Dig a Pony

"Dig a Pony"
Song by The Beatles from the album Let It Be
Released	8 May 1970
Recorded	30 January 1969 (Rooftop concert)
Genre	Hard rock[1]
Length	3:52
Label	Apple, EMI
Writer	Lennon–McCartney
Producer	Phil Spector
Let It Be track listing
12 tracks Side one "Two of Us" "Dig a Pony" "Across the Universe" "I Me Mine" "Dig It" "Let It Be" "Maggie Mae" Side two "I've Got a Feeling" "One After 909" "The Long and Winding Road" "For You Blue" "Get Back"
Music sample "Dig A Pony"

"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 has 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, culminating in the chorus "All I want is you", aimed at Yoko.

American copies 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. It begins with a false start, with Ringo Starr yelling "Hold it!" to halt the other band members because he was holding a cigarette and had only one drum stick in his hand. 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.^[3]

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.

Personnel

• John Lennon – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Paul McCartney – backing vocals, bass guitar
• George Harrison – backing vocals, lead guitar
• Ringo Starr – drums

Cover versions

The Red Hot Chili Peppers borrowed the intro of "Dig a Pony" as an introduction to their song "I Could Die For You" while touring to support their 2002 album By the Way.

Yellow Matter Custard covered the song in their 2003 tour.

St. Vincent occasionally covers the song during live performances, as well as a session with Black Cab Sessions in October 2007.

It has also been covered by Laibach on their album Let It Be, which is a complete re-working of the Beatles album.

Chris Lightcap recorded an instrumental version of the song for his 2002 album Bigmouth.

Ray LaMontagne and David Gray performed this song live during their 2010 tour together.

Meaghan Farrell covers the song, complete with sound effects, on Beatles Complete On Ukulele Volume 1.

Additional

Dig a Pony is also a bar in Portland, Oregon, USA. (July 20, 2011 - present)^[4]

Notes

1. ^ "Let It Be - The Beatles". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/let-it-be-r1527/review. Retrieved 21 February 2011. 
2. ^ Sheff, David (2000). All We Are Saying. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 205. ISBN 0-312-25464-4. 
3. ^ Matt Hurwitz (2004-01-01). "The Naked Truth About The Beatles' Let It BeNaked". Mix Online. http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_naked_truth_beatles/. Retrieved 2011-08-20. 
4. ^ "Dig a Pony". Digaponyportland.com. http://digaponyportland.com/. Retrieved 2011-10-08. 

External links

• Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "Dig A Pony"
• The Beatles Bible: Dig A Pony