The lyrics 1956 to present
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I started Volume 2 today and left off after the letter "O". One of my favorite selections of songs was "Only Mama Knows" where Paul says the idea for this song came from friend of his being adopted and left at an orphange. Song was written from the point of view of somebody that has been abandoned.One of the other excellent selections was "My Valentine" where the idea came for the song when Paul and Nancy were dating and on vacation in Morocco. Paul says it rained all the time and he was apologizing to Nancy for the weather (lol). She said it does not matter and Paul loved that she was so sweet and her attitude was "don't worry, it is going to be alright". This selection also has a couple of lovely pictures of Nancy. One other song I will mention is "My Love and I wonder why Henry McCullough never got songwriting credit when in the pages of this book Paul says Henry came up with the beautiful guitar solo all by himself. I will probably wrap up the book tomorrow and once again I am really enjoying it.
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
I started Volume 2 today and left off after the letter "O". One of my favorite selections of songs was "Only Mama Knows" where Paul says the idea for this song came from friend of his being adopted and left at an orphange. Song was written from the point of view of somebody that has been abandoned.One of the other excellent selections was "My Valentine" where the idea came for the song when Paul and Nancy were dating and on vacation in Morocco. Paul says it rained all the time and he was apologizing to Nancy for the weather (lol). She said it does not matter and Paul loved that she was so sweet and her attitude was "don't worry, it is going to be alright". This selection also has a couple of lovely pictures of Nancy. One other song I will mention is "My Love and I wonder why Henry McCullough never got songwriting credit when in the pages of this book Paul says Henry came up with the beautiful guitar solo all by himself. I will probably wrap up the book tomorrow and once again I am really enjoying it.
I've always thought My Valentine is an under-appreciated classic. Close your eyes and you could easily mistake it for a George and Ira Gershwin composition.
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I just finished the 2nd volume a few minutes ago and once again I will say how much I enjoyed both books. I can see myself going back to these books many times to read things I may have missed the first time and look at the pictures and illustrations. Some random thoughts after finishing the 2nd volume.
I had no idea Paul disliked Venus And Mars/Rock Show (especially Rock Show) so much, he actually said he was embarassed by the song lyrics. Certain phrases like calling guitars "axes" did not age well in his opinion for example. He said Wings loved it but when he played it live years later he deliberately cut it shorter and went into "Jet" quicker.
I had never head of song called "Simple As That" which he did for anti-heroin campaign. I will go to youtube in the near future to try and find version of it to listen to.
Thought it was funny that while filming "Help" director Richard Lester got tired of hearing McCartney work on what was to become "Yesterday" that he threatened to have the "bloody" piano taken away -lol.
I did not know that the grunting you hear at the beginning of the song "Tug Of War" was from a actual "Tug of War" contest.
Per Paul, the beginnings of the song "Too Much Rain" were inspired by Charlie Chaplin and Paul liked Chaplin's song "Smile" from his film "Modern Times". Paul discussed how "Rain" is often used for things not going well when used in songs and in this song it is metaphor for pain in one's life.
Mary McCartney came into the room one day while Paul was working on "Woman And Wives" and told him she liked that one and then according to Paul started singing her own take on it. -lol
P.S. Happy New Year !!! Let's hope 2022 is much better year than the last two !!!
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Simple As That:
It is on the 1993 reissue of Pipes Of Peace as a bonus song, and the demo is on the 2015 remaster of the album.
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NJR wrote:
Simple As That:
It is on the 1993 reissue of Pipes Of Peace as a bonus song, and the demo is on the 2015 remaster of the album.
Thanks Nancy. I listened and it is a decent song but nothing to really get excited about IMO. After "Tug Of War", I was hoping for another excellent album from McCartney and "Pipes Of Peace" was such a disappointment to me. It is one of the few McCartney albums I actually did not buy so when they did re-issue I had no interest in it and was unaware of this bonus song.
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Bruce M. wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
I started Volume 2 today and left off after the letter "O". One of my favorite selections of songs was "Only Mama Knows" where Paul says the idea for this song came from friend of his being adopted and left at an orphange. Song was written from the point of view of somebody that has been abandoned.One of the other excellent selections was "My Valentine" where the idea came for the song when Paul and Nancy were dating and on vacation in Morocco. Paul says it rained all the time and he was apologizing to Nancy for the weather (lol). She said it does not matter and Paul loved that she was so sweet and her attitude was "don't worry, it is going to be alright". This selection also has a couple of lovely pictures of Nancy. One other song I will mention is "My Love and I wonder why Henry McCullough never got songwriting credit when in the pages of this book Paul says Henry came up with the beautiful guitar solo all by himself. I will probably wrap up the book tomorrow and once again I am really enjoying it.
I've always thought My Valentine is an under-appreciated classic. Close your eyes and you could easily mistake it for a George and Ira Gershwin composition.
It is a beautiful ballad and I get why Paul plays it in concert but to be honest, I do not think it goes over well in arena shows. I think if he plays it live, this would be much better in a smaller venue setting.
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NJR wrote:
It was available again on Amazon for $65, so I ordered it using the gift card. Supposed to arrive Jan. 6-8.
Guess you should either have it or getting it very soon, enjoy !!!
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
I started Volume 2 today and left off after the letter "O". One of my favorite selections of songs was "Only Mama Knows" where Paul says the idea for this song came from friend of his being adopted and left at an orphange. Song was written from the point of view of somebody that has been abandoned.One of the other excellent selections was "My Valentine" where the idea came for the song when Paul and Nancy were dating and on vacation in Morocco. Paul says it rained all the time and he was apologizing to Nancy for the weather (lol). She said it does not matter and Paul loved that she was so sweet and her attitude was "don't worry, it is going to be alright". This selection also has a couple of lovely pictures of Nancy. One other song I will mention is "My Love and I wonder why Henry McCullough never got songwriting credit when in the pages of this book Paul says Henry came up with the beautiful guitar solo all by himself. I will probably wrap up the book tomorrow and once again I am really enjoying it.
I believe guitar solos and so forth are considered part of the arrange,ent of the song, not the writing of it.
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oh darling wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
I started Volume 2 today and left off after the letter "O". One of my favorite selections of songs was "Only Mama Knows" where Paul says the idea for this song came from friend of his being adopted and left at an orphange. Song was written from the point of view of somebody that has been abandoned.One of the other excellent selections was "My Valentine" where the idea came for the song when Paul and Nancy were dating and on vacation in Morocco. Paul says it rained all the time and he was apologizing to Nancy for the weather (lol). She said it does not matter and Paul loved that she was so sweet and her attitude was "don't worry, it is going to be alright". This selection also has a couple of lovely pictures of Nancy. One other song I will mention is "My Love and I wonder why Henry McCullough never got songwriting credit when in the pages of this book Paul says Henry came up with the beautiful guitar solo all by himself. I will probably wrap up the book tomorrow and once again I am really enjoying it.
I believe guitar solos and so forth are considered part of the arrange,ent of the song, not the writing of it.
I am not a music expert but my understanding of "Arrangement" is making a change to the already written music. In this song, Henry McCullough wrote music (guitar solo) that was not previously in the song. Members of this board with more musical knowledge than me please "weigh in" on this point.
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
oh darling wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
I started Volume 2 today and left off after the letter "O". One of my favorite selections of songs was "Only Mama Knows" where Paul says the idea for this song came from friend of his being adopted and left at an orphange. Song was written from the point of view of somebody that has been abandoned.One of the other excellent selections was "My Valentine" where the idea came for the song when Paul and Nancy were dating and on vacation in Morocco. Paul says it rained all the time and he was apologizing to Nancy for the weather (lol). She said it does not matter and Paul loved that she was so sweet and her attitude was "don't worry, it is going to be alright". This selection also has a couple of lovely pictures of Nancy. One other song I will mention is "My Love and I wonder why Henry McCullough never got songwriting credit when in the pages of this book Paul says Henry came up with the beautiful guitar solo all by himself. I will probably wrap up the book tomorrow and once again I am really enjoying it.
I believe guitar solos and so forth are considered part of the arrange,ent of the song, not the writing of it.
I am not a music expert but my understanding of "Arrangement" is making a change to the already written music. In this song, Henry McCullough wrote music (guitar solo) that was not previously in the song. Members of this board with more musical knowledge than me please "weigh in" on this point.
I'm no expert either, but I agree with you - it seems like Henry should have gotten a writing credit!
P.S. My book came on the 5th, but I'm still trying to get through the book Get Back!
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jimmix wrote:
'I had just lost my mother': Sir Paul McCartney reveals revisiting the first song he ever wrote 'turned into a therapy session' while writing his new book
I found it very interesting that John sings this one and knows all of the words in Get Back and he sings it at a time when Paul is feeling insecure.
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Firstly, Happy New Year All.
My understanding of songwriting is that original composers get all the credit... regardless of whether the song is enhanced by a solo guitarist... or the drummer... or whatever... that's their job to do that...
There is a many a song which is defined by the signature guitar (hello Andy Summers and Brian May), which has not allowed that guitarist to get a songwriting credit... and many bands whose "sound" is defined by the guitar.
That's why I respect bands that give equal songwriting credit to all the members of the band.
The solo to My Love is gorgeous... but I don't think it warrants a songwriting credit. That song would have hit number one without it.... the essence of writing that song, in my mind, is far greater than the resultant solo... the solo came from the song, not the other way around.
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toris wrote:
Firstly, Happy New Year All.
My understanding of songwriting is that original composers get all the credit... regardless of whether the song is enhanced by a solo guitarist... or the drummer... or whatever... that's their job to do that...
There is a many a song which is defined by the signature guitar (hello Andy Summers and Brian May), which has not allowed that guitarist to get a songwriting credit... and many bands whose "sound" is defined by the guitar.
That's why I respect bands that give equal songwriting credit to all the members of the band.
The solo to My Love is gorgeous... but I don't think it warrants a songwriting credit. That song would have hit number one without it.... the essence of writing that song, in my mind, is far greater than the resultant solo... the solo came from the song, not the other way around.
Well said Toris,
Look at how many times George Martin could have gotten writing credits for arrangements in songs and suggesting to speed it up, put a break here, and all the loops of tape and effects of intertwining them in the songs.
George Harrison adding a few parts to And I Love Her made the song what it needed to be.A few da da da da_ts of drums from Ringo
* John already got credit, but if he didn't - playing triplicates on All My Loving gave it what it needed.
Many times someone in a band can add a few things that make the song have something that gives it the thing that is needed.
It is good to recognize them for their efforts and contributions somehow - if possible. That is the way things are for now. -
"Look at how many times George Martin could have gotten writing credits for arrangements in songs and suggesting to speed it up, put a break here, and all the loops of tape and effects of intertwining them in the songs. George Harrison adding a few parts to And I Love Her made the song what it needed to be."
With all due respect, the things you mention George Martin doing is changing or adding to music that was already written not writing new music. The guitar solo in "My Love" is new music in a song not written by Paul McCartney. Maybe it is a technicality but IMO it would have been nice of Paul to give him credit, that solo was a signature part of the song.
"The solo to My Love is gorgeous... but I don't think it warrants a songwriting credit. That song would have hit number one without it.... the essence of writing that song, in my mind, is far greater than the resultant solo... the solo came from the song, not the other way around."
Yes the song still would have been #1 but everybody when reviewing the song mentions the beautiful guitar solo. IMO if you write any amount of music for a song no matter how long, you should get some credit.
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NJR wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
oh darling wrote:
Yankeefan2 wrote:
I started Volume 2 today and left off after the letter "O". One of my favorite selections of songs was "Only Mama Knows" where Paul says the idea for this song came from friend of his being adopted and left at an orphange. Song was written from the point of view of somebody that has been abandoned.One of the other excellent selections was "My Valentine" where the idea came for the song when Paul and Nancy were dating and on vacation in Morocco. Paul says it rained all the time and he was apologizing to Nancy for the weather (lol). She said it does not matter and Paul loved that she was so sweet and her attitude was "don't worry, it is going to be alright". This selection also has a couple of lovely pictures of Nancy. One other song I will mention is "My Love and I wonder why Henry McCullough never got songwriting credit when in the pages of this book Paul says Henry came up with the beautiful guitar solo all by himself. I will probably wrap up the book tomorrow and once again I am really enjoying it.
I believe guitar solos and so forth are considered part of the arrange,ent of the song, not the writing of it.
I am not a music expert but my understanding of "Arrangement" is making a change to the already written music. In this song, Henry McCullough wrote music (guitar solo) that was not previously in the song. Members of this board with more musical knowledge than me please "weigh in" on this point.
I'm no expert either, but I agree with you - it seems like Henry should have gotten a writing credit!
P.S. My book came on the 5th, but I'm still trying to get through the book Get Back!
I got that book (Get Back) also, that is next up on my reading agenda -lol
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The chicken or the egg?
Henry would likely not have written his solo without the song my love.
Paul could have done it and the fans would have always known it that way. Henry gave it a touch of magic or brilliance.
Paul wrote Yesterday and could have done it accoustic only or have the strings figure something out. George Martin made it have more magic.
Many in music don't get the credit, but their contributions may have lifted the song.
Many times the songwriter brings the song in and the band hammers away with their talents. Paul is more of an exception, but in many cases the musicians fill in their parts more and more while running through the song. They don't get a note by instruction. Now, the songwriter can direct how I want some of this more da da da das etc... here is something like it and then let that person take off with it.There are many "unsung heroes" in the business.
A single note the harmonic in Nowhere Man ... the feedback in I Feel Fine... can add magic to the song.
I stick with George Martin saying speed up Please Please Me from Roy Orbison like to a Beatle song.
His contributions like this were many. The original song was made, but changed. I can't seem to say my message well, I am staying with it. -
toris wrote:
Firstly, Happy New Year All.
My understanding of songwriting is that original composers get all the credit... regardless of whether the song is enhanced by a solo guitarist... or the drummer... or whatever... that's their job to do that...
There is a many a song which is defined by the signature guitar (hello Andy Summers and Brian May), which has not allowed that guitarist to get a songwriting credit... and many bands whose "sound" is defined by the guitar.
That's why I respect bands that give equal songwriting credit to all the members of the band.
The solo to My Love is gorgeous... but I don't think it warrants a songwriting credit. That song would have hit number one without it.... the essence of writing that song, in my mind, is far greater than the resultant solo... the solo came from the song, not the other way around.
A song can be defined by signature guitar solo but the question is who wrote it. In your example, did Summers or May write the solo or did the main composer of the song write it, there is a difference IMO. The original composer still can give songwriting credit to the people who came up with the solo especially if it is a "signature" part of the song.
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The_Fool wrote:
The chicken or the egg?
Henry would likely not have written his solo without the song my love.
Paul could have done it and the fans would have always known it that way. Henry gave it a touch of magic or brilliance.
Paul wrote Yesterday and could have done it accoustic only or have the strings figure something out. George Martin made it have more magic.
Many in music don't get the credit, but their contributions may have lifted the song.
Many times the songwriter brings the song in and the band hammers away with their talents. Paul is more of an exception, but in many cases the musicians fill in their parts more and more while running through the song. They don't get a note by instruction. Now, the songwriter can direct how I want some of this more da da da das etc... here is something like it and then let that person take off with it.There are many "unsung heroes" in the business.
A single note the harmonic in Nowhere Man ... the feedback in I Feel Fine... can add magic to the song.
I stick with George Martin saying speed up Please Please Me from Roy Orbison like to a Beatle song.
His contributions like this were many. The original song was made, but changed. I can't seem to say my message well, I am staying with it.I guess I will agree to disagree. Of course, Henry would not have written solo without most of the song already being in place. My point one final time is Henry wrote original piece of music no matter how short for the song and that is songwriting IMO. Henry did not re-arrange a piece of music that was already in place or add instrumentation to the song. As you stated, this solo gave the song a "touch of brillance" so it helped the overall song. Paul did not give him credit and it is what it is, just stating my opinion that Henry did deserve some credit and small monetary reward.
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
The_Fool wrote:
The chicken or the egg?
Henry would likely not have written his solo without the song my love.
Paul could have done it and the fans would have always known it that way. Henry gave it a touch of magic or brilliance.
Paul wrote Yesterday and could have done it accoustic only or have the strings figure something out. George Martin made it have more magic.
Many in music don't get the credit, but their contributions may have lifted the song.
Many times the songwriter brings the song in and the band hammers away with their talents. Paul is more of an exception, but in many cases the musicians fill in their parts more and more while running through the song. They don't get a note by instruction. Now, the songwriter can direct how I want some of this more da da da das etc... here is something like it and then let that person take off with it.There are many "unsung heroes" in the business.
A single note the harmonic in Nowhere Man ... the feedback in I Feel Fine... can add magic to the song.
I stick with George Martin saying speed up Please Please Me from Roy Orbison like to a Beatle song.
His contributions like this were many. The original song was made, but changed. I can't seem to say my message well, I am staying with it.I guess I will agree to disagree. Of course, Henry would not have written solo without most of the song already being in place. My point one final time is Henry wrote original piece of music no matter how short for the song and that is songwriting IMO. Henry did not re-arrange a piece of music that was already in place or add instrumentation to the song. As you stated, this solo gave the song a "touch of brillance" so it helped the overall song. Paul did not give him credit and it is what it is, just stating my opinion that Henry did deserve some credit and small monetary reward.
I agree with you Yankeefan!
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Yankeefan2 wrote:
toris wrote:
Firstly, Happy New Year All.
My understanding of songwriting is that original composers get all the credit... regardless of whether the song is enhanced by a solo guitarist... or the drummer... or whatever... that's their job to do that...
There is a many a song which is defined by the signature guitar (hello Andy Summers and Brian May), which has not allowed that guitarist to get a songwriting credit... and many bands whose "sound" is defined by the guitar.
That's why I respect bands that give equal songwriting credit to all the members of the band.
The solo to My Love is gorgeous... but I don't think it warrants a songwriting credit. That song would have hit number one without it.... the essence of writing that song, in my mind, is far greater than the resultant solo... the solo came from the song, not the other way around.
A song can be defined by signature guitar solo but the question is who wrote it. In your example, did Summers or May write the solo or did the main composer of the song write it, there is a difference IMO. The original composer still can give songwriting credit to the people who came up with the solo especially if it is a "signature" part of the song.
I think in most cases the composer of the song does not write the solo tabs... that's seen as the job of the lead guitarist... they expect the guitarist to perform his or her interpretation... it's always been the job of the lead guitarist to come up with a brilliant solo... that is their job... this being said, I do 100 per cent agree that if the guitarist has contributed something special, that defines that song, they should be given co-credit.... but... that is not the way the songwriters work... they present the work and they expect the other members of the band to enhance their offering.... I am not saying that is right... it's just the way the music business works...
There are many songs by the Beatles where the solo/rythym guitar is very much part of the song. But it has not influenced the final writing credits of the original composer/s. Some of the great licks in great Beatles songs written by Paul or John were the imagining of George... he wasn't given the lick... he came up with it... but he didn't get a songwriting credit. And on a few occasions, vice-versa.... I'm not saying it is right, though.
I do believe that a guitarist (or even someone on a tambourine) who contribute something that is INTEGRAL to the song should get a credit... they key word being INTEGRAL... something that defines the song.
For example, Rock Lobster... if my mate, Kanye, wrote that song and I was the one who came up with the terrific riff... I'd be peeved not to get a songwriting credit.
Another One Bites The Dust... Taylor Swift, well written... Taylor... but I wrote the definitive bass... do you think she is going to give me a songwriting credit? I deserve it.
Silly Love Songs... now if Paul just wrote the song and I had come up with the magnficent bass line... for that, I would be expecting a songwriting credit.
My Love... a great solo... wonderful... but, for me, it doesn't define the song. No songwriting credit needed. In my opinion.
Which is why I love a band that gets together and splits the credits evenly... I might be wrong, but I think U2 do this... I reckon that is excellent.