On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 2:57:55 PM UTC-7, Nil wrote:
> What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown
> Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
> different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
> syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
> Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
> late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
> the song. Am I missing something obvious?

George Harrison might have been thinking of the Cole Porter song he covered later as a solo artist on "Thirty Three & 1/3," since the repetition sounds like,

'TRUE LOVE!
Truly True!'

That seems simple, but try playing it backwards - there's a tie-in with an early idea for the title of "Abbey Road."

The 1969 album was to be called something to do with Mount Everest, also associated with a brand of cigarettes so they scrapped that idea; McCartney has likened the title they went with to "Monastery Avenue."

So in reverse the vocals in the coda of 'Old Brown Shoe' sound like repeating,

'Higher -
Than Mount Everest'

On Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at 6:52:56 AM UTC-7, eagali...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 2:57:55 PM UTC-7, Nil wrote:
> > What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown
> > Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
> > different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
> > syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
> > Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
> > late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
> > the song. Am I missing something obvious?
> George Harrison might have been thinking of the Cole Porter song he covered later as a solo artist on "Thirty Three & 1/3," since the repetition sounds like,
>
> 'TRUE LOVE!
> Truly True!'
>
> That seems simple, but try playing it backwards - there's a tie-in with an early idea for the title of "Abbey Road."
>
> The 1969 album was to be called something to do with Mount Everest, also associated with a brand of cigarettes so they scrapped that idea; McCartney has likened the title they went with to "Monastery Avenue."
>
> So in reverse the vocals in the coda of 'Old Brown Shoe' sound like repeating,
>
> 'Higher -
> Than Mount Everest'

You lost me with the "Try playing it backwards" stuff.

However, "True love, truly true" is the best suggestion I've heard. I was previously open to it being nonsense syllables.

On Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at 9:13:16 AM UTC-7, Norbert K wrote:
> On Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at 6:52:56 AM UTC-7, eagali...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 2:57:55 PM UTC-7, Nil wrote:
> > > What are the chanting vocals saying in the ending fadeout of "Old Brown
> > > Shoe"? It's so indistinct that my imagination can impose a number of
> > > different possibilities, but it really sounds most like nonsense
> > > syllables, something like "do-la, do-lay-do". The version sung by Gary
> > > Booker from the Concert for George sounds like of like "Too late, too
> > > late doll", but that doesn't really make much sense in the context of
> > > the song. Am I missing something obvious?
> > George Harrison might have been thinking of the Cole Porter song he covered later as a solo artist on "Thirty Three & 1/3," since the repetition sounds like,
> >
> > 'TRUE LOVE!
> > Truly True!'
> >
> > That seems simple, but try playing it backwards - there's a tie-in with an early idea for the title of "Abbey Road."
> >
> > The 1969 album was to be called something to do with Mount Everest, also associated with a brand of cigarettes so they scrapped that idea; McCartney has likened the title they went with to "Monastery Avenue."
> >
> > So in reverse the vocals in the coda of 'Old Brown Shoe' sound like repeating,
> >
> > 'Higher -
> > Than Mount Everest'
> You lost me with the "Try playing it backwards" stuff.
>
> However, "True love, truly true" is the best suggestion I've heard. I was previously open to it being nonsense syllables.

Some source is giving the transcription prominently online as:

"You know who loves you"

The dvd captions for their film debut have the line in the title track "So why I love to come home" instead as "So why on earth should I moan?"

Most people wouldn't think to try reversing anything, but I heard a live witness to a conference during a White Album session saying the subject was how a lyric change would affect the resulting reverse-composition in tandem. The sound engineers said after "Revolver" everything was played backwards before being okayed. A version of "Blue Jay Way" even has the reverse track running simultaneously mixed in at points.

The song covers the same subliminal territory as "Hey Bulldog," which got cut from a version of the "Yellow Submarine" animated film: the "Bulldog" riff ends like ' - real nightmare'; the "Shoe" riff ends like '- had a dream.' Both songs work fine on their own, but slightly conflicting nuances when considered together. A similar situation with their cover versions of shelved "Leave My Kitten Alone" versus included "Honey Don't," a redundancy that fans would not have probably consciously noticed if both had been put on "Beatles For Sale."