(It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna

"(It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna" is a song written by John Lennon, and released by Ringo Starr as the opening title track to his 1974 album Goodnight Vienna. A brief reprise (in which Ringo thanks the band and addresses the listener) closes the album. Released as the third single, this version is a medley combination of the two. The single was released in the US on 2 June 1975.[nb 1][1]

"Goodnight Vienna (song)" redirects here. For the 1932 song, see Goodnight, Vienna.
"Goodnight Vienna"
US picture sleeve
Single by Ringo Starr
from the album Goodnight Vienna
B-side"Oo-Wee"
Released2 June 1975 (US only)
GenreRock
Length2:58 (single version)
LabelApple Records
Songwriter(s)John Lennon
Producer(s)Richard Perry
Ringo Starr singles chronology
"Snookeroo"
(1975)		 "Goodnight Vienna"
(1975)		 "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll"
(1976)
Goodnight Vienna track listing
11 tracks
Side one
  1. "(It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna"
  2. "Occapella"
  3. "Oo-Wee"
  4. "Husbands and Wives"
  5. "Snookeroo"
Side two
  1. "All by Myself"
  2. "Call Me"
  3. "No No Song"
  4. "Only You (And You Alone)"
  5. "Easy for Me"
  6. "Goodnight Vienna (Reprise)"

The title song features Lennon on opening count-in and piano, and Billy Preston on clavinet; and the reprise features Lennon's intro, 'OK, with gusto, boys, with gusto!'.

Composition and Lyrics

Written during Lennon's so-called "Lost Weekend" with May Pang, the lyrics depict the pair hanging out with cohorts (including Starr, Harry Nilsson and Keith Moon) in Los Angeles. The term "Goodnight Vienna" is English slang meaning "it's all over", and the London slang term "bohunk" is a mildly derogatory term for an immigrant of Bohemian descent.

This was the second of five Lennon songs to be offered for inclusion on Starr's solo albums, (the others being "I'm the Greatest" from Ringo, "Cookin' (in the Kitchen of Love)" from Ringo's Rotogravure, and two unreleased songs intended for Stop and Smell the Roses).

Reception

Billboard called "(It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna" a "good, upbeat sing-along type song," saying that the lyrics were "fun" and the instrumentals were "strong."[2]

Billboard also reviewed the B-side of the single, "Oo-Wee", calling it a "strong, rhythm oriented song...with some good horn riffs and an interesting piano solo."[2]

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References
Footnotes
  1. US Apple 1882[1]
Citations
  1. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 183. ISBN 9780753508435.
  2. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. June 7, 1975. p. 86. Retrieved 2020-07-16.
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