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Yellow Submarine (Sing-A-Song Storybook)
Words and Music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Illustrated by Cathy Holly

This song is so much fun to sing!  The kids have learned it FAST and it is a great one for bringing a group together (in a yellow submarine)!

Don’t be fooled by this book!  This is a book with the story of the movie and the song is not printed anywhere in the book. 

“Yellow Submarine” is included in,


The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics
Words and Music by The Beatles
George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr
Illustrated by Various Artists
Edited by Alan Aldridge

In this “Beatles Illustrated Lyrics,” Paul McCartney is quoted, “I just loved the idea of children singing it.”

“Yellow Submarine” is #73 in Rolling Stone Magazine’s The Beatles 100 Greatest Songs (Published in 2010) :
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/28431/194023

Paul McCartney is quoted, “I though, with Ringo being so good with children – a knockabout-uncle type – it might not be a bad idea him to have a children’s song.”

A Wikipedia article about “Yellow Submarine,” here”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Submarine_(song)

The song first appeared on The Beatles 1966 album Revolver (Track 6)

REVOLVER is listed as #3 on list of 500 best albums of all time.

In 1968, Yellow Submarine was made into an animated movie and a soundtrack was released to go with it,

In 1969, the song was used on Sesame Street, read about it here:
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Yellow_Submarine

A video of “Yellow Submarine” on Sesame Street

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeYzjzl7cLI

For a fun vocal track for kids, I love Raffi’s (from his terrific album “Let’s Play”) version, too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEhKeJ9KhZE

I also love this recording by the Royal Norwegian Navy Band:
http://www.amazon.com/Yellow-Submarine-Cb5/dp/B001BWJY8K/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1302713292&sr=1-18

Here are a few more videos for singing-along:

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Yellow Submarine
Singable Picture Book Video
Words and Music by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdTIumWFwOs

Another video with lyrics (and Ringo Starr’s vocal)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsdtsoVgkRM

Yellow Submarine
Words and Music by Paul McCartney
(with a little help from his friends)

In the town where I was born,
Lived a man who sailed to sea,
And he told us of his life,
In the land of submarines,

So we sailed on to the sun,
Till we found the sea green,
And we lived beneath the waves,
In our yellow submarine,

We all live in yellow submarine,
yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
We all live in yellow submarine,
yellow submarine, yellow submarine.

And our friends are all aboard,
Many more of them live next door,
And the band begins to play.

(Trumpets play, or make the sounds yourself…this is a great spot for a KAZOO!)

We all live in yellow submarine,
yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
We all live in yellow submarine,
yellow submarine, yellow submarine.

As we live a life of ease
Every one of us has all we need,
Sky of blue,and sea green,
In our yellow submarine.

We all live in yellow submarine,
yellow submarine, yellow submarine,
We all live in yellow submarine,
yellow submarine, yellow submarine.

(Repeat chorus here as many times as you like!)

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I’m thrilled to write that “Yellow Submarine” is one of the songs we selected to be part of
“Oh, What a Beautiful Day: Sing Books with Emily, the Cabaret.” 

I make a strong committment to each song I perform and completing my Song Craft Worksheet is part of that process,

 Emily’s Song Craft Worksheet

Because the first section of the Song Craft Worksheet involves background research on the song, I’ll share the answers with you so you can know about the song, too.  The more about the song you know (both concrete facts and less tangible artistic choices), the more “authority,” and heart and soul you can put into the singing and sharing of the song with others.  If you are interested in improving your artistic abilities for singing songs in any capacity, just simply filling out the Song Craft Worksheet is a great place to start!  After the background research, the rest of the Song Craft Worksheet gets VERY personal…don’t worry!  I won’t bore you with that.

1 Q: Who wrote the words?
1 A: Paul McCartney (with a little help from his friends)

2Q: Who wrote the music?
2A: Paul McCartney (with a little help from his friends)

3Q: When was the song written?
3A: According to Rolling Stones Magazine’s 100 Greatest Beatles Songs, “Yellow Submarine” was recorded May 26 and June 1, 1966 and release on August 8, 1966.

4Q: At what point in the lyricists’ and composer’s career was the song written?
4A: End of the beginning

5Q: What is the song from?
5A: The Beatles 7th album, REVOLVER

6Q: If from a show, what character sang it?
6A: It appears in the movie, “Yellow Submarine.”  It’s originally from Beatles 7th Album REVOLVER, sung by Ringo Starr

7Q: If from a show, from what situation does the song arise?  Why does the character sing the song?  What function does the song/character play in the story?
7A:

8Q:  What other contextual elements of the song are significant?
8A: Paul McCartney wrote this specifically as a children’s song for Ringo Starr to sing.

9Q: Was the song written for a particular singer?  Why?
9A: Yes, Paul McCartney wrote the song for Ringo Starr to sing.  This  wiki has Paul McCartney’s story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_Submarine_(song)

10Q: If not from a show, why did the songwriter write the song?
10A:  NA

11Q: What do you feel the lyricist is trying to say?
11A: We are all citizens of the world.

12Q: Does the song tell a story or just express feelings or ideas?
12A: This song tells a story and expresses feelings and ideas in a fun and unthreatening way

13Q: Who else has recorded this song:
13A: The Beatles/Ringo Starr, The Muppets on Sesame Street, Raffi, Royal Norwegian Navy Band

The rest of the questions require VERY personal answers and I will spare you those!

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Related Articles

THE BEATLES ILLUSTRATED LYRICS, A SINGABLE PICTURE BOOK FOR GROWN-UPS
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/the-beatles-illustrated-lyrics-edited-by-alan-aldridge-a-sinable-picture-books-for-grown-ups/

SING-A-SONG STORY BOOKS
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/06/05/a-few-favorite-singable-books-part-71-sing-a-song-storybooks/