Octopus’s Garden

I’d like to be under the sea

In 1968, tired out from working hard in the Beatles’ music studio, Ringo Starr took a holiday to Sardinia, in Italy. While out fishing, a local boat Captain told him how the Octopus, a regional delicacy, gathers shiny stones around its lair to create a garden wall. This set Ringo thinking.

Early the following year, with some help from George Harrison, Ringo recorded the new Beatles song, Octopus’s Garden. Some of us might recognise Ringo Starr as the original voice behind the Thomas The Tank Engine TV series. He also sang the Beatles’ hit song Yellow Submarine, which many of us will know. As the band’s drummer, Ringo didn’t get to sing too often!

In an octopus’s garden in the shade
Each verse is made up of four distinct segments. There is also a guitar solo, which changes key. This is unusual, but in doing so, it doubles as a middle eight, or change of theme. For the underwater effect, George Harrison blew bubbles into a glass of milk with a straw. He also recorded the backing voices through a revolving Leslie Speaker for a wavy effect. Here’s the song structure: Intro / v1 / v2 / Solo / V3 / Outro

He’d let us in, knows where we’ve been
Time now to learn this fun underwater song on the harmonica. As usual, purple tab is for 4 hole harmonicas, while orange tab is for 10 hole harmonicas. The numbers tell you which holes to play. D means draw (breathe in) and B means blow (breathe out). To begin with, here’s a complete verse. If you’ve never heard the song before, you might like to Google it or visit YouTube and search there.

In his octopus‘s garden in the shade
So now let’s break down the verse into bite-size chunks.

3B   3B   3D   3B            2B   2B   2D   2B
6B   6B   6D   6B           5B   5B   5D   5B
I’d   like    to     be             un-der   the   sea

1D    1D    1B    1B   1B    3D   3B   2B   1B    2B   1D
4D   4D   4B   4B   4B   6D   6B   5B   4B   5B   4D
In     an    oct – o – pus – ‘s    gar – den   in   the  shade

3B   3B   3D   3B            2B   2B   2D   2B
6B   6B   6D   6B           5B   5B   5D   5B
He’d let    us     in,         knows where we’ve been

1D    1D    1B    1B   1B    3D    3B   2B   1B    2B   1D
4D   4D   4B   4B   4B   6D   6B   5B   4D   5B   4B
In      his    oct – o – pus – ‘s  gar – den   in   the   shade

3D   3D   3B   3D     3B   3D   3B   3D   4B
6D   6D   6B   6D     6B   6D   6B   6D    7B
I’d    ask  my friends   to  come  and    see – ee

2D   2D   2D   2D   2D    3B   3B   3B   3B
5D   5D   5D   5D   5D   6B   6B   6B   6B
An   oct – o – pus – ‘s      gar – den with me

3B   3B   3D   3B            2B   2B   2D   2B
6B   6B   6D   6B           5B   5B   5D   5B
I’d   like    to     be             un-der   the   sea

1D    1D    1B    1B    1B   3D    3B   2B   1D   2B   1B
4D   4D   4B   4B   4B   6D   6B   5B   4D   5B   4B
In    his    oct – o – pus – ‘s    gar – den   in   the   shade

Key Skills

• The Beatles
• Ringo Starr
• Song structure
• Middle eight

Practise Track