George Harrison wrote the song as a tribute to his friend Eric Clapton’s chocolate addiction, and indeed he derived the title and many of the lyrics from a box of Mackintosh’s Good News chocolates. Supposedly all of the confectionery names used in the song are authentic, except cherry cream and coconut fudge. The chorus (“But you’ll have to have them all pulled out after the savoy truffle”) is a reference to the deterioration of one’s teeth after eating too many sweets. The line “We all know Ob-la-di-bla-da” refers to the song “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” which appears earlier on the album, but with the “sinister” overtone (as Everett put it) that “life may not go on” as the latter song insists. It is one of four songs by the Beatles which makes specific reference to other songs recorded by the group (the others being “All You Need Is Love” which refers to “She Loves You”; “I Am the Walrus” which refers to “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”; and “Glass Onion” which refers to multiple songs).
New Music United 