The Lyrics Paul McCartney 1956 to the present

The Lyrics Paul McCartney 1956 to the present

With seven songs added for this edition: ‘Bluebird,’ ‘Day Tripper,’ ‘English Tea,’ ‘Every Night,’ ‘Hello, Goodbye,’ ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ and ‘Step Inside Love’

Spanning seven decades – from his early Liverpool days, through the historic decade of The Beatles, to Wings and his long solo career – Paul McCartney’s The Lyrics has transformed the way artists write about music, pairing the definitive texts of 161 songs with intimate, autobiographical commentaries on McCartney’s life and music.

Arranged alphabetically, these commentaries reveal the diverse circumstances in which the songs were written, how they ultimately came to be, and the remarkable – often ordinary – people and places that inspired them. Dozens of vignettes re-create the working-class Liverpool of McCartney’s youth, where delivery boys ran parcels on docks, as in ‘On My Way to Work,’ and elderly ladies in the neighbourhood inspired ‘Eleanor Rigby.’ McCartney also introduces us to his early literary influences, among them Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll and Allen Ginsberg, as well as Alan Durband, his beloved English teacher, and his mother, Mary, who passed away when he was just fourteen – and whose memory has infused his work ever since.

Yet the two most powerful presences in The Lyrics after the author himself are his songwriting partner, John Lennon, and his ‘Golden Earth Girl,’ Linda Eastman McCartney. Here McCartney describes how he met John at a church fête in 1957; their adventures with George Harrison and Ringo Starr in the early 1960s; and how, at the end of the decade, they, and The Beatles, broke up. Thus began a second act of now more than fifty years, with Linda and family life as driving forces – inspiring songs from ‘Maybe I’m Amazed,’ written just after the breakup of The Beatles, to the 2012 ballad ‘My Valentine,’ addressed to McCartney’s wife and partner, Nancy Shevell McCartney.

Edited and introduced by Pulitzer Prize–winning poet Paul Muldoon, and enhanced by more than a hundred images from McCartney’s personal archives – including handwritten texts, mementos, and photographs – and seven new song commentaries, The Lyrics is a book for the ages, and the definitive literary and visual record of one of the greatest songwriters of all time.

Also available:

The Beatles (Sheet Music Collection)

The Cambridge Companion to The Beatles

The Beatles Anthology

Alternatively:

Beatles Sergeant Pepper Grey Unisex T-Shirt Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, Extra extra Large Official Merchandise

The Decca Tapes (Deluxe Gatefold Edition), Vinyl / 12" Album

The Beatles 1958 - 1962 (Red Heavy Vinyl), 12" Album

Abbey Road (50th Anniversary) Vinyl/12 inch Album 

The Beatles Abbey Road 1000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

The Beatles Abbey Road Shopper

Hand Crank Music Box Beatles Here Comes The Sun

Beatles Yellow Submarine Unisex Socks (UK Size 7-11)

The Beatles Lyrics: The Unseen Story Behind Their Music

Beatles Anthology: 25th Anniversary Edit

The Beatles (Sergeant Pepper) Enamel Pin Badge

The Beatles (All You Need Is Love) Coloured Inner Mug

The Beatles (All You Need Is Love) Black Inner Mug

The Beatles Yellow Submarine Travel Mug / Keep Cup

The Beatles Yellow Submarine Flask

Really Easy Piano: The Beatles

The Gig Book: The Beatles

The Little Black Book of Beatles Songs for Ukulele

The Little Black Songbook: The Beatles

The Beatles Complete (Piano, Voice & Guitar)

The Beatles - 1 Guitar Recorded Versions 

The Beatles Sheet Music Collection

The Beatles Greeting Card

Pop Art Greetings Card The Beatles

The Beatles (Fab Four) Mug

The Beatles Mug