Dig a Pony
| "Dig a Pony" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by the Beatles from the album Let It Be | |||||||
| Released | May 8, 1970 | ||||||
| Recorded | 30 January 1969 (rooftop concert) | ||||||
| Genre | Blues rock, hard rock[1] | ||||||
| Length | 3:52 | ||||||
| Label | Apple, EMI | ||||||
| Writer | Lennon–McCartney | ||||||
| Producer | Phil Spector | ||||||
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"Dig a Pony" is a song by the Beatles, originally released on their 1970 album Let It Be. "Dig a Pony" was the penultimate song played at the concert on the rooftop of Apple Studios in Savile Row, London on 30 January 1969.
Composition
John Lennon was the song's composer and singer but the song was credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was originally called "All I Want Is You". Lennon would later comment that he thought the song was "a piece of garbage,"[2] though he had shown similar scorn for many of his songs. It was written for his soon-to-be wife Yoko Ono, and featured a multitude of strange, seemingly nonsense phrases which were strung together in what Lennon refers to as a Bob Dylan style of lyric.
Early American pressings of Let It Be mistitled this song as "I Dig a Pony."
Recording
The song was one of the songs on Let It Be that was recorded at the rooftop concert, with an assistant holding up Lennon's lyrics for him as a cue.[3] It begins with a false start, with Ringo Starr yelling "Hold it!" to halt the other band members because he was blowing his nose and had only one drum stick in his hand.[4] On the Anthology 3 version of this song, the first verse and the end of the song start off with Paul McCartney singing "All I want is..." This phrase appeared in every performance of the song but was cut from the final version by Phil Spector, and subsequently cut from the Let It Be... Naked version.[5]
In rehearsals and takes, the last variation on "dig a pony" was "dog a boney," perhaps a reference to "This Old Man". This is the lyric that appears on Glyn Johns' assembly of Get Back. On the Anthology version, Lennon sang the spoonerism "bog a doney." During the rooftop concert, Lennon substituted what sounds like "rode a lorry," and this is the version that appears on both the Let It Be album and Let It Be... Naked.
Other Versions
The California Guitar Trio has arranged "Dig a Pony" as an instrumental and has featured it on their 2015 U.S. Tour.
Personnel
- John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney – backing vocal, bass guitar
- George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Billy Preston – electric piano
Notes
- ↑ "Most of the rest of the material, by contrast, was going through the motions to some degree, although there are some good moments of straight hard rock in "I've Got a Feeling" and "Dig a Pony".""Let It Be: Album Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
- ↑ Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 205. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
- ↑ "92 - 'Dig a Pony'". 100 Greatest Beatles Songs. Rolling Stone.
- ↑ Fontenot, Robert. "Dig A Pony on About.com". About.com. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- ↑ Hurwitz, Matt (2004-01-01). "The Naked Truth About the Beatles' Let It Be Naked". Mix Online. Retrieved 2011-08-20.
External links
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