Jump to content
  • Welcome to the TransPulse Forums!

    We offer a safe, inclusive community for transgender and gender non-conforming folks, as well as their loved ones, to find support and information.  Join today!

Ob-La-Di?


Carolyn Marie

Recommended Posts

  • Admin

I've often wondered about this, but now I'm curious what you all think.

In the Beatles song "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," the lyrics at the end of the song say, "Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face, and in the evening she's a singer with the band."

Various on-line sources say it was a mistake that the band left in to confuse people and have a little fun, with a song that all of them except Paul hated.

I wonder whether there were any other reasons they left it in? I realize that TS issues were barely mentioned in the media in the early sixties, but still,

it would be fun to think there was just a little TG meaning to the lyrics.

Am I off my nut?

Carolyn Marie

Link to comment
Guest Donna Jean

Am I off my nut?

Carolyn Marie

Well, wait a minute.....

Do you mean in general.....or just about this song?

Now, I remember when this song came out (yes, I'm THAT old!)

And I instantly thought "It's a secret message to me from the Beatles!"

But, honestly, over the years I've heard so many theories about it, I really don't know what to think!

I'd like to think that it was intentional and has some meaning...but, knowing how the Beatles were, it was probably just some off the cuff nonsense!

Donna Jean

Link to comment

There is more in Beatles lyrics, listen to "Get Back" - Sweet Loretta thought she was a sister but she was another man - nothing hidden there!

Love ya,

Sally

Link to comment
Guest ChloëC

And here is verse 2 of the Beatles 'Get Back'

Sweet Loretta Martin thought she was a woman

But she was another man

All the girls around her say she's got it coming

But she gets it while she can

And here's the repeated chorus for that verse

Get back, get back.

Get back to where you once belonged

(Get back Loretta!)

Of course The Kinks had 'Lola' which the writer at Wikipedia says is about an encounter with a transvestite. Hmmmm, methinks the writer doesn't know much about the different kinds of gender dysphoria.

Anyway, about Ob-La-Di, most writers say that it was just a mistake in singing the lyrics during a recording (according to a quote by Paul). Um, yeah, sure, I'm sure the Beatles did about 10 or 15 takes, never noticed one was 'wrong' and somehow, them, George Martin (their producer) and others, said, Ok, we'll go with that version, never ever knowing until years later when someone actually listened to the lyrics while not stoned, and said, uh, is this about transgender?

Just like Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds is not about LSD, nope, not at all, silly you should think that.

So, we have two Beatles songs that strongly suggest some kind of transgender situation. I could almost see one as an innocent mistake. Well, actually, no, because very few bands ever went in to a recording studio and did a song in one take. Being 'ARTISTE'S' I would guess they would tweek the song six ways from Sunday before finally settling on one version (or actually snips from different takes!!!). So, a slip of the tongue? I highly doubt it.

Hugs

Chloë

Link to comment
Guest vertigo

From the "does his pretty face" part, I could say that it's not just a mistake. The meaning is either pretty clear, or... I'm just crazy.

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...
Guest Ashley fl

im sure someone in one of their close or imediate families is tg, you mentioned ts issues being barely mentioned in the media in the 60's, though true, i dont see anything holding the beatles back if they had a thought or oppinion on something.

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...
  • Forum Moderator

It was not a mistake, these lyrics were simply progressive for their time. The Beatles had fun with it, and full knowledge of the content.

Link to comment

I was raised in such a sheltered life that when the song Lola came out, it never dawned on me that Lola was a man. But I was talking with someone just a few years ago about the song and she hadn't ever realized it just then. I also didn't realize how many songs related to drugs either. So I think that unless or until your life is affected by a topic, most references just go over our heads.

Another example was a company where my mother worked for that the religious owners would only allow a 70's radio station to be play because all the others played music that related to sex and drugs. I told her that the music was filled with all that and had to actually recite some lyrics for her to understand.

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Who's Online   1 Member, 0 Anonymous, 105 Guests (See full list)

    • LC
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      80.7k
    • Total Posts
      769.3k
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      12,057
    • Most Online
      8,356

    Aleksandria
    Newest Member
    Aleksandria
    Joined
  • Today's Birthdays

    1. Conner_Sent_By_Cyberlife
      Conner_Sent_By_Cyberlife
      (22 years old)
    2. CtN1p
      CtN1p
    3. heyim_finn
      heyim_finn
      (21 years old)
    4. Jayn
      Jayn
    5. joni_girl_1988
      joni_girl_1988
      (51 years old)
  • Posts

    • Heather Shay
    • Heather Shay
      Do you use make-up? If so, why and what  types?
    • Heather Shay
      Pride is primarily about yourself, even when it is not you who did something that you are proud about. You can also be proud of something someone else did, who you associate with, such as your children or your favorite football team. People can feel proud of their culture, their family name, or their appearance, none of which require them to actively contribute to the praiseworthy thing1. However, the opinions of others are of crucial importance, as best demonstrated when you purposefully do something that other people praise. Pride is a social emotion, and to feel proud, you need other people’s (real or imagined) confirmation that you have a reason to feel that way. Because of this, other people can also ‘be in your head’ and prevent you from feeling pride. Namely, what is praiseworthy is subjective. Things that may be considered good in a certain (cultural) group may not be praiseworthy in another (e.g., if you grew up in a family that greatly values academics, your athletic abilities may not evoke much praise). Moreover, what is praiseworthy is relative (e.g., if you are a good runner in an athletically average school, you may regularly feel proud about your times; but if you move to a school with highly competent athletes, these same times may seem unremarkable to you). Thus, the more exclusive your quality is in your surroundings, the prouder you feel. Pride has recognizable features. Although its static facial expression (typically a smile or laugh) does not clearly distinguish it from other positive emotions, it typically results in a bodily posture, gestures, and behavior that are clearly recognizable: lifting your chin, looking people in the eye, walking confidently, or in extreme cases, raising arms above your head. In a way, you try to make yourself larger and more noticeable, as if to say: ‘look at me!’ You may also exhibit more perseverance in your activities2. People generally find it very pleasant to experience pride, as it elevates our feeling of social self-worth and status3. At the same time, many social groups, religions, and cultures (especially those that are highly collectivistic, such as the East Asian or African culture) believe that pride needs to be checked. Unchecked pride leads to arrogance and misplaced feelings of superiority (‘letting something get to your head’, ‘hubris comes before the fall’), and social groups typically do not tolerate members feeling like they are superior or deserve special treatment.  
    • Heather Shay
    • Heather Shay
    • Heather Shay
    • April Marie
      Thank you @missyjo! You do wonders for my ego.   It turns out that pastel colors were the "thing" at Kentucky Derby Day so my dress was perfect. I went with white 5" heeled sandals and a wide-brimmed fuscia hat. Dinner and Mint Juleps added to the fun of watching the (recorded) festivities and races.   Perhaps, we'll repeat it for the Preakness in 2 weeks.   Right now it's just blue striped sleep shorts with pink flowers, a pink t-shirt and flip flops. I can't tell you how much wearing  sleep-rated breast forms at night has done to quell my dysphoria. 
    • April Marie
      I can still rock 5" heels.
    • April Marie
      Good morning, everyone!!   My wife and I had our yearly Kentucky Derby Day evening. Dresses, heels, hats, Mint Juleps and a light dinner while watching the festivities and races. Relaxing and fun. I think we'll do the same for the Preakness in two weeks.   It's rainy and cool here today so it's pretty much going to keep me indoors. Ahh, well. A day of rest.   Enjoy and be safe!!
    • Ladypcnj
      Thanks Sally Stone
    • KymmieL
      Thanks, Mindy. It has been so far. Tomorrow, work some more on the wife's grand monkey. Got the right side of the hood primed, just need to do a little more work on the left then I can prime it. Then a 600grit wet sand.   I promised the wife we would take out the bike this weekend.   Kymmie
    • JessicaMW
      During my last visit with my psychologist (who has agreed to provide required letters of recommendation along with a colleague to provide the second) we discussed the shift towards my wife's acceptance. It was a long discussion but one point I mentioned was how much the two of us sitting down and watching this documentary helped:  The Kings | A transgender love story (2017)
    • Betty K
      Oops, I did not mean to post that comment yet! I was going to also say, having read a mountain of commentary on the Review, I think Julia Serano’s response (linked by Vicky above) is the most accurate and thorough. You can also read a non-paywalled version at Substack: https://juliaserano.substack.com/p/the-cass-review-wpath-files-and-the   To me the three key areas in which the review is deficient are:   1. As has already been said here, its views on social transition;   2. Its attempts to give credence to the “ROGD” theory (without ever actually mentioning ROGD because presumably a canny editor knows that would be too transparently transphobic);   3. To me, most crucially, its claims about trans youth and suicide, which are dealt with summarily in about five pages and do not stand up to any deeper scrutiny.    I will be writing about each of these issues in isolation over the next few weeks and appearing on a radio show and podcast to discuss them late in the month. I will post links to these on TP later if anyone is interested.   All that said, I actually think it’s dangerous for us to respond with outright vitriol and condemnation to the review since, like any effective piece of disinformation, it does actually contain some factually based and even helpful recommendations. The Tavistock Gender Identity Service really was underfunded and understaffed and certain staff were not adequately trained. Trans kids really were funnelled away from mental-health support once they started gender-affirming care too. So yes, more investment in youth psychology services would help, as would a less centralised model of care, more training in treatment of trans kids, and more research.   One last thing for now: beware the claim that Cass ignored 98% of studies. That’s not strictly true. She seems to have taken other studies into account but leaned heavily on the 2% that met her standards. Nor does she ever claim that only randomised controlled trials are good enough evidence to justify the use of blockers for kids; just as with ROGD, she strongly suggests this, but is too canny to say it, because she knows such trials would be impossible. For now, I think the best response to this comes from the Trans Safety Network: “[…] we believe there to be systemic biases in the ways that the review prioritises speculative and hearsay evidence to advance its own recommendations while using highly stringent evidence standards to exclude empirical and observational data on actual patients. “ (https://transsafety.network/posts/tsn-statement-on-cass-final-report/)   To me, the scariest aspect of all this is that, if it follows Cass’s recommendations, the NHS will very likely follow Finland’s recent model of trans care, which seems to amount to a prolonged form of conversion therapy. I can’t find the link right now, which is probably lucky for anyone reading this, but I bawled my guts out reading the testimonies of kids who had been mistreated by that system. Truly horrific. To me, at least from my Australian perspective, the Cass Review is the most frightening development in trans rights in recent years. To me, the safe care of trans kids is THE number one issue in politics atm.   Ruth Pierce has a good summary of responses from trans folk and their allies sk far: https://ruthpearce.net/2024/04/16/whats-wrong-with-the-cass-review-a-round-up-of-commentary-and-evidence/    
    • Sally Stone
      Welcome to the wide, wild world of transgender, M.A.  It can definitively be overwhelming, but everyone here is amazing, so no doubt you'll get bunches of wonderful support. I think you'll be happy you found us.   
    • Sally Stone
      @Ladypcnj  This is so true.  I think all of us here have had a post or two that didn't get a response.  Sometimes, it's as simple as adding to your original to post for a clearer explanation, or re-reading what you wrote originally, and rephrasing it.  But don't despair, we aren't ignoring you.   Hugs,   Sally 
  • Upcoming Events

Contact TransPulse

TransPulse can be contacted in the following ways:

Email: Click Here.

To report an error on this page.

Legal

Your use of this site is subject to the following rules and policies, whether you have read them or not.

Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
DMCA Policy
Community Rules

Hosting

Upstream hosting for TransPulse provided by QnEZ.

Sponsorship

Special consideration for TransPulse is kindly provided by The Breast Form Store.
×
×
  • Create New...