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Barenaked Ladies — Be My Yoko Ono
Album: Gordon
Avg rating:
5.8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 438









Released: 1992
Length: 2:43
Plays (last 30 days): 0
And if there's someone you can live without, then do so
And if there's someone you can just shove out, go do so

You can be my Yoko Ono
You can follow me wherever I go
Be my, be my
Be my, be my Yoko Ono

Isn't it beautiful to see two people so much in love?
Barenaked as two virgins hand in hand and hand and hand in glove
But now that I'm far away it doesn't seem to me to be such a pain
To have you hanging off my ankle like some kind of ball and chain

(If you like) You can be my Yoko Ono
You can follow me wherever I go
Be my, be my
Be my, be my Yoko Ono

(Be my Yoko) Oh, no, here we go
Our life is one big pun
Oh, no, here we go as Yoko sings
Aieee!

I know that when I say this, I may be stepping on pins and needles
But I don't like all these people slagging her for breaking up the Beatles
(Don't blame it on Yokey) I mean, if I was John and you were Yoko I would gladly give up musical genius
Just to have you as my very own personal Venus

(Hit it) You can be my Yoko Ono
You can follow me wherever I go
Be my, be my
Be my, be my Yoko Ono

Be my, be my, be my, be my, be my Yoko Ono
Be my, be my, be my, be my, be my Yoko Ono
Be my, be my, be my, be my, be my Yoko Ono
Comments (85)add comment
Just not the same band without Steven Page, I so wish they'd reunite. 
I find their music fun. It may not win any awards but it always puts a smile on my face.
 diane wrote:

This group has never been a favorite of mine particularly because of their song selection. This tune is a change for me - I like it (even though I tried a little bit not to). It's well sung, well engineered and cleverly written.





Well said, especially the "clever" part. Just plain fun is what they're all about.
Just saw these guys in concert and I have a new respect for them. So much fun!
4 undiscovered dudes smushed in a tiny booth jamming this track on Speaker's Corner...I saw that when it was first broadcast on City-TV...made me smile....
always look on the bright side of life
 sfyi2001 wrote:
WAY too lame, 
EGREGIOUS.
Worse than barfing,
Unbelievably retarded. :-) 
I'm appalled -

A rare ONE - and only because ZEERO is not an option. 
Play this again, and I kill somebody.
THAT IS HUMOR - I WILL NOT KILL again.

 
Lighten up, Francis.
 jmsmy wrote:
amazing lyrics
 
They certainly bewilder & perplex the listener.
rubbish
WAY too lame, 
EGREGIOUS.
Worse than barfing,
Unbelievably retarded. :-) 
I'm appalled -

A rare ONE - and only because ZEERO is not an option. 
Play this again, and I kill somebody.
THAT IS HUMOR - I WILL NOT KILL again.

amazing lyrics
Definitely not liking this.  Ho hum indeed.
Oh come on everyone - everyone takes Barenaked Ladies too seriously. They are just a fun band. I honestly don't think they intend to be award winning musicians, but their music is just meant to put a smile on your face! Be My Yoko Ono was a great surprise that I haven't heard in a while and I'm glad Bill popped in in there!
Not even close to their best work. I really think they may need to be seen live, I can remember a few very good times with them on stage.
"Here's a little fusion of two styles we've been working on...Rock and Roll" 
Blahhhh.... Was hoping to NEVER have to hear those tools again....
Not their best song, but it has a catchy tune that takes me back. Hard to believe how people can hate the ladies; their Canadian!
This song still cracks me up. The Yoko impersonation (that actually sounds like a turkey) makes me laugh out loud every time.
I don't mind this one, but "Gordon" has several songs that are much, much better. 

Edit: And if some kind soul uploaded "The Flag" off this album, I would love them forever.
Please retire this one!  Please!

Maybe "One Week" once a decade. 
One of my Most favourite group of musicians - lol don't like this as much as most of theirs due to its subject lol!
I can't fully explain why I hate these guys as much as I do.
1...and I'd go lower if I could.
I can hardly find any song to rate it 4... before I heard this one! 
I'm waiting for Sean Lennon's biography—there's a complicated exercise!
Remember, don't blame it on Yokey.
This is just annoying :(
Pyro wrote:
I love the Yoko impersonation in the middle!
Oh, I thought that was a turkey! ;-) Great tune to follow "Jealous Guy".
Hannio wrote:
I bet these guys wouldn't have the balls to write such a song if Lennon were still around.
Because Lennon would...?
I bet these guys wouldn't have the balls to write such a song if Lennon were still around.
BGGA wrote:
Nice song pairing Bill, you have a great sense of humor.
I just clicked in to say the same..I just burst out laughing here at my desk...good one Bill!
Nice song pairing Bill, you have a great sense of humor.
I love the Yoko impersonation in the middle!
"oh no, here we go, Yoko's going to sing one..." Too funny.
Uh, actually I was referring to the post re: BNL following Lennon.
stickittotheman wrote:
I don't know about you guys, but I'd hate to have my own Yoko Ono.
yah it wouldn't be my first choice either!!! but we need other bnl songs on this station!
The last post, my thoughts exactly! Plus, BNL are wonderfully sarcastic and satiric.
I don't know about you guys, but I'd hate to have my own Yoko Ono.
I love the BNL and putting Be My Yoko Ono just after a Lennon song was just brilliant!
This group has never been a favorite of mine particularly because of their song selection. This tune is a change for me - I like it (even though I tried a little bit not to). It's well sung, well engineered and cleverly written.
8 gajillion BNL tunes out there, and we get "treated" to this one repeatedly? Were we all bad over the New Year? If not, a new song please.
I love the part where he says, "Don't blame it on Yokey!" Fun song, fun band.
indypaul wrote:
Good clean fun!
Indeed .This song together with :"if i had a milion dollar" was here (Flanders; Belgium) very popular on public radio, radio1, and i loved both.
Good clean fun!
Yoko Ono is so friggin hot!!
BNL get written off as just a novelty band, which really isn't fair, but the fact of the matter is that their novelty songs are usually very, very good. This is one of them. I like the fact that when they made the video for this song, Yoko gave them a whole bunch of video footage of her and John. She liked the song. :)
One of the things that drives me nuts about self-appointed art critics is their complete inability to laugh at ANYTHING. BNL may not be Pink Floyd, but their tunes are witty, irreverant, catchy and occasionally poignant. And they put on one hell of an entertaining show. Geez. Lighten up.
nielsen wrote:
worst crap i heard for a long time
For him to have a Yoko, he would need to be John Lennon. And to paraphrase Lloyd Bentzen, You Sir, are No John Lennon.
Another overplayed song - seriously, these last few songs since I started listening have all been really overplayed stuff. SOrry to say, but alas that is how I feel.
PunchDrunkLowe wrote:
Great stuff... any BNL is good BNL... and this is classic stuff. BNL are just great musicians. They give you a reason to laugh every now and then, and there's nothing wrong with that. Their albums have moments of humor, sadness, excitement, and expression. Such is life. :D Every one of their songs is a jewel in my opinion. I guess they're not for everybody, but BNL gets my thumbs up.
Well said. :highfive:
worst crap i heard for a long time
yeah, i get it but this song is not funny and barenaked ladies is one of the worst bands ever. i don't shut off radio paradise unless this band is played.
am I the only one who feels this version they're playing on RP is different than what I have on w/e album I have with this song...
This would be bad enough were it just inconsequential fluff......however it has the additional unredeeming quality of being annoying.
Great stuff... any BNL is good BNL... and this is classic stuff. BNL are just great musicians. They give you a reason to laugh every now and then, and there's nothing wrong with that. Their albums have moments of humor, sadness, excitement, and expression. Such is life. :D Every one of their songs is a jewel in my opinion. I guess they're not for everybody, but BNL gets my thumbs up.
stupid
I just want to say that this song goes great on a mix with "I Won't Be Your Yoko Ono" by Dar Williams. Great Tune!
This is just too annoying for words
the ONLY song i can handle by this band. it is decent.
I've never heard this song before...too funny!!!
Don't blame it on Yokie.
rgj13 wrote:
Okay, could someone who likes, admires, enjoys or appreciates this band at all, could you please provide...um, me with some reasons for your feelings?
Personally, I like a band that's not afraid to be a little goofy. It's a nice balace to some of the more pretentious bands out there. *cough*Radiohead*cough*
rgj13 wrote:
Okay, could someone who likes, admires, enjoys or appreciates this band at all, could you please provide...um, me with some reasons for your feelings? I just do not understand the appeal. Having said that, this is the first track I've heard by BNL that hasn't caused a quick station change or mute-button-hit. Really, though, I ask this as a favor, and out of curiosity, not sarcasm.
I'm with you... I don't see the appeal in these guys, at all.
mrselfdestruct wrote:
There are some BNL songs that I really enjoy: their version of Lovers in a Dangerous Time, What a Good Boy, Brian Wilson, uh... maybe one or two more. But, their 'joke' songs like this one and If I Had a Million Dollars are totally brutal IMO. Fun, yes, but worth maybe two listens at most.
Completely agree with your take on BNL. Shame, because they are extremely talented musicians but they've peed a lot of that away with juvenile lyrics in simplistic songs --> they had one hit with the "...under there. Under where? I just made you say "underwear" schtick. Oh well, I guess they're rich now and I'm not, so who am I to say what's best.
rgj13 wrote:
Okay, could someone who likes, admires, enjoys or appreciates this band at all, could you please provide...um, me with some reasons for your feelings? I just do not understand the appeal. Having said that, this is the first track I've heard by BNL that hasn't caused a quick station change or mute-button-hit. Really, though, I ask this as a favor, and out of curiosity, not sarcasm.
I reluctantly saw them in concert in '99 and was entertained by their kitchen-sink approach to the music--nearly every instrument ever invented was trotted out. No Fripp or (fill in the blank) type genius but just fun stuff.
rgj13 wrote:
Okay, could someone who likes, admires, enjoys or appreciates this band at all, could you please provide...um, me with some reasons for your feelings? I just do not understand the appeal. Having said that, this is the first track I've heard by BNL that hasn't caused a quick station change or mute-button-hit. Really, though, I ask this as a favor, and out of curiosity, not sarcasm.
There are some BNL songs that I really enjoy: their version of Lovers in a Dangerous Time, What a Good Boy, Brian Wilson, uh... maybe one or two more. But, their 'joke' songs like this one and If I Had a Million Dollars are totally brutal IMO. Fun, yes, but worth maybe two listens at most.
rgj13 wrote:
Okay, could someone who likes, admires, enjoys or appreciates this band at all, could you please provide...um, me with some reasons for your feelings? I just do not understand the appeal. Having said that, this is the first track I've heard by BNL that hasn't caused a quick station change or mute-button-hit. Really, though, I ask this as a favor, and out of curiosity, not sarcasm.
Ok. I'm not much of fan of "novelty" music, i.e. Weird Al, The Nylons or other Dr. Demento-esque stuff, but I have to say I like BNL. What sets them apart is that they are musicians who have a sense of humor, where most novelty acts are humorists who use music as their vehicle. Again, I'd say Phish definitely fits the former description. Probably also Frank Zappa and Tencious D. I think Spinal Tap is placed sqaurely in between musicianship and comedy. Besides, if it weren't for BNL, I'd never have checked out Akira Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai" - a real treat of a film.
rgj13 wrote:
Okay, could someone who likes, admires, enjoys or appreciates this band at all, could you please provide...um, me with some reasons for your feelings? I just do not understand the appeal. Having said that, this is the first track I've heard by BNL that hasn't caused a quick station change or mute-button-hit. Really, though, I ask this as a favor, and out of curiosity, not sarcasm.
i could not agree more. enlighten me. these guys drive me crazy. and i dont mean that in a good way. blegh.
They are like a stupider, less talented version of 'They Might Be Giants'.
mytongue wrote:
Good stuff - should be followed by Dar Williams - "I Won't Be Your Yoko Ono" :D
I just went to post the same thing.. You beat me to it!
Okay, could someone who likes, admires, enjoys or appreciates this band at all, could you please provide...um, me with some reasons for your feelings? I just do not understand the appeal. Having said that, this is the first track I\'ve heard by BNL that hasn\'t caused a quick station change or mute-button-hit. Really, though, I ask this as a favor, and out of curiosity, not sarcasm.
BNL ROCK Saw them live in Calgary earlier this year... they are an AMAZING live act. Please stop taking music so seriously.... c'mon people.... light(en) up :)
Good stuff - should be followed by Dar Williams - \"I Won\'t Be Your Yoko Ono\" :D
Originally Posted by stradaduro: blecch - BNL, what an asinine novelty act. Really, they should cover Purple People Eater, or something.
A couple funny songs makes them a novelty act? Hate to think what you must think of Phish.
This group always makes me yawn. Always the same fast tempo silliness :roll:
Cool! This is the version from their *huge* independent release, called \'Yellow Tape/CD\'. I actually like this version better than the one on \'Gordon\'. And, no, they are *NOT* a novelty act. More BNL!
To the last two posters: Remove the stick and lighten up.
Go away. You stink. Thank you.
I think it sums the Ono feelings quite well.. :) this was the first thing I ever heard by BNL... it was at least 7 years ago... it was the title that caught my attention, and then the breakdown... the Yoko Warble that won me over... :D Great to hear it again !!
\"...don\'t blame it on Yokie...\" Love the Ladies. Please play more!
Good fun!
Wow! What a fun song. I remember when these guys won a contest on CFNY in Toronoto. It eventually got them their record deal (I can hear some of you cursing CFNY as you read this). Anyway, best BNL moment was seeing them in Buffalo NY with Dream Warriors, Skattalites, Violent Fems, & Fishbone. The last song of the set was a really good version of PE\'s \"Fight the Power.\" Best of all, it worked!