Paul McCartney is known as one of the most talented and successful songwriters of all time. He’s penned–or co-penned–countless smashes and beloved tunes throughout his many decades as a superstar. But even the greats borrow from others, and that doesn’t exclude the former Beatle.
In the latest episode of his podcast Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics (co-produced by iHeartPodcasts and Pushkin), the rocker admitted that even he has been influenced by other songwriters. Only, in one specific instance, he wasn’t so much influenced or inspired, but rather, he simply lifted lyrics from someone else and used them for his own purpose.
“That chorus that I’ve used as a chorus, literally, is the lyrics to an old Victorian song,” McCartney shared in the podcast. He was referring to the tune “Golden Slumbers,” which the Beatles released in September 1969.
McCartney’s podcast co-host, his friend and poet Paul Muldoon, tried to soften the comment the songwriter had just made. “Is this what we call sampling?” he asked, but McCartney wasn’t trying to sugarcoat things.
“Well, it’s called stealing,” McCartney said. It’s good of the celebrated musician to not try to cover up his past questionable behavior, or to try to find another way to describe it that doesn’t sound so harsh. McCartney knows he stole lyrics, and he’s open to talking about it–something other creatives shouldn’t be afraid of.
McCartney went on to explain that he took lyrics from an old Victorian tune to use on “Golden Slumbers,” and how that happened. “Because I don’t read music, I didn’t know what the melody that went with this was,” he shared regarding the original song, which he found on his piano at home when he was young, as it was a track that had been around for a long time. Since he couldn’t read the music, but he could see the lyrics, McCartney shared that he “put my own melody to it and just took these words.”
“Golden Slumbers” was featured on The Beatles’ album Abbey Road. The full-length is considered one of their greats, and one of the more important rock releases in history.
McCartney and Muldoon have now finished two seasons of their podcast. They launched Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics in 2023, and it was met with such acclaim that they decided to go right into a second installment. There’s no word yet on if a third is on the way, but based on the program’s success, he may want to continue the series.
Read the full article here