On November 7, 2023, a one-volume edition of THE LYRICS: 1956 to the Present will be published in paperback, featuring additional commentaries on iconic songs spanning Paul McCartney’s unparalleled musical career
The #1 New York Times bestselling book to be released in paperback with seven new song commentaries from our greatest living songwriter, including:
- Bluebird
- Day Tripper
- English Tea
- Every Night
- Hello Goodbye
- Magical Mystery Tour
- Step Inside Love
When THE LYRICS published in 2021 to worldwide acclaim, it was heralded as a one-of-a-kind self-portrait of McCartney, earning Book of the Year by Barnes & Noble and Waterstones, and winning a British Book Award. Critics revelled in “how deeply he is steeped in literary history and how much his output as a songwriter has in common with the works of the likes of Dickens and Shakespeare” (New York Times Book Review).
Finally in paperback, it further celebrates the breadth of that creative life and musical genius, covering sixty-six years through 161 songs—from early days in Liverpool, the global pop cultural domination of The Beatles, the ‘70s radio gold of Wings, and Paul’s prolific and still peaking solo career. A veritable road map to the way artists write and think about music, THE LYRICS “is like standing in a master chef’s kitchen as he prepares a dish, adding a dash of this and a spoonful of that and talking to us so winningly” (Washington Post).
Arranged alphabetically to provide a kaleidoscopic rather than chronological account, THE LYRICS establishes definitive texts of these songs for the first time and describes the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what Paul thinks of them now. Presented with this is a treasure trove of material from McCartney’s personal archive – drafts, letters, photographs – never seen before the 2021 publication, making this also a unique visual record of one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
The seven new song commentaries elaborate more on these themes, whether mulling over the romantic yearning in Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet Again” (Bluebird), the playful double entendres meant to trip up BBC censors (Day Tripper), the call and response power of a song (Every Night), the challenge and pleasure of writing for other performers (Step Inside Love), and the unlikely experience of serenading astronauts (English Tea). These first-person accounts give special context to lyrics beloved by generations of fans, and show how McCartney (and his contemporaries) were influenced as much by the musical Gigi as Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline, the carnival atmosphere of Blackpool as the polyrhythms of a Lagos recording studio.
With a personal foreword by McCartney and edited and introduced by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon, THE LYRICS is the definitive literary chronicle of one of musical history’s most enduring treasures.
Born in Liverpool in 1942, Paul McCartney was raised in the city and educated at the Liverpool Institute. In June 2023 he published a collection of his photography, 1964: Eyes of the Storm, in conjunction with an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Since writing his first song at 14, McCartney has dreamed and dared to be different. He lives in England.
Paul Muldoon is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of fourteen full-length collections of poetry, including the recent collection Howdie-Skelp.
“More often than I can count, I’ve been asked if I would write an autobiography, but the time has never been right. The one thing I’ve always managed to do, whether at home or on the road, is to write new songs. I know that some people, when they get to a certain age, like to go to a diary to recall day-to-day events from the past, but I have no such notebooks. What I do have are my songs, hundreds of them, which I’ve learned serve much the same purpose. And these songs span my entire life” – Paul McCartney, The Lyrics
“Based on conversations I had with Paul McCartney over a five year period, these commentaries are as close to an autobiography as we may ever come. His insights into his own artistic process confirm a notion at which we had but guessed — that Paul McCartney is a major literary figure who draws upon, and extends, the long tradition of poetry in English” – Paul Muldoon
- A selection of publicity-cleared images are available upon request
- To view a trailer for The Lyrics, go here
US product information:
THE LYRICS: 1956 to the PresentPaul McCartney, edited with an introduction by Paul MuldoonISBN: 9781324094098Liveright Publishing $30 One volume paperback624 pages
Full list of songs included in The Lyrics (new commentaries noted with *):
All My LovingAnd I Love HerAnother DayArrow Through MeAverage Person
Back in the U.S.S.RBand on the RunBirthdayBlackbirdBluebird*
Café on the Left BankCalico SkiesCan’t Buy Me LoveCarry That WeightCheck My MachineCome and Get ItComing UpConfidanteCook of the HouseCountry Dreamer
A Day in the LifeDay Tripper*Dear FriendDespite Repeated WarningsDistractionsDo It NowDress Me Up as a RobberDrive My Car
Eat at HomeEbony and IvoryEight Days a WeekEleanor RigbyThe EndEnglish Tea*Every Night*
Fixing a HoleThe Fool on the HillFor No OneFrom Me to You
Get BackGetting CloserGhosts of the Past Left BehindGirls’ SchoolGive Ireland Back to the IrishGolden Earth GirlGolden SlumbersGood Day SunshineGoodbyeGot to Get You Into My LifeGreat Day
A Hard Day’s NightHelen WheelsHello Goodbye*Helter SkelterHer MajestyHere, There and EverywhereHere TodayHey JudeHi, Hi, HiHoney PieHope of DeliveranceHouse of Wax
I Don’t KnowI Lost My Little GirlI Saw Her Standing ThereI Wanna Be Your ManI Want to Hold Your HandI WillI’ll Follow the SunI’ll Get You I’m CarryingI’m DownIn Spite of All the DangerI’ve Got a Feeling
Jenny WrenJetJunior’s FarmJunk
The Kiss of Venus
Lady MadonnaLet Em InLet It BeLet Me Roll ItLive and Let DieLondon TownThe Long and Winding RoadLove Me DoLovely Rita
Magical Mystery Tour*Magneto and Titanium ManMartha My DearMaxwell’s Silver HammerMaybe I’m AmazedMichelleMother Nature’s SonMrs. VandebiltMull of KintyreMy LoveMy Valentine
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty FiveNo More Lonely NightsThe Note You Never WroteNothing Too Much Just Out of Sight
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-DaOh Woman, Oh WhyOld Siam, SirOn My Way to WorkOnce Upon a Long AgoOnly Mama KnowsThe Other Me
Paperback WriterPenny LanePicasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)Pipes of PeacePlease Please MePretty BoysPretty Little HeadPut It There
Rocky Raccoon
San Ferry AnneSay Say SaySgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club BandShe Came in Through the Bathroom WindowShe Loves YouShe’s a WomanShe’s Given Up TalkingShe’s Leaving HomeSilly Love SongsSimple as ThatSingle PigeonSomedaysSpirits of Ancient EgyptStep Inside Love*
Teddy BoyTell Me Who He IsTemporary SecretaryThings We Said TodayTicket to RideToo Many PeopleToo Much RainTug of WarTwo of Us
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
Venus and Mars/Rock Show/Venus and Mars – Reprise
Warm and BeautifulWaterfallsWe All Stand TogetherWe Can Work It OutWe Got MarriedWhen I’m Sixty-FourWhen Winter ComesWhy Don’t We Do It in the Road?With a Little Help From My FriendsWomen and WivesThe World TonightThe World You’re Coming Into
Yellow Submarine YesterdayYou Never Give Me Your MoneyYou Tell MeYour Mother Should Know
