McCartney: A Life in Lyrics
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
The End
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Coming at the end of an intensely creative period, The Beatles’ Abbey Road features some of the most adventurous compositions in the quartet&rsq...
Michelle
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Michelle” from 1965’s Rubber Soul started as a kind of light-hearted party piece. But in McCartney’s quest to turn it into a ...
Give Ireland Back to the Irish
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode deals with themes and events surrounding the Northern Ireland conflict. As such, this episode may be traumatic or emotional for some list...
Here, There and Everywhere
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The breadth of Paul McCartney’s influences is astounding. One of the many surprising places McCartney found inspiration was in the music of his ...
Hey Jude
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In 1968 the longest song to ever reach number one on the Billboard charts was Paul McCartney’s epic “Hey Jude”—clocking in at ...
A Day in the Life
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Paul McCartney and John Lennon had a knack for finishing each other's songs. They collaborated by lending ideas for verses, choruses and middle eights...
Silly Love Songs
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From his earliest days as a songwriter, Paul McCartney was interested in love songs. But by the time of Wing’s 1976 album “At the Speed of...
Picasso’s Last Words (Drink to Me)
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
“Drink to me, drink to my health” were among the last words spoken by the great Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. On somewhat of a lark, Dusti...
Yesterday
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The Beatles’ songbook became standard repertoire for artists to perform almost as quickly as they kicked off “the British invasion.”...
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One day in the car, Paul McCartney heard a BBC production of the absurdist play “Ubu Cocu” by french writer Alfred Jarry. Taken by t...
Band on the Run
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Paul McCartney found himself in a tricky place after The Beatles’ break up. What did his musical future look like without the three musicians he...
Love Me Do
07 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Countless decisions, large and small, aided The Beatles’ ascent to the top of popular culture. The release of their debut single, “Love Me...
Welcome to Season 2 of McCartney: A Life in Lyrics
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Vote for “McCartney: A Life in Lyrics“ as the Webby Awards’ Best Music Podcast now: https://bit.ly/4jmkrDf Season Two of McCart...
Helter Skelter
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season 1 of “McCartney: A Life in Lyrics” concludes with a band in flux. The Beatles had evolved significantly by 1968 from when they firs...
Too Many People
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Many observers have tried to pinpoint the specific events that lead to Lennon-McCartney, the formidable songwriting partnership, transitioning to Lenn...
Jenny Wren / Blackbird
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Long Tailed Winter Bird,” “Bluebird,” and “Single Pigeon” are just a few of the many bird-oriented songs Paul McC...
Magical Mystery Tour
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Magical Mystery Tour” was inspired by a holiday bus from Liverpool to a mystery destination—often ending up in the carnivalesque se...
Live and Let Die
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
James Bond themes were handled by soulful or sultry vocalists in the decade since 1963’s “From Russia With Love.” Shirley Bassey, To...
Here Today
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Warning: This episode begins with a description of the assassination of John Lennon. John Lennon’s assassination has reverberated across decades...
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
01 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As Paul McCartney’s life moved further away from the centering force of Liverpool, the distance, both physical and cultural, started becoming in...
Penny Lane
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As a young boy, Paul McCartney soaked up the radio plays his mother listened to while cleaning around their house. They gave McCartney an expansive un...
When Winter Comes / Mull of Kintyre
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
At the dawn of the Beatles’ dissolution, Paul McCartney and his wife, Linda, started to spend an increasing amount of time in the Scottish count...
Let It Be
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Paul McCartney’s mother Mary passed away in 1956, when Paul was only 14 years old. Over a decade later, she appeared to him in a dream, lending ...
Back In the U.S.S.R.
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What’s Paul McCartney, a Liverpudlian, doing writing about the Soviet Union in 1968? Turns out McCartney was doing a little Chuck Berry, a bit o...
Eleanor Rigby
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Face cream, a Bristol liquor business, and a lifelong reverence for the elderly are just a few of the rather ordinary and disparate inspirations Paul ...
Welcome to McCartney: A Life in Lyrics
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to "McCartney: A Life in Lyrics". This podcast will take you into the mind of one of the greatest songwriters of all time: Paul McCartney...