No Doubt's live act began to attract regional interest, and Interscope Records signed them in 1991. The band's debut a year later, an odd fusion of '80s and ska, sank without a trace in the wake of the grunge movement. As a result, Interscope refused to support No Doubt's tour or further recordings. The band responded by recording on their own during 1993-94; the result was the self-released The Beacon Street Collection, much rawer and more punk-inspired than the debut. Eric Stefani left just after its release, later working as an animator for The Simpsons. By late 1994, Interscope allowed recordings to resume, and Tragic Kingdom was released in October 1995. The album's third single, Don't Speak, which although originally written by Eric was later altered by Gwen to document her breakup with bassist Tony Kanal. Tragic Kingdom went platinum and has sold over 15 million copies to date. As Tragic Kingdom obtained success, the band toured furiously until late '97.
After a long break, the band had prepared a more mellow, and powerfully dramatic album entitled Return of Saturn. It emphasized Gwen's encounters with men, her biological clock, and miscellaneous topics. Although the album had a completely different approach to it, the band was making rock music with less of a punk/ska flare. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts in early April of 2000, and then declined to a flop. The public never did justice to the album, and it serves as a favorite for many die-hard fans.
While touring in Jamaica for Return of Saturn, the band wanted to try adding Reggae to their music, and making more of a dance rock record. 20 months after Return of Saturn debuted, the band was quick to jump on the creation of Rock Steady, released in December of '01. The singles Underneath It All and Hey Baby became international dance club symbols as top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. This album proved that No Doubt had not lost their potential with the public, and that they could appeal to various groups of people.
In 2004, No Doubt announced they would be going on hiatus after the release of the singles compilation The Singles 1992–2003, which contained one new song, a cover of experimental rock band Talk Talk's "It's My Life". Tony Kanal did several projects with Gwen and other artists. Adrian Young married and had a child; Tom Dumont formed a new band, Invincible Overlord, often plays with Matt Costa's band. Gwen embarked on a sucessful solo career which consisted of two albums - "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." and "The Sweet Escape". The first of these albums contains the single "Hollaback Girl", a song which was inescapable for most of 2005 and hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won her a Billboard Award for first track to reach 1 Million legal downloads ever. The self titled track off "The Sweet Escape" went on to become her most notorious calling card.
With the hiatus officially over in late 2008 No Doubt announced tour plans for 2009, kicking it off in Atlantic City. The tour concluded with four dates in Irvine, CA. In May, 2009, the band was featured as a fictional 80's band, "Snowed Out", on CW Network's "Gossip Girl" The band performed their cover of Adam and the Ants 'Stand and Deliver.'
The group entered the studio in May 2010 to start recording on their sixth studio album: Push and Shove which will be release on September 25, 2012 and its first single will be "Settle Down". Their first music video for the new album will also be for "Settle Down" and it will be directed by Sophie Muller (who previously has done numerous music videos for No Doubt). The whole album has been recorded with producer Mark "Spike" Stent (who worked on their previous album Rock Steady) but they have also collaborated with Major Lazer (now Diplo's solo project). No Doubt previously revealed they are taking influence from ska, 80s new wave and Jamaican reggae music for the new record.
Ob-la-di Ob-la-da
No Doubt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
Ob la di ob la da life goes on bra
La la how their life goes on
Ob la di ob la da life goes on bra
Desmond takes a trolly to the jeweler's 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
Ob la di ob la da Life goes on bra
La la how their life goes on
Ob la di ob la da Life goes on bra
La la how their life goes on
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 still sings it with the band
Ob la di ob la da life goes on bra
La la how their life goes on
Ob la di ob la da life goes on bra
La la how their life goes on
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 he's a singer with the band
Ob la di ob la da life goes on bra
La la how their life goes on
Ob la di ob la da life goes on bra
La la how their life goes on
And if you want some fun take ob la di bla da
The lyrics to No Doubt's song Ob-la-di Ob-la-da seem to tell the story of a young couple, Desmond and Molly, who meet in a market place. Desmond is taken with Molly's beauty and charm and proceeds to buy her a twenty carat golden ring from the jeweler's store. The lyrics suggest that they get married and start a family together, building a happy home and raising children. Despite their family responsibilities, they continue to pursue their interests - Molly remains a singer in a band, and Desmond also becomes a singer with the band in the evenings. The refrain of "Ob la di ob la da life goes on bra, La la how their life goes on" reinforces the idea that the couple's daily routine may continue to be repetitive and mundane, but they find happiness in each other and in the simple joys of life.
This song was originally written and performed by The Beatles as a reggae influence song in 1968 on their self-titled album, commonly known as The White Album. The song is credited to Paul McCartney, but it also has major contributions from John Lennon. The title is said to have been inspired by former Nigerian football player Obafemi Martins, whose full name is Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins. Some even think the song's name is a corruption of the Yoruba language phrase "Oba ilu, aba la" meaning "The king has become poor." It was reportedly written as a nod to a Nigerian conga player who performed regularly at club gigs in London that McCartney and Lennon had attended.
Line by Line Meaning
Desmond has a barrow in the market place
Desmond owns a cart in the market
Molly is the singer in a band
Molly is a vocalist in a music group
Desmond says to Molly "Girl I like your face"
Desmond compliments Molly's appearance
And Molly says this as she takes him by the hand
Molly responds to Desmond's compliment and takes his hand
Ob la di ob la da life goes on bra
Things happen in life and it keeps going
La la how their life goes on
The cycle of life moves on and on
Desmond takes a trolly to the jeweler's store
Desmond uses a cart to go to the jewelry store
Buys a twenty carat golden ring
Desmond purchases a twenty-carat golden ring
Takes it back to Molly waiting at the door
Desmond goes back to Molly who is waiting at the door
And as he gives it to her she begins to sing
Molly starts singing when Desmond gives her the ring
In a couple of years
After a few years
They have built a home sweet home
They construct a comfortable dwelling
With a couple of kids running in the yard of
Their yard is filled with their two children
Desmond and Molly Jones
The couple's name is Desmond and Molly Jones
Happy ever after in the market place
They are content with their life in the market
Desmond lets the children lend a hand
Desmond allows their children to assist
Molly stays at home and does her pretty face
Molly spends her day at home beautifying herself
And in the evening she still sings it with the band
At night, she continues to sing with her group
Desmond stays at home and does his pretty face
Desmond is a stay-at-home parent and grooms himself
And in the evening he's a singer with the band
However, he performs with the music group in the evening
And if you want some fun take ob la di bla da
If you want to have a good time, sing along to 'Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da'
Contributed by Gabriel O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Xychk
Out of all the people who covered this song, I think Gwen had the most fun
@fullmetalkunai67
that looked like a super fun concert....damn the fact that i was a too young at the time
@candycanefaery
Eric Stefani! Man I wish I had been old enough to see No Doubt back in the day like my cousins! Boo!
@mrsboxerpaw
She gets the words mixed up and still sounds great, was lucky enough to see them in Dublin 🤩
@ouscholta
love her voice so much!!
@itsglen9646
Never thought of the Beatles writing a ska tune... great!
@stephgonzal1
this is so epic i wish i was there my favorite band in the world NO DOUBT all day !!!!!! best cover ever
@themaddportagee76
Ah-Ma-Zing (!!) I love how they took an old school Beatles track ( which I grew up on and love till I die ) and turned it around to a whole new vibe! Gotta love Ska!
@esaumonroy5033
She’s a queen. 😍😘😍😘😍😘
@BasqueNYC
They closed with this at a Roseland,NYC show in summer 96 or 97 and they had Goldfinger and Dog Eat Dog dancing on stage with them