Yellow is the colour between orange and green on the visible spectrum. It is a primary colour in subtractive colour systems, used in painting or colour printing. In the RGB colour model, used to create colours on television and computer screens, yellow is a secondary colour made by combining red and green at equal intensity. Because it was widely available, yellow ochre pigment was one of the first colours used in art; the Lascaux cave in France has a painting of a yellow horse 17,000 years old. Ochre and orpiment pigments were used to represent gold and skin colour in Egyptian tombs, then in the murals in Roman villas. According to surveys in Europe, Canada, the United States and elsewhere, yellow is the colour people most often associate with amusement, gentleness, humor, and spontaneity, but also with duplicity, envy, jealousy, avarice, and, in the U.S., cowardice. In Iran it has connotations of pallor/sickness, but also wisdom and connection. In China and many Asian countries, it is seen as the colour of happiness, glory, harmony and wisdom.
The Wizard of Oz is famous for its musical selections and soundtrack. Its songs were composed by Harold Arlen, with lyrics by Yip Harburg. They won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Over the Rainbow”. As the Munchkins celebrate the end of their enslavement by the witch, the Wicked Witch of the West — the same witch Dorothy saw in the cyclone — arrives to claim her sister’s ruby slippers, but Glinda transfers them onto Dorothy’s feet. Enraged, the Witch swears revenge on Dorothy and vanishes. Glinda tells Dorothy to Follow the Yellow Brick Road to Emerald City, where she can ask the Wizard of Oz to help her return home.
“Choucoune” is a 19th-century Haitian song composed by Michel Mauleart Monton with lyrics from a poem by Oswald Durand. The English rendering of “Choucoune”, “Yellow Bird”, first appeared on the album Calypso Holiday, a 1957 release by the Norman Luboff Choir, with Luboff having arranged the song in the calypso style that become popular in the English-speaking world in the mid-1950s. The lyrics for “Yellow Bird”, by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, have no connection with the narrative of the Durand poem—other than the poem features the words “ti zwazo” (little bird) in its refrain, and so the original Haitian song is sometimes called “Ti Zwazo” or “Ti Zwezo”. The song became a minor hit at number 70 on the Billboard for the Mills Brothers in 1959.
“Yellow Submarine” is a song by the Beatles from their 1966 album Revolver. It was also issued on a double A-side single, paired with “Eleanor Rigby”. Written as a children’s song by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, it was drummer Ringo Starr’s vocal spot on the album. The single went to number one on charts in the United Kingdom and several other European countries, and in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It won an Ivor Novello Award for the highest certified sales of any single written by a British songwriter and issued in the UK in 1966. In the US, the song peaked at number two on the Billboard chart. The song inspired the 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine and appeared as the opening track on the accompanying soundtrack album.
“Mellow Yellow” is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. In the US it reached No. 2 on the Billboard in 1966. It peaked at No. 8 in the UK in early 1967. According to The Rolling Stone Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll, he admitted later the song made reference to a vibrator; an “electrical banana” as mentioned in the lyrics. Donovan stated, “I was reading a newspaper and on the back there was an ad for a yellow dildo called the mellow yellow,” he said. “Really, you know the ‘electric banana’ was right in there and gave it away. And that’s what the song’s about.” This definition was re-affirmed in an interview with NME magazine: “it’s about being cool, laid-back, and also the electrical bananas that were appearing on the scene – which were ladies’ vibrators.
“Big Yellow Taxi” is a song written, composed, and originally recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell in 1970, and originally released on her album Ladies of the Canyon. It was a hit in her native Canada (No. 14) as well as Australia (No. 6) and the UK (No. 11). It only reached No. 67 in the US in 1970, but was later a bigger hit there for her in a live version released in 1974, which peaked at No. 24.
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” is a ballad performed by Elton John and the title track on his 1973 album of the same name. The song’s music was composed by John, while the lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin. It has been widely praised by critics; some consider it a strong contender for John’s finest song ever. Rolling Stone lists the song at #390 of its 500 greatest songs of all time. In the US, it was certified Gold and Platinum and finally 2x Platinum in March 2020 by the RIAA.
“Yellow” is a song by Coldplay. The band wrote the song and co-produced it with British record producer Ken Nelson for their debut album, Parachutes (2000). The song was recorded in March 2000 and released on 26 June that same year as the second UK single from Parachutes, following “Shiver”, and as the lead single in the United States. “Yellow” reached number four on the UK singles chart, giving Coldplay their first top-five hit in the United Kingdom. It was Coldplay’s breakthrough hit internationally, reaching number one in Iceland, number five in Australia, number nine in Ireland and number 48 in the United States. Helped by heavy rotation and usage in advertising, the song thrust the band into popularity. “Yellow” has since been covered by various recording artists worldwide, and remains one of the band’s most popular songs.
In 2019 Jodie Whittaker covered “Yellow” for the BBC Children in Need album Got it Covered, assisted by Will Champion and Jonny Buckland. The recording was certified Silver after reaching number 5 on the UK singles chart.
