B-side "Oo-Wee" Format vinyl record 7" | Released 2 June 1975 (US only) | |
"(It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna", an up-tempo John Lennon composition, is the title track to Ringo Starr's 1974 album Goodnight Vienna. The final song on the album is "Goodnight Vienna (reprise)". Also released as a single, the single version is a medley combination of "(It's All Down to) Goodnight Vienna" and "Goodnight Vienna (reprise)". The single was released in the US on 2 June 1975.
The title song features John Lennon on opening count-in and piano, and Billy Preston on clavinet; and the Reprise song features Lennon's intro, 'OK, with gusto, boys, with gusto!'.
Composition and Lyrics
The composition 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).
The term "Goodnight Vienna" is English slang meaning "it's all over".