Conley was born in McIntosh County, Georgia and grew up in Atlanta. He first recorded in 1959 as the lead singer of Arthur & the Corvets. With this group he released three singles from 1963 through 1964 (Poor Girl, I Believe, and Flossie Mae) on the Atlanta-based label National Recording Company.
In 1964 he moved to a new label (Ru-Jac Records) and released I'm a Lonely Stranger. When Otis Redding heard it he asked Conley to record a new version, which became the second release on Redding's own fledgling label Jotis Records.
Conley met Otis Redding in 1967. After this meeting Redding took Conley under his care and taught him the fine points of the music business. Together they rewrote the Sam Cooke song Yeah Man into Sweet Soul Music, which at Redding's insistence was released on the Atco-distributed label Fame Records. It proved a massive hit and went to the number two position on the U.S. charts and the Top Ten across much of Europe. It is said that Conley never accepted Otis Redding's death of December 1967.
After several years of lackluster singles in the early 1970s he relocated to England in 1975 and then spent several years in Belgium before settling in the Dutch village of Ruurlo and the cultural centre of Ganzenhoef (an extension southeast of Amsterdam) in 1980. He legally changed his name to Lee Roberts (his middle name and his mother's maiden name). He occupied himself with promoting new music by means of his Art-Con Productions company and was also active as a designer of specialized tapestries and furniture.
A live performance on January 8, 1980 featuring Lee Roberts & the Sweaters was released as an album titled Soulin' in 1988.
He died after a long battle with intestinal cancer in Ruurlo, Netherlands at age 57.
Ob La Di Ob La Da
Arthur Conley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the marketplace
Molly is the singer in a band
Desmond says to Molly
Girl, I like your face
And Molly says this as she
Takes him by the hand
[Chorus:]
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da
Life goes on, yeah
La la, how the life goes on
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da
Life goes on, yeah
La la, how the life goes on
Desmond take a trolley
To the jewelery store
Buys a twenty carat golden ring
Takes it back to Molly
Waiting at the door
And as he gives it to her
She begins to sing
[Repeat chorus]
In a couple of years
They have built
A home sweet home
With a couple of kids
Running in the yard
Of Desmond and Molly Jones
Happy ever after
In the market place
Desmond lets the
Children lend a hand
Molly stays at home
And does her pretty face
And in the evening
She's still singing with the band
[Repeat chorus]
In a couple of years
They have built
A home sweet home
With a couple of kids
Running in the yard
Of Desmond and Molly Jones
Happy ever after
In the market place
Molly lets the
Children lend a hand
Desmond stays at home
And does his pretty face
And in the evening
She's still singing with the band
[Repeat chorus]
Everybody
[Repeat chorus to fade]
The lyrics to Arthur Conley's song Ob La Di Ob La Da tell the story of Desmond and Molly, who meet in the marketplace where Desmond has a barrow. Desmond is immediately taken with Molly and tells her so, taking her hand. They start a life together, with Desmond buying Molly a twenty-carat golden ring from the jewelry store. In a couple of years, they have built a home sweet home with a couple of kids running in the yard, and life goes on as they find happiness in their everyday lives. Desmond lets the children lend a hand in the marketplace, and Molly stays at home and does her pretty face, but in the evening, she's still singing with the band. The repeated chorus of "Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, yeah, la la, how the life goes on" emphasizes the idea that life goes on, and even with ups and downs, happiness can be found.
Line by Line Meaning
Desmond has a barrow
Desmond has a cart
In the marketplace
In the market
Molly is the singer in a band
Molly is a band singer
Desmond says to Molly
Desmond tells Molly
Girl, I like your face
Girl, I think you're pretty
And Molly says this as she
And Molly replies as she
Takes him by the hand
Takes his hand
Ob-la-di, ob-la-da
Life goes on
Life goes on, yeah
Life continues
La la, how the life goes on
La la, how life continues
Desmond take a trolley
Desmond takes a streetcar
To the jewelery store
To the jewelry store
Buys a twenty carat golden ring
Buys a twenty-carat gold ring
Takes it back to Molly
Takes it to Molly
Waiting at the door
Waiting at the door
And as he gives it to her
And as he gives the ring to her
She begins to sing
She starts singing
In a couple of years
Two years later
They have built
They built
A home sweet home
A cozy home
With a couple of kids
With two kids
Running in the yard
Running in the yard
Of Desmond and Molly Jones
Of Desmond and Molly Jones
Happy ever after
They lived happily ever after
Desmond lets the
Desmond allows the
Children lend a hand
Children help
Molly stays at home
Molly stays home
And does her pretty face
And does her makeup
And in the evening
And at night
She's still singing with the band
She's still singing with the band
Everybody
Everyone
Repeat chorus to fade
Repeat the chorus until the end
Contributed by Chloe B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mykhal
on God Bless
I ... was passing by the bedroom door when I heard little Johnny pray.... It brought a smile to my lips, ...
tears to my eyes when I heard him say. ...God Bless the ... Easter Bunny Santa
Claus, the good tooth fairy, the dirty dog, Yogi Bear, donald Duck, ... Huckleberry Hunt,and Elmer
fud. Sweetie Pie, ... Mother Goose,
and if there's not too many, Bless my mama and my daddy too.... Say, ... a universal
prayer, ... ... prayed by little boys and
girls.... For this is the way that they
all pray ... throughout the whole wide world. God Bless the Easter Bunny, Santa
Claus, the good tooth fairy, the dirty dog,
... Yogi Bear, ... Donald Duck,
... ... Huckleberry Hunt, and Elmer fud . Sweetie Pie, ... Mother Goose,
and if there's not too many, Bless my mama and my daddy too. ..Wouldn't it be wonderful ...
... if we all could feel this way?
... ... We could live in peace and in harmony ...
... and make the world abetter place to stay. And all
we will have to worry about will be... God Bless the Easter bunny Santa...
Claus,the good tooth fairy, the dirty
dog, ... Yogi Bear. ...... ...