‘Mellow Yellow’ is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. In the US, it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside the US, ‘Mellow Yellow’ peaked at No. 8 in the UK in early 1967.
The song was rumoured to be about smoking dried banana skins, which was believed to be a hallucinogenic drug in the 1960s, though this aspect of bananas has since been debunked. According to Donovan's notes, accompanying the album Donovan's Greatest Hits, the rumour that one could get high from smoking dried banana skins was started by Country Joe McDonald in 1966, and Donovan heard the rumour three weeks before ‘Mellow Yellow’ was released as a single.
According to The Rolling Stone Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll, he admitted later the song made reference to a vibrator; an "electrical banana" as mentioned in the lyrics. Donovan stated, "I was reading a newspaper and on the back there was an ad for a yellow dildo called the mellow yellow," he said. "Really, you know the 'electric banana' was right in there and gave it away. And that's what the song's about." This definition was re-affirmed in an interview with NME magazine: "it's about being cool, laid-back, and also the electrical bananas that were appearing on the scene – which were ladies' vibrators."
Donovan set out to capture the mellow vibe of the '60s with this song, adding what he called "cool, groovy phrases." These phrases were interpreted in ways he never imagined, as people came up with lots of ideas as to what the song meant. Most of these interpretations concerned drugs.
Paul McCartney can be heard as one of the background revellers on this track, but the "quite rightly" whispering lines in the chorus is not McCartney, but rather Donovan himself. Donovan had a small part in coming up with the lyrics for "Yellow Submarine", and McCartney played bass guitar (uncredited) on portions of Donovan's Mellow Yellow album.
Labels – Epic, Pye
Songwriter – Donovan
Producer – Mickie Most
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]I'm just mad about Saffron
Saffron's mad about me
I'm-a just mad about Saffron
She's just mad about me
[Chorus]
They call me Mellow Yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me Mellow Yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me Mellow Yellow
[Verse 2]
I'm just mad about fourteen
A-fourteen's mad about me
I'm-a just-a mad about-a fourteen
She's just mad about me
[Chorus]
They call me Mellow Yellow
They call me Mellow Yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me Mellow Yellow
[Verse 3]
Born-a high forever to fly
A-wind a-velocity nil
Born-a high forever to fly
If you want your cup, I will fill
[Chorus]
They call me Mellow Yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me Mellow Yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me Mellow Yellow
So mellow, he's so mellow
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 4]
Electrical banana
Is gonna be a sudden craze
Electrical banana
Is bound to be the very next phase
[Chorus]
They call it Mellow Yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me Mellow Yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me Mellow Yellow
[Verse 5]
Saffron, yeah
I'm just mad about her
I'm-a just-a mad about-a Saffron
She's just mad about me
[Chorus]
They call me Mellow Yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me Mellow Yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me Mellow Yellow
Oh, so yellow