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4.11pm
31 March 2008
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‘When We Was Fab’ is the sixth song on George Harrison’s eleventh solo album Cloud Nine.
The song, written by Harrison and Jeff Lynne, looked back to the Beatles days. It contains various musical and lyrical references to the 1960s, including quotations from songs by Bob Dylan and Smokey Robinson. See more…
That one – it sort of was growing and growing… We called it, incidentally, as a working title, – we called it ‘Aussie’ because we were in Australia; that song, you know, we wrote in Australia. So we just put a working title of ‘Aussie Fab’, so that we could remember that it was like a Fab song… and so the ‘Fab’ bit sort of stuck, you know, right up until we just had to come up with the lyrics. Then after the engineer went home one night – which is what we sort of did with all the songs that we wrote together – we just had a microphone up in the control room. And then the engineer finished, when we’d finished our serious bit, we’d just have a beer, we’d just sort of sing onto the thing, find which words fit it, and you know, just tried to refine it down, and it turned out like that. It’s got complete joke words.
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4.29pm
12 January 2013
Offline Other than the name, what other Beatles messages are in this songs lyrics and mysic video.
One I know of is that in the music video there is a guy in a walrus costume, and thats all I saw but I know theres more.
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6.09pm
9 April 2013
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A few things that spring to mind from the lyrics are, “…when income tax was all we had.” This could relate to George’s song “Taxman .” Also, “You’ve really got a hold on me,” is a line taken from a Miracles song. The Beatles did a cover of it, and George wrote at least two tributes to Smokey Robinson. Finally, “still the life flows on and on,” is very similar to the theme of “Within You Without You .”
I haven’t seen the video in a while, but I think I remember someone eating a green apple! I’m sure others will be able to chime in with some more references!
6.14pm
Members
18 March 2013
Offline Ringo is in the video 
and an album with John’s face on it, I can’t remember what album though :/ I haven’t seen that video in yonks
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6.23pm
12 January 2013
Offline What in the bloody hell is yonks?
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6.31pm
9 April 2013
Offline Well, I went ahead and watched the video! As AppleScruffJunior pointed out, a pedestrian walks by holding the John Lennon album Imagine , (which George played on!) and John’s face can be seen on the back cover. Also, for a brief moment, George is dressed in his Sgt. Pepper costume.
I remember now that the green apple is eaten down to its core and discarded onto Ringo’s timpani drum! The apple core definitely reminds me of the joke on the back cover of the original Extra Texture LP!
6.34pm
Members
18 March 2013
Offline Beatles in the Blood said
What in the bloody hell is yonks?
XD I’m not sure if it’s a word I made up or not but I take it as meaning “in ages” So I haven’t seen it in yonks/I haven’t seen it in ages
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2.32am
27 December 2012
Offline Elton John is in the video, Paul was supposed to be the walrus but I think he had other plans. Aside from what was mentioned above, I think the outro was a reference to the usual Indian outros did before.
3.48pm
31 March 2008
Offline I think yonks is a Britishism. I use it Now And Then . See also: “I haven’t seen it in donkey’s years.” I’ve no idea of the etymology of that one.
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5.53pm
3 May 2012
Offline I think the saying started as ”donkey’s ears” and then was later changed to ”donkey’s years” when someone realised that it could be slang for ”a long time”, as donkey’s tend to die old.
I love the ‘WEWF’ video. I think George remained quite bitter about The Beatles all throughout his life, so it was nice that the did this video, honouring them. And, of course, I believe he payed a lot of money to buy back his Sgt. Pepper costume especially for it.
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6.42pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline There is another reference that no one seems to have mentioned yet. I don’t know what happened in other countries, but this is the picture sleeve used for the UK single release.
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7.05pm
14 December 2009
Offline Was the song actually written about the Beatles, or was it just the video full of allusions after-the-fact to give that impression?
I don’t think I’ve seen the video since it was new, and no more than once or twice even then. (And I haven’t heard the song itself in, uh, “yonks”.)
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7.19pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline George made this comment about the song in an Australian interview, “…until I finalized the lyric on it, it was always called ‘Aussie Fab’. That was it’s working title. I hadn’t figured out what the song was going to say … what the lyrics would be about, but I knew it was definitely a Fab song. It was based on the Fabs, and as it was done up in Australia there, up in Queensland, then that’s what we called it. As we developed the lyrics, it became ‘When We Was Fab’. It’s a difficult one to do live because of all the all the little overdubs and all the cellos and the weird noises and the backing voices.”
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The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
9.36pm
3 May 2012
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Interesting, I thought he wrote it specifically (Paul’s ‘Here Today ‘, etc.). It’s good how there’s always something new to learn.
Moving along in our God given ways, safety is sat by the fire/Sanctuary from these feverish smiles, left with a mark on the door.
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2.11pm
Reviewers
29 November 2012
Offline I always liked the “gear!” thrown in right after the “fab” during the choruses near the end. Also, the van that says “Fab Gear” with music gear on the side of it.
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4.33pm
Members
18 March 2013
Offline About the whole “yonks” thing I was talking to a lad today about something and it went like this “Sure I haven’t seen that in yonks”, followed by him saying “Yonks? Who the hell says yonks”. I actually sound more distinguished on the internet then I do in real life as I’ve got quite a thick country accent, so if you’re 1st language is’int English you probably won’t understand me 
And the random “culchie” phrases I say:
“Gluck”
“I wouldn’t ride him into battle”
“He’s as thick as pigsh**e
“Fair bit, good bit, brave bit”
“I was happy out”
“There’s a great stretch in the evenings”
“Yoke”
“Ye can bate the wife but you can’t bate the craic (not literally of course)
(Can only be said by lads/lesbians) “If you can’t lift her, don’t shift her” and “If ya can’t hide her don’t ride her” Darty expressions
Game time: see if anybody can get what these mean ^^^
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Make Love, Not Wardrobes!
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4.49pm
Reviewers
29 November 2012
Offline I always thought George saying “take you away….” at the end of the middle section was a reference to MMT (the song).
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11.45pm
9 May 2012
Offline AppleScruffJunior said
Ringo is in the videoand an album with John’s face on it, I can’t remember what album though :/ I haven’t seen that video in yonks
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4.46pm
6 December 2012
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DrBeatle said
I always thought George saying “take you away….” at the end of the middle section was a reference to MMT (the song).
Yeah, me too. And (if I remember correctly) there’s an effect on his voice during that part of the song which reminds me of Blue Jay Way .
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10.59pm
Reviewers
29 November 2012
Offline DrBeatle said I always thought George saying “take you away….” at the end of the middle section was a reference to MMT (the song).
Yeah, me too. And (if I remember correctly) there’s an effect on his voice during that part of the song which reminds me of Blue Jay Way .
Yes, it’s got that classic phasing effect on it.
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