Ringo Starr’s Biggest Beatles Song Is a Rip-Off

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Ringo Starr’s Biggest Beatles Song Is a Rip-Off

The Beatles' Ringo Starr penned very few of the Fab Four's songs. He was the mind behind a beloved track from 'Abbey Road'.

by MATTHEW TRZCINSKI

Showbiz CheatSheet

Published on September 25, 2024

The Beatles‘ Ringo Starr is one of the most famous drummers who ever lived but he penned very few of the Fab Four’s songs. He was the mind behind a beloved track from Abbey Road. Notably, that tune was a rip-off of another hit song from the 1960s.

Ringo Starr wrote only 2 Beatles songs by himself

Starr wrote two Beatles songs on his own: “Don’t Pass Me By” from The White Album and “Octopus’s Garden” from Abbey Road. Nobody remembers “Don’t Pass Me By.” It’s hard for the simple rock tune to stand out on the same record that gave us instantly memorable tracks like “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Revolution 9.”

Meanwhile, Starr also wrote “Octopus’s Garden” from Abbey Road. “Octopus’s Garden” is far more indelible than “Don’t Pass Me By.” The former is a fascinating combination of children’s music, undersea shenanigans, Ringo’s distinct vocals, and old-fashioned instrumentation. The Beatles had also fused all of those elements in one of their previous hits: “Yellow Submarine.”

Which of The Beatles’ nautical songs is the best?

It’s fair to call “Octopus’s Garden” a rehash or rip-off of “Yellow Submarine.” Of course, I doubt Paul McCartney cared that much that Ringo rewrote one of his songs. Of the two songs, “Yellow Submarine” is more famous. According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, “Yellow Submarine” charted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 behind The Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love.” Meanwhile, “Octopus’s Garden” did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 at all. 

On the other hand, it’s easy to argue that “Octopus’s Garden” is the better song. It has heavenly backing vocals, cute bubble sound effects, and some catchy country riffs. It’s amusing for adults, while “Yellow Submarine” doesn’t have anything to offer anyone over the age of four years old. In addition, octopuses are cool and “Octopus’s Garden” gets brownie points for being one of the only works of popular media that celebrates them.

Ringo Starr explained why he wrote about an octopus

During a 2023 interview with Vulture, Starr discussed how “Octopus’s Garden” came together. “I’d actually left the band and gone to Sardinia for a holiday in 1968, and Peter Sellers’s boat just happened to be there,” he said. “[Ringo’s wife] Maureen [Starkey] and I and the kids went on his boat, and the captain was talking to me. I’m afraid we were smoking a bit of dope in those days — a bit of grass. 

“So it was all so nice and beautiful, and he told me the story about how octopuses have their own special gardens under the sea,” the “Photograph” singer added. “When you’re stoned, how do you react? ‘Wow! Wow!’ On the boat I had a guitar, and I could play anything you’d like in that as long as it was in E. It was the only chord change I knew. ‘I’d like to be under the sea in an octopus’s garden in the shade’ just came to me. It was just one of those magic moments. I mean, what if the captain said, ‘Sharks like live dogs for dinner?’ Happy-go-lucky sharks.”

After the success of “Yellow Submarine,” it appears the Starr wanted to be under the sea once more.