The mono and stereo versions differ significantly in three parts: the beginning of the track, the “waves” sound effect at the end of the instrumental break and John’s “echoing” vocals on the last verse. “ Yellow Submarine” was mixed on 2 and 3 June, and finished on 22 June. When the overdubs were finished, Mal Evans strapped on a marching bass drum and led everybody in a line around the studio doing the conga dance whilst banging on the drum. The original recording had a spoken intro by Starr, but the idea was abandoned on 3 June. After the line, “ and the band begins to play“, Emerick found a recording of a brass band and changed it slightly so it could not be identified, although it is thought to be a recording of Georges Krier and Charles Helmer’s 1906 composition, “ Le Rêve Passe“. Lennon blew through a straw into a pan of water to create a bubbling effect, McCartney and Lennon talked through tin cans to create the sound of the captain’s orders, at 1:38-40 in the song, Ringo stepped outside the doors of the recording room and yelled like a sailor acknowledging “ Cut the cable! Drop the cable!“, which was looped into the song afterwards, and Abbey Road employees John Skinner and Terry Condon twirled chains in a tin bath to create water sounds. On the second session the studio store cupboard was ransacked for special effects, which included chains, a ship’s bell, tap dancing mats, whistles, hooters, waves, a tin bath filled with water, wind and thunderstorm machines, as well as a cash register, which was later used on Pink Floyd’s song “ Money“. George Martin drew on his experience as a producer of comedy records for Beyond the Fringe and The Goon Show, providing an array of zany sound effects to create the nautical atmosphere. Produced by George Martin and engineered by Geoff Emerick, “ Yellow Submarine” was finished after five takes on, in Studio Two at Abbey Road Studios, with special effects being added on 1 June. And there’s nothing more to be read into it than there is in the lyrics of any children’s song.” Recording You know, it was just … We were trying to write a children’s song. McCartney also said: “ It’s a happy place, that’s all. Paul’s title … written for Ringo.” Donovan added the words, “ Sky of blue and sea of green“. We virtually made the track come alive in the studio, but based on Paul’s inspiration. In 1980, Lennon talked about the song: “‘ Yellow Submarine’ is Paul’s baby.
The lyrics got more and more obscure as it goes on, but the chorus, melody and verses are mine.” The song began as being about different coloured submarines, but evolved to include only a yellow one. It was pretty much my song as I recall … I think John helped out. McCartney was living in Jane Asher’s parents’ house when he found the inspiration for the song: “ I was laying in bed in the Ashers’ garret … I was thinking of it as a song for Ringo, which it eventually turned out to be, so I wrote it as not too rangey in the vocal, then started making a story, sort of an ancient mariner, telling the young kids where he’d lived. Although intended as a nonsense song for children, “ Yellow Submarine” received various social and political interpretations at the time. It became the title song of the 1968 animated United Artists film, also called Yellow Submarine, and the soundtrack album to the film, released as part of the Beatles’ music catalogue. In the US, the song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became the most successful Beatles song to feature Starr as lead vocalist. It won an Ivor Novello Award “ for the highest certified sales of any single issued in the UK in 1966“. The single went to number one on every major British chart, remained at number one for four weeks and charted for 13 weeks. It was included on the Revolver album and issued as a single, coupled with “ Eleanor Rigby“. “ Yellow Submarine” is a 1966 song by the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney), with lead vocals by Ringo Starr.