"No No Song" is a 1974 song by English musician

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

. Written by

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

and David Jackson, it appeared on Starr's 1974 album, '' Goodnight Vienna''. It was released as a single in the US on 27 January 1975, backed with "

Snookeroo "Snookeroo" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin and released by Ringo Starr on his 1974 album '' Goodnight Vienna''. Writing and release The song, which concerns a happy-go-lucky lout from northern England, was written about Starr ...

," and reached No. 1 in Canada, #3 in the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

, becoming his 7th and last top 10 hit. It also reached No. 1 on

Cash Box charts ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

in the US. In the song, the narrator meets a woman from

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

who offers him

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

; a woman from

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

who offers him

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

; and a man from

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

who offers him

moonshine Moonshine is high-proof liquor that is usually produced illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of creating the alcohol during the nighttime, thereby avoiding detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial dist ...

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ...

. The narrator declines all of them, saying that they are bad for his health.

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

provides backing vocals. Some reissues and later pressings of the Ringo Starr version credit the song as "No No Song/

Skokiaan "Skokiaan" is a popular tune originally written by Zimbabwean musician August Musarurwa (d. 1968, usually identified as August Msarurgwa on record labels) in the Tsaba-tsaba big band-style that succeeded Marabi. Skokiaan (Chikokiyana in Shona ...

." This is presumably due to a copyright claim by the publishers of the latter song, although details are lacking. There are some similarities between parts of "Skokiaan" and the instrumental break between the second and third verses of Starr's version of the "No No Song," but without documentation this is no more than a supposition.

Reception

'' Billboard'' described "No No Song" as a "good, fun Ringo cut." ''Billboard'' expressed concern that the drug references might limit airplay, even though the lyrics have the singer rejecting drug use. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as a "friendly, tongue-in-cheek temperance tune," saying that "Ringo delivers it like he really means it!!"

Covers

In 1975, the song's writer, Hoyt Axton, released his own version of the song, featuring

Cheech and Chong Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and feature films, which were based on the hippie a ...

, on his album '' Southbound''. That same year,

Joe Dassin Joseph Ira Dassin (; 5 November 1938 – 20 August 1980) was an American–French singer-songwriter and actor. He was the son of film director Jules Dassin. Early life Dassin was born in New York City to American film director Jules Dassin (19 ...

released a French language adaptation of the song, "" ("Me, I Said No"), as the B-side of his most successful single, "". In this version, the protagonist refuses money, a marriage proposal and a political office in order to preserve his peace of mind. Another French version, "", ("I'm a Faithful Husband") was also released in 1975 by Robert Demontigny for the

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

market in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. This time, the protagonist refuses various women's advances but changes his mind in the end when he finds his wife kissing his best friend. Brazilian rock musician

Raul Seixas Raul Santos Seixas (; 28 June 1945 – 21 August 1989) allmusic Biography/ref> was a Brazilian rock composer, singer, songwriter and producer. He is sometimes called the "Father of Brazilian Rock" and "Maluco Beleza", the last one roughly transl ...

recorded a

Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (' ), also Portuguese of Brazil (', ) or South American Portuguese (') is the set of varieties of the Portuguese language native to Brazil and the most influential form of Portuguese worldwide. It is spoken by almost all of ...

version called "" ("Don't Want to Ride on the Wrong Way Anymore"), adapting the drugs mentioned in the lyrics to the Brazilian culture (respectively, Colombian marijuana,

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

and

Argentinian Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, ...

chloroethane spray). This version was included on his 1988 album ' ("The Genesis's Stone") and issued as a promotional single.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

; Footnotes ; Citations

External links

* {{authority control Ringo Starr songs Apple Records singles 1975 singles Songs written by Hoyt Axton Song recordings produced by Richard Perry Songs about drugs Songs about cannabis Songs about cocaine Songs about alcohol 1974 songs Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles