Donovan - Mellow Yellow Lyrics | SongMeanings (2024)

Donovan

  • 46 Comments
  • 0 Tags

');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)};})();

I'm just mad about Saffron
Saffron's mad about me
I'm just mad about Saffron
She's just mad about me

They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow

I'm just mad about Fourteen
Fourteen's mad about me
I'm just mad about Fourteen
She's just mad about me

They call me mellow yellow
They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow

Born high forever to fly
Wind velocity nil
Wanna high forever to fly
If you want your cup our fill

They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow

(So mellow yellow, he's so mellow)

Electrical banana
Is gonna be a sudden craze
Electrical banana
Is bound to be the very next phase

They call it mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow

Saffron, yeah
I'm just mad about her
I'm just mad about Saffron
She's just mad about me

They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow

(Oh so yellow, oh so mellow)

Edit Lyrics


');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)};})();

Lyrics submitted bypink_angel016, edited by jaZZjaZZ54

Mellow Yellow Lyrics as written by Donovan Leitch

Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Mellow Yellow song meanings

Add Your Thoughts

  • +3

    General Comment

    Also, I'm listening to the Donovan In Concert album of 1968 and he sings "I'm just mad about 14-year-old girls." It amuses me.

    Schreion July 14, 2009Link

    • No RepliesLog in to reply

  • +2

    General Comment

    Nope. I heard the same thing but it isn't true. Also, Paul McCartney played with him on this track, as well as many others. It was Donovans way of setting a lightly visible tribute to Yellow Submarine, and McCartney was pleased and played along with him in the song.

    knate15on June 10, 2004Link

    • No RepliesLog in to reply

  • +2

    General Comment

    When this song first came out we thought it was about smoking the white stuff scraped from the inside of banana peels, too. So one day we loaded up one of our buddy's cars and headed out for San Francisco from LA during the Easter Break. When we arrived at Golden Gate Park sure enough, all of the hippies were smoking what they called "Mellow Yellow"! We asked one guy what the high was like and he said it just mellowed you out and it was perfectly legal to smoke it. So we thought, "What the Heck! Let's try it!". Well, besides rasping our lungs out, it didn't do a thing, but we sure had a great time. Will never forget the beautiful girls walking around with nothing but a white sheet wrapped around them. Some of them were so high on other drugs they never realized it when the sheets fell off. Quite an eye bulging experience for 3 - 17 year-old guys at the time! Sure wish someone would organize one more love-in just to have the chance to relive that day. What a fantastic period to have lived in.

    Just remembered that we even went to the extent of making our own peace sign pendants from thin copper rods and solder in Metal Shop so we might fit in to the crowd. Nothing could have been further from the truth. We stuck out like sore thumbs, but everyone was really cool and it didn't seem to matter that we weren't dressed like all of them. That was before the hippie scene in San Francisco went bad because of the money everyone was making off drugs, et cetera. It was truly the Summer of Love for us.

    prog_rocker7on August 20, 2005Link

    • 1 ReplyLog in to reply

  • +2

    General Comment

    the velvet underground/nico album artwork was meant to look phallic. that's why it has the "peel slowly and see" arrow next to the banana peel. everybody who bought the album in the sixties was expecting to see a big penis underneath the banana, but instead you get just a pink banana.

    NewDawnFadeson June 12, 2006Link

    • 1 ReplyLog in to reply

  • +2

    General Comment

    One thing you have to keep in mind is that when songwriters write songs, they will quite often just use words that fall out of their mouths when strumming a guitar, playing a piano or just humming a melody that is stuck in their head. If words SOUND good, the MEANING can often take a back seat.

    As for the banana on the cover of The Velvet Underground and Nico album, it was designed by Andy Warhol, who also designed the cover to The Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers album. The two are so similar in concept (VU's coming first) that one has to wonder if Warhol ripped off his own idea when doing the Stones' album cover.

    gregorybrianon August 05, 2008Link

    • 1 ReplyLog in to reply

  • +1

    General Comment

    ps, who/what is saffron?

    mrs-mojo-risinon October 29, 2004Link

    • 2 RepliesLog in to reply

  • +1

    General Comment

    This one is always funny as so many even at the time thought is was about bananas they even stopped selling them in places in America. It's actually about vibrators and Safron is a fourteen year old meantioned in the song 'superlungs my supergirl' who was a big hit on the scene. If you don't believe me then ask the man himself.

    still stupidon September 27, 2005Link

    • No RepliesLog in to reply

  • +1

    General Comment

    this song was released in europe in november 1966, around the same time the banana rumor was started. this means that it was probably written earlier in the year.

    and as for the velvet underground, even though the album was released in 1967, the artwork was made in may of '66, so it's all coincidence.

    i read this stuff in a good article in "the believer" (the 2005 music issue).

    xoxo conor

    conorissosceneon May 21, 2006Link

    • No RepliesLog in to reply

  • +1

    General Comment

    Oh dear, my little girl is called Saffron, I've been nicknaming her Mellow Yellow... I didn't know what this song was about though, maybe I should keep the meaning from her until she's much older :)

    niennaon March 29, 2010Link

    • No RepliesLog in to reply

  • +1

    General Comment

    'Electric Banana' was also a Club right around the corner from the Fillmore East

    telegramsam123on July 01, 2013Link

    • No RepliesLog in to reply

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

  • Artists - D
  • Donovan
  • Greatest Hits and More [EMI]
  • Mellow Yellow Lyrics

More Featured Meanings

Grand Theft Auto Insane Ian The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate Battle Royale Word Alive, The This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone). And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together. Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri Hayalperest This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere. In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society. Cajun Girl Little Feat Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”

Rate These Lyrics

7 Votes

Most popular lyric tags

    We do not have any tags for Mellow Yellow lyrics. Why not add your own?

Log in to add a tag

More Donovan Lyrics

  • Hurdy Gurdy Man Lyrics
  • Catch The Wind Lyrics
  • Wear Your Love Like Heaven Lyrics
  • Season of the Witch Lyrics
  • There Is A Mountain Lyrics
Donovan - Mellow Yellow Lyrics | SongMeanings (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Nathanael Baumbach

Last Updated:

Views: 6426

Rating: 4.4 / 5 (55 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Nathanael Baumbach

Birthday: 1998-12-02

Address: Apt. 829 751 Glover View, West Orlando, IN 22436

Phone: +901025288581

Job: Internal IT Coordinator

Hobby: Gunsmithing, Motor sports, Flying, Skiing, Hooping, Lego building, Ice skating

Introduction: My name is Nathanael Baumbach, I am a fantastic, nice, victorious, brave, healthy, cute, glorious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.