"No No Song" is a 1974 song by English musician Ringo Starr. Written by Hoyt Axton 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 who offers him marijuana; a woman from Mallorca,

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 Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

; and a man from Nashville,

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

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 ov ...

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'' 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 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 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, Bolivian

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