Written & Photographed by Kenn Sava

Sir Paul McCartney, larger than life, and in actual size front and center stage, performing at Yankee Stadium, in July, 2011, on his iconic Hofner “Beatle Bass.”

Having looked at NoteWorthy PhotoBooks of 2021 and NoteWorthy Art Books of 2021, no discussion of NoteWorthy Books on the Arts published in 2021 would be complete without a look at Paul McCartney: The Lyrics, one of the most important Music-related books published this century.

“…one of greatest songwriter of all time…” From the hype sheet on the back. Paul McCartney, who didn’t write this, doesn’t strike me as a man who would go around calling himself “the greatest.” But if he did, how many could argue with him?

Having spent the early part of my life as a working musician and then working in the Music business, truly great songwriting was something I learned about from very talented composers & songwriters and I developed an ear for it as time went on. Great is one thing, but I will reiterate that I don’t believe “the best” or “the greatest” exists in the Arts. Whatever criteria you use to arrive at them is subjective. Still, if someone else wants to host the conversation about “Who is THE greatest songwriter of all time?,” even I would agree that Paul McCartney has to be in the discussion. It’s a conversation that might well include Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Hugo Wolf, Charles Ives, the Gershwin Brothers, Cole Porter, Rogers & Hart, Burt Bacharach, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Morrissey & Marr, and Smokey Robinson. Cases can be made for others, including John Lennon, who was cut down far too young, and George Harrison, just among Sir Paul’s associates. Yet even compiling the short list is subjective! IF at the end of such a (pointless & meaningless) discussion, the “winner” was decided to be Paul McCartney, I wouldn’t have a problem with it. After all, arguing against his selection is even more daunting than deciding who should be in the conversation to begin with!

So, the release of Paul McCartney – The Lyrics this fall is a major event- in Music and in publishing. Beyond the event, it’s a book that lives up to the man, and more importantly, the timeless Music he’s given us with The Beatles, Wings and as a solo Artist. Sir Paul has given us a book that is his way of answering the repeated cries for an Autobiography. It’s brilliantly conceived, written and complied, but, when all is said and done, disappointingly only adequately realized in my opinion.

“Let’s all get up and dance to a song
that was a hit before your mother was born.
Though she was born a long long time ago
Your mother should know.
Your mother should know.
Sing it again.”*

Yes, sing it again. At first glance, a book of lyrics by Paul McCartney may seem unnecessary. After all, generations of people, now, have been listening to his songs non-stop since he wrote them, and many have their lyrics committed to memory. How many do you have memorized? Consciously, or subconsciously.

Putting the question of total lyric recall aside, in its generous two large hardcovers in a slipcase the reader will find the lyrics, yes, accompanied by a wealth of material including reproductions of many hand written original lyrics (if they have been written in the time of omnipresent computers, it would have been history’s unending loss), drafts and notes, a huge number of vintage Photographs (a good number by the terrific, late, Photographer, and his wife and band-mate, Linda McCartney), among other ephemera, but as wonderful as all of this is to see (much of it will be new to 99% of readers), make no mistake about it- it’s Paul McCartney’s text that is the star here.

Over the course of 960 pages, Sir Paul sets out to prove exactly what he means by that quote above about the import of his lyrics. We get a plethora of background insights into both the genesis of the songs, their details, and more. Contemporary people, places and events are recalled and discussed. Writing in a matter-of-fact way, as the books unfold, he also sets the record straight as he sees it on everything Paul McCartney-related, and does it in the context of discussing his songs! His true feelings about Yoko “invading” The Beatles’ recording sessions? His post-Beatles “spat” with his childhood friend, John? How he feels about Queen Elizabeth? And on and on and on and on. At times, his frankness shocks, and someone else might have saved them to be published posthumously, yet it quickly becomes obvious his thoughts and feelings have been carefully considered for years, and more often, for decades. The book reads like he’s talking to the reader much of the time, and talking for the record all of the time. The insights are revelatory, and historic. Given Paul, and The Beatles, lasting import on our time and the recent past, it quickly becomes apparent that this is a book for the ages- a primary reference on The Beatles and/or Sir Paul forever more. His part of The Lyrics is extremely well done- It’s hard to imagine what Sir Paul has given us being any better, making The Lyrics a dream come true for any fan or Music lover.

Genius at work. “Penny Lane” original manuscript lyrics. Posterity will be grateful it wasn’t written on a computer!

In the end, what comes shining through for me is the revelation of the depth and scope of Sir Paul’s intellect and his Artistic interests. It’s too easy for many to denigrate pop songs (and those who write them) as trite. The text of The Lyrics continually tells another story entirely. Time and again, he mentions being influenced by this writer of prose or that, this classic of literature or that, in addition to real life influences for many of his songs, which must be shocking to those who think that lyric writing is just about clever rhyming. Along with this, the extreme care (i.e. craft) Sir Paul puts into his words is compelling, and on as full display here as we’re likely to get. “The great ones always make it look easy,” might be one way of saying it, but in that “ease” often lies great effort and a lot of thought. It becomes apparent to me that these influences were role models for Paul McCartney as he evolved. He speaks of what he learned from each, and he learned their lessons so well that his name will be spoken alongside any and all of them forever more. I’m not denying that some, many, even most pop songs are trite. But, it’s apparent now, 60 years on, that The Beatles songs are Art, and will remain such, I believe, from here on.

Throughout the text Sir Paul regularly references a very wide range of literature, but Art is not left out. Left, we see him visiting Willem de Kooning, and right, one of his own Paintings from 1991.

In particular, a visit to Willem de Kooning’s studio on Long Island proved revelatory for the former Beatle. He recounts the effect as liberating, for both his own Painting and his Music. Besides Sir Paul’s text, the accompanying material is a constant joy and offers its own revelations at every turn. It feels like looking through a Beatles/Sir Paul McCartney Museum. It, too, gets top marks. 

For me, it ends there. 

“The first time I saw John Lennon was on the bus. I didn’t know him then, so he was just this slightly older guy with a sort of rocker hairdo, lots of grease, black jacket, sideburns.” P.557.

Getting into the actual books as books, the paper (sourced from managed forests, and which I assume is acid-free) is adequate, but nothing special to the touch. Ditto the binding (the books are printed in China). It seems to be holding up in the numerous display copies I’ve seen which always get rough treatment. The covers (the dust jackets & the boards) for the two individual volumes are quite nice, but the sparse design for the slipcase, which seems to be sturdy enough, puzzled me. My immediate reaction was to wonder if it’s supposed to be in “Apple green?” Then, in the section on the immortal “Penny Lane,” Sir Paul shows us a picture of a Liverpool bus from the “Penny Lane” Music video, which looks quite a bit like this one, and leads me to suspect it is the source for the color of the slipcase. An ode to Liverpool? Fine. Then, he mentions the first time he saw John Lennon was on one of these busses… Yet, the big negative for me is the book design. It’s pedestrian at best. A real opportunity has been lost to make a book that looks, feels and reads as special as its content is. What this tells me is that Triboro Design, who designed this book, tried very hard to just stay out of the way. Instead, they failed to even do that by making their lackluster design continuously noticeable, and in the end distracting from the content, in my opinion.

“How on earth am I going to meet the right person with these billions of people teeming about the planet?” One of the most remarkable things about The Beatles, for me, is that they met. Never before in Music history (or Art history) have two geniuses collaborated for an extended period. I have marveled about the miracle of their finding each other for decades. Here, on page 555, Sir Paul confesses wondering about it himself as a young man.

If you want to see REALLY terrible design, check out, (or DON’T check it out if you don’t!), the eBook version of The Lyrics. While the state of eBooks continues to mystify me, if there was ever a shining example of why they haven’t made a dent in the Art Book or PhotoBook market, the ebook of The Lyrics is it. It’s so bad the book loses quite a bit of its charm in the translation to the electronic format. It makes me wonder if Sir Paul saw it before it was released. Stick with the hardcover set.

Sir Paul addresses why he became a bassist, something very interesting to me as a former bassist myself, though what he says about the traditional bassist is news to me.

Paul McCartney – The Lyrics is a set you can sit down and read through, or you can skip around in it, and enjoy every bit as much. It is, however, laid out alphabetically by song title and not chronologically, which can be a bit jarring as you move back and forth over 6 decades from song to song. However, its shortcomings shouldn’t stop you, it’s a set for the ages. Even better, it will send you running back to the Music. It might even make you hear the songs anew. There’s not much higher praise for a Music book than that.

Have your turntable ready (If you have one). You’re gonna wanna dig out your Beatles/Sir Paul sides after digging into this one.

At this point, it would take a pretty good sized room to hold all The Beatles related books that have been published since the early 1960s. Paul McCartney – The Lyrics, along with the other books by the actual Beatles, Yoko Ono’s Memories of John Lennon, and Sir George Martin and Geoff Emerick’s books, are the only books that get you inside the Music. 

In the end, like love, they’re all you need. 

Buy it here.

*Soundtrack for this Post is “Your Mother Should Know,” by John Lennon & Paul McCartney, as recorded on Magical Mystery Tour.

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