In 2011, Donovan claimed the song is “about being cool, laid-back, and also the electrical bananas that were appearing on the scene - which were ladies’ vibrators.” So there we go the quintessentially Donovan song was indicative of the era, just not in the way we thought. For anyone born after then, this is a slang term for a vibrator. The song’s mentioning of an “electrical banana” gives it away to anyone born before 1960.
In fact, Donovan claims to have heard the rumour only three weeks before ‘Mellow Yellow’ was released as a single.ĭonovan has since cleared away the forest of rumours sourcing the song’s provenance. According to the liner notes for Donovan’s Greatest Hits, the rumour asserting the banana’s medicinal properties was espoused by Country Joe McDonald in 1966. Of course, that theory has since been debunked, so don’t be getting any ideas. This rumour sounds so ridiculous, even today. Initially, the song was rumoured to be about smoking dried banana skins, which were rumoured to have psychedelic properties in the ’60s. In fact, ‘Mellow Yellow’ was steeped in myth almost instantly after release. However, Donovan has dispelled this myth. It was also rumoured to have been McCartney whispering the slightly creepy “quite rightly” in the chorus. It is also alleged that McCartney played bass in parts of the album Mellow Yellow but was uncredited. The Beatles bassist lends his hand to the song with a clap and the cheer at the end.
Showing that Donovan’s illustrious list of friends did not end there, his quintessential song features an uncredited Paul McCartney. It was arranged by none other than John Paul Jones, the only member of the future Led Zeppelin we have not mentioned till this point. The title track and solo single from Mellow Yellow, the song is a psychedelic trip in of itself. One of the hits that culminated in Donovan’s ubiquity was 1966’s ‘Mellow Yellow’.
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