs and it might not be the same without a certain lunch conversation.
