The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present (Paperback) - Paul McCartney
Enter your postcode and we'll provide you with your delivery & collection options.
- Free Delivery on orders over £50*
- Free Same Day Click & Collect
- Delivery: In stock
Shop more...
The Sunday Times bestseller and Waterstones Book of the Year, now in paperback
'Paul McCartney says this is as close as he will get to an autobiography and no wonder - his life is in every line of these songs ... pure joy' Sunday Times, Book of the Year
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 fete 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.
About the Author
Paul McCartney (Author)
Born in Liverpool in 1942, Paul McCartney was raised in the city and educated at the Liverpool Institute. Since writing his first song at 14, McCartney has dreamed and dared to be different. He lives in England.
Paul Muldoon (External Editor)
Paul Muldoon is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of fourteen full-length collections of poetry, including Howdie-Skelp.
- Contributors:
- Paul McCartney, Paul Muldoon
- Imprint:
- Penguin
- Publisher:
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Release Date:
- 07 Nov 2023
- Number of Pages:
- 624
- Binding:
- Paperback / softback
- ISBN13:
- 9781802064223
Delivery
Options to suit you
At Jarrolds we want to ensure you get your order in the most convenient way for you, so we offer..
- Free standard delivery on most orders over £50*
- Express and Nominated options from £5.95*
- Free click and collect from our stores for many items
Help & Advice
Need extra help?
We're always happy to answer any questions or queries you might have, please get in touch using one of the methods below.
- Live chat
Monday to Friday (between 9.00am - 5.30pm) - Call us - 01603 660 661
- Email us here
Returns
How to return a purchase
At Jarrolds we want to ensure you're delighted with your order so if for any reason you are unhappy with your purchase, you can return most items to us in new and unused condition within 30 days of receiving them for a full refund*.