Paul McCartney/Wings-song by song thread

The words to Honey Hush, which Paul covered on RDR, are infinitely more offensive than anything in Four Five Seconds. And yet it's still a great recording which one can appreciate without embracing the ideas expressed in the lyrics.

 

It actually sounds like the sort of jazzy novelty that lots of artists, especially black ones, did in the twenties, thirties and forties. It feels like something unearthed from a bygone era, maybe a lost Leadbelly tune.

 

Yeah it does! I hadn't heard it. I quite enjoy it.

 

YOU BETTER STOP - I really like this one! I agree with the description of a lost Leadbelly tune. It's a quick bit of bluesy fun.

 

FourFiveSeconds

A highlight. A collaboration with Kanye West and Rihanna. The song is an acoustic ballad with powerful vocals, sweet melody, and emotional lyrics. The performance is direct and intimate with strong and gentle instrumental work. Simply brilliant. Bravo!!!

Lyrics:

I think I've had enough
I might get a little drunk
I say what's on my mind
I might do a little time
Cause all of my kindness
Is taken for weakness

Now I'm FourFiveSeconds from wildin'
And we got three more days 'til Friday
I'm just tryna make it back home by Monday mornin'
I swear I wish somebody would tell me
Ooh, that's all I want

Woke up an optimist
Sun was shinin', I'm positive
Then I heard you was talkin' trash
Hold me back, I'm 'bout to spaz

Yeah, 'bout FourFiveSeconds from wildin'
And we got three more days ‘til Friday
I’m tryna make it back home by Monday mornin'
I swear I wish somebody would try me
Ooh, that’s all I want

And I know that you're up tonight
Thinkin', "How could I be so selfish?"
But you called 'bout a thousand times
Wondering where I've been
Now I know that you're up tonight
Thinkin' "How could I be so reckless?"
But I just can't apologize
I hope you can understand

If I go to jail tonight
Promise you'll pay my bail
See they want to buy my pride
But that just ain't up for sale
See all of my kindness
Is taken for weakness


Credits:

Digital Single / CD Single: FourFiveSeconds
Produced by Kanye West, Paul McCartney
Co-producer: Mike Dean
Additional Production: Dave Longstreth, Noah Goldstein
Rihanna Vocals Produced by Kuk Harrell
Written by Kanye West, Paul McCartney, Kirby Lauryen, Mike Dean, Ty Dolla $ign, Dave Longstreth, Dallas Austin, Elon Rutberg, and Noah Goldstein
Vocals by Rihanna
Vocals by Kanye West
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar by Paul McCartney
Bass Guitar by Mike Dean
Organ by Dave Longstreth
Recorded at Jungle City Studios, NYC & Windmark Recording, Santa Monica, CA, @ No Name Studios, Mexico & Jungle City Studios, NYC
Mixed at Larabee Studios, Los Angeles, California
Recorded by Marcos Tovar, Noah Goldstein, Mike Dean
Assistant recording engineer: Brendan Morawski, Zeke Mishanec, Jeremy "Head" Hartney, Brandon Wood, Jordan Heskett
Mixed by Manny Marroquin
Assistant Mixer: Chris Galland, Jeff Jackson, Ike Schultz
Label: Roc Nation
Release Date: January 24, 2015
Length: 3:08 minutes

Paul's own words:

From Paul McCartney on new album 'Egypt Station' and collaborating with the next generation: “I feel lucky that these people are interested in working with me” (June 20, 2018)

"Did you learn anything from working with Kanye? Is it a two-way street in that respect?

Really [it is]. With Kanye, I learnt a lot. We had a method in our early days of The Beatles and with Wings that I used all the way through for writing songs. I would sit down with a guitar or at a piano and make it up and complete it. Then that’s it, you’ve done your song, and then you’re ready to roll and go in the studio.

With him, it was much more made up as we went along – so much so that I didn’t even realise that I was making songs. We had two or three afternoons where we just hung out together in a Beverly Hills hotel in the bungalows out the back, and he had his engineer and was set up with a couple of microphones incase anything happened.

I was tootling around on guitar, and Kanye spent a lot of time just looking at pictures of Kim on his computer. I’m thinking, are we ever gonna get around to writing?! But it turns out he was writing. That’s his muse. He was listening to this riff I was doing and obviously he knew in his mind that he could use that, so he took it, sped it up and then somehow he got Rihanna to sing on it. She’s a big favourite of mine anyway, so that just came without me lifting a finger."

Music video:

Credits:

Cinematographer – Otto Arsenault
Director Of Photography – Jodokus Driessen
Film Director [Video Directors] – Inez & Vinoodh
Film Producer [Post Production] – Stereohorse
Film Producer [Video Executive Producer] – theCollectiveShift
Film Producer [Video Producer] – Jeff Lepine, Stephanie Bargas
Video Editor – Otto Arsenault

 

More about FourFiveSeconds...

Promos:

UK Promo CD:





FRA Promo CD:





EU Promo CD:



Music Video, Behind The Scenes:

 

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US Promo DVD:



GRAMMY performance:

 

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CD Single:

 

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A Music Theory Professor Explains “FourFiveSeconds”

"I do like the simplicity—that Beatles-esque, Vaudevillian simplicity that Paul writes with. The melody is very simple in that, when they sing three more seconds to Friday, it comes back to the tonic, it comes back to one—like in "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" or "Hey Jude." Those songs are way more sophisticated harmonically than this, but he does bring it home in a similar way, and that feels good to hear. "

 

More about FourFiveSeconds...

Four Five Seconds | Whisper Words of Wisdom, Let it be

"The first lyrics, create a mental image for the listener, as we imagine a girl, maybe sitting at a bar, talking into her drink. She has had a really bad day, and is starting to drink. From the line “ All of my kindness is taken for weakness”, we can infer she is normally a “pushover” who people take advantage of, and she gets used, more often then she’d like to admit."

 

More about FourFiveSeconds...

March's Best Top 40 Song: 'Four Five Seconds' by Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney - Spiritual Pop Culture

"So what is this song about?

For me there are two possibilities.

One is that it’s a dialogue between a couple played out by Rihanna and Kanye West. They seem to be at a crisis in their relationship. Jealousy, anger and exhaustion are the main emotions.

But I’m more likely to say that it’s not about that. There’s a second possibility.

That it’s not a dialogue at all and may just be about their individual frustrations with their own public lives. The most interesting line is West saying “They want to buy my pride but that ain’t up for sale.” Rihanna’s lyrics allude to media stereotypes of her as a bad girl/party girl. So is this just a song about the frustrations of fame?"

 

More about FourFiveSeconds...

The Untold Stories of Paul McCartney (September 11, 2018)

"Did you have to ask someone what "four five seconds from wilding" meant?

Paul McCartney:

"'Wilding,' yeah," he says. "But my stepson knew. He's up with the hip-hop talk: 'Wilding? Oh yeah, that's like getting crazy and stuff.'"

And then the song became McCartney's biggest hit single in 32 years.

"I mean, Rihanna is something else. She's cool. So it was a great thrill, actually. I loved it. I feel a kind of privilege that they think I'm worthy of their world. I know I'm worthy of my world, but I didn't know that they think I could fit.""

 

More about FourFiveSeconds...

Paul McCartney & Rihanna at Desert Trip Indio, California, October 15, 2016:

 

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Finally,

A cover by Cody Simpson

 

Who Cares , I swear that if someone came up with a five second sound clip of Macca strumming a guitar in 1959 you 'd find and post a dozen quotes , variations and cover versions of it !

 

I have listened to Four Five Seconds more today than I ever have previously. It's not a bad melody and its got a good chorus. But I don't consider it a Paul McCartney track. Rihanna does a great job. Lovely voice.

 

If I Take You Home Tonight

A beautiful song that Paul gave away.

Lyrics:

If I take you home tonight
I will think of songs to sing to you
Music filled with joy and light
If I take you home tonight

If I tell you how I feel
Would you be afraid and run away
I would say my love is real
If you let me take you home tonight

Oh my love let me treat you right
Let me take you home tonight

Oh my love let me treat you right
Let me take you home tonight

If you let me take your hand
There are places I could bring you to
In some unimagined land
If you let me take your hand

Oh my love let me treat you right
Let me take you home tonight

Oh my love let me treat you right
Let me take you home tonight

If I take you home tonight
I will think of songs to sing to you
Music filled with joy and light

If I take you home...
If I take you home...
If I take you home tonight

If I take you home...
If I take you home...
If I take you home tonight


Credits:

Album: Wallflower
Produced by David Foster
Co-producer: Jochem van der Saag
Written by Paul McCartney
Vocals by Diana Krall
Orchestra arrangement, Piano by David Foster
Orchestra arrangement by William Ross
Bass by Nathan East
Drums by Jim Keltner
Guitars by Dean Parks
Recorded at Verve Studio, Santa Monica, CA / Air Studios, London, UK (Orchestra)
Engineer: Jochem van der Saag, Jorge Vivo
Mixed by Jochem van der Saag
Label: Verve Records
Release Date: February 3, 2015
Length: 3:53 minutes

About the song:

From Diana Krall's next album will be Neil Young-inspired pop: Q&A

"I worked with Paul McCartney on "Kisses on the Bottom," he wrote two new songs for the album -- "My Valentine" was one and then another song that didn't fit the record. I still had a copy of the music and I asked him if he was O.K. if I did the song for my record and he said "Sure," so we recorded that and it came out just gorgeous. It's a new Paul McCartney song that's never been recorded that I'm pretty honored to have."

Le Grand Studio RTL:

 

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Promo CD:








Interview:

From Diana Krall: Liner Notes From A 'Wallflower'

"On Paul McCartney's "If I Take You Home Tonight"

"I had the great opportunity to work with Paul McCartney on a record he did called Kisses on the Bottom, which was a collection of songs he chose that meant a lot to him. In amongst these songs that he chosen, he had written a handful of romantic ballads and beautiful songs, like he does he so well. "If I Take You Home Tonight" was one of them and it just didn't make it on the record. I had to muster up the courage to say, 'Can I do this song?' And he said, 'Sure.' He told me he likes it, so that's really — I hit the ceiling.""

 

More about If I Take You Home Tonight...

Finally,

A cover by YdK:

 

IF I TAKE YOU HOME TONIGHT - I like this one, Diana Krall does a very good job. Would like to hear McCartney's version if there is one.

 

NEXT ONE
Something that Didn t happen
This gem cones from the Tug of War deluxe and-imo-is one of the greatest Macca demos. This one of course became a part of the glorious Pound is sinking but is fine on it s own to. Vintage McCartney melodicism combined with vintage McCartnet melancholia combined with vintage McCartney vocals
As good as it gets
Song facts
Like many other McCartney’s songs, “The Pound Is Sinking“, from 1982 album “Tug Of War“, was assembled from the fragments of two songs. “Something That Didn’t Happen” is the demo of one of those songs, and was officially released in the 2015 archive edition of “Tug Of War“.

Prior to its official release, it has been made available on countless bootlegs, under the title

 

Is that another message for Stevie..?

 

FourFiveSeconds 3.5/5
Like it when it's on the radio. Not really a Macca track. Rihanna has recorded some real goods ~ there's worse in the charts.

You Better Stop is interesting enough for a deluxe edition. 3/5

 

While it's still just a novelty, this comment of yours has given me a new appreciation for the style of this song. I'm going to throw You Better Stop a 2/5 bone.

Like Women Kind, surely this was never intended for release but just an idea he created and put down for fun.

It's interesting how he portrays women in some of these songs: Suicide, Women Kind, this one, the mention of suffragette in Jet, the role of sexual equality in Back Seat Of My Car, the role of Linda in those first two lines of Long Haired Lady, Daytime Nighttime Suffering . . . there's probably others.

Some positive, some sexist. The role and portrayal of women seems to be a little mini-theme in Paul's music. At least until about the early 80s. Things changed there for some reason on this topic.

 

All Day

A controversial collaboration with Kanye West.

Lyrics:

[Kanye West]
All day, nigga
How long you niggas ball? All day, nigga
How much time you spent at the mall? All day, nigga
How many runners do you got on call? All day, nigga
Swish, swish, how long they keep you in court? All day, nigga
Take you to get this fly? All day, nigga
Tell your P.O. how-how long you been high? All day, nigga
You already know I’m straight from the Chi, all day, nigga
South, south, south side! All day, nigga

[Kanye West]
This Ye, nigga
Shoppin' for the winter, and it’s just May, nigga
Ball so hard, man, this **** cray, nigga
And you ain't gettin' money 'less you got eight figures
For that Jesus piece, man, I've been saved, nigga
Just talked to Farrakhan, that's sensei, nigga
Told him I've been on ten since the 10th grade, nigga
Got a middle finger longer than Dikembe, my nigga, uh
I don't let 'em play with me
I don't let 'em talk to me no kind of way
Uh, they better watch what they say to me
Niggas still gettin' popped on the day to day
Yeah, I still got the hundred with the small face, nigga
Might spend 50 racks on my off day, nigga
You a fake Denzel like the Allstate nigga
If you run into me, better have Allstate witcha, uh
You a Rico Suave nigga
Ride 'round listen to Sade, nigga
If you ain't with us, you in our way, nigga
You an actor, you should be on Broadway, nigga
Cause you do **** the broad way, nigga
Your bitch got a ass, but my broad way thicker
Late for the class, in the hallway, nigga
Yeah, the dropout at it as always, nigga, as always
All day, nigga

[Allan Kingdom]
I took a young sweet breath, and I reached into my head
Gave him what I had left
At that moment I dispersed
At that moment I dispersed

[Kanye West]
All day, nigga
How-h-how long you ball? All day, nigga
How much time you spent at the mall? All day, nigga
How long it take you to get this fly? All day, nigga
Tell your P.O. how-how long you been high? All day, nigga
Pour some Hen out for my niggas that died, all day, nigga
And I keep a bad bitch on the passenger side, all day, nigga
You already know that I’m straight from the Chi, all day, nigga
South, south, south side! All day, nigga

[Kanye West]
I could do this all day, boy, (WOO), I'm finna turn this bitch out
They need that Ye in the streets, boy, (WOO), there's been a mother****ing drought
Don't really matter what I make, boy, (WOO), you know I still go wild
Like a light skinned slave, boy, (WOO), we in the motha****in' house
Right now, you lookin' real sus right now
I swear I've been on this flight like a month right now
Stupid niggas gettin' money, Forrest Gump right now
Shout-out to Jackie Chan, I need to stunt right now
They've been lookin' at the Gram, I've been lookin' at the Grammys
Like, woo, that's us right now (Right now!)
24/7, 365 days, everybody gettin' paid (Go crazy!)
Niggas lookin' at me like I'm worth both MJs
People saying, "Ye, Ye, take it easy"
20 Gs for the Yeezys off of eBay
Niggas do the most and they ain't done ****
Only way I can sum it up, son bitch

[Theophilius London]
(Hands up, hands up)
Some want you dead, ayy, ayy ayy ayy
All day, nigga

[Allan Kingdom]

I took a young sweet breath, and I reached into my head
Gave him what I had left
At that moment I dispersed
At that moment I dispersed

[Kanye West]
Get low, alright
Get low, alright
What up? Alright, alright
Stay low, alright
Stay low, alright
South, south, south side, all day nigga

[Paul McCartney]
(Whistling)

Well, well, well
Let me run (Let me run)
Let me run to see who came undone
You've been right in my face
Let me run 'til you're off my case
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa


Credits:

Digital Single: All Day ft. Theophilus London, Allan Kingdom & Paul McCartney
Produced by Kanye West, Puff Daddy, French Montana, Velous & Charlie Heat
Co-Produced by Mike Dean #MWA & Noah Goldstein for ARK Productions, Inc.
Additional Production by Plain Pat, Travis Scott, Allen Ritter & Mario Winans
Written by Kanye West, Paul McCartney, Tyler Bryant, Kendrick Lamar, Karim Kharbouch, Ernest Brown, Cydel Young, Victor Mensah, Allan Kyariga, Mike Dean, Che Pope, Noah Goldstein, Allen Ritter, Mario Winans, Charles Njapa, Malik Yusef Jones, Patrick Reynolds, Rennard East, Noel Ellis
Vocals, drum programming, synth programming, background vocals by Kanye West
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Whistling by Paul McCartney
Vocals by Theophilus London
Vocals by Allan Kingdom
Electric Guitar by Tyler Bryant
Background Vocals by Kendrick Lamar
Whistling by Karim Kharbouch
Vocals by Malik Yusef Jones
Additional Vocals by Victor Mensah
Drum programming, additional guitars by Allen Ritter
Recorded by Noah Goldstein at Shangri La, Malibu, CA & Jungle City Studios, NYC; Matthew Testa at Windmark Studios, Santa Monica, CA; Mike Dean #MWA at Dean’s List House of Hits, Soho, NYCB; Anthony Kilhoffer at No Name Studios, Mexico; Steve Orchard at No Name Studios, London
Assisted by Sean Oakley at Shangri La, Malibu, CA; Zeke Mishanec at Jungle City Studios, NYC; Jeremy “Head” Hartney at No Name Studios, Mexico; Tristan Bott at Windmark Recording, Santa Monica, CA
Mixed by Noah Goldstein and Anthony Kilhoffer @ Health Farm Studios, London with Hudson Mohawke
Mastered by Vlado Meller
Mastering assistant: Jeremy Lubsey
Contains a sample of ‘Dance With Me” written and performed by Noel Ellis, (Noel Ellis Publishing Designee (SOCAN), used courtesy of Light In The Attic Records.
Contains a sample of “Going Down” written and performed by Omer Ozyilmazel (Flatliners).
Label: GOOD + Def Jam
Release Date: March 2, 2015
Length: 5:10 minutes

Explicit Version: