Paul McCartney/Wings-song by song thread

Last up for now - When Winter Comes

 

From what I can tell we have this song and film to thank for the whole McCartney III and III Imagined projects! He found this song when working on the Flaming Pie Archive and decided it was too good for just an added track on an archive. He thought of creating a short film featuring it then in the process of getting it ready during "Rockdown" decided to keep making songs and boom he had an album. Am I close?

... Anyway love the song one of the highlights of the album! Love hearing his voice from the '90s on this special track. 15/10 for me! I also like the III Imagined version almost as well!

I want to thank everyone for this excursion we have been on for almost exactly two years to the day! Hopefully, Paul will continue on taking us on future excursions! I'm all in! I have a few ideas for some new threads I think you'll like that I will be announcing right here in a couple of days. Please join me again and thanks again to all of you, especially thread starter @Bemagnus, @Who Cares, @omikron, and the @Wildest cat from montana!

P.S. @Who Cares do your magic one more time for us will you?

 

“When Winter Comes” is the final track from 2020 album “McCartney III“. The history of the song started 28 years before, as it was recorded on September 3, 1992, along with “Calico Skies” and “Great Day“.

‘When Winter Comes’ was originally recorded in 1992 with George Martin at the mixing desk. The song was recorded at the same time as “Calico Skies” and “Great Day” and unearthed during the research for Paul’s 2020 ‘Flaming Pie’ reissue. Considering the song too good to be released as a bonus track, Paul decided to make a short film to accompany it. As Paul recorded the short introductory piece of music for the film, the world went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

From Spotify Storyline. Storyline is a feature of Spotify that gives behind-the-scenes information from artists about their songs, presented with a carousel of cards featuring a combination of text and images.

This song is kind of an idealistic thing, a hippy existence on a farm, planting trees, mending fences and living the good life which is something I like, I love nature and I love that idea of getting down and getting your hands dirty.

Paul McCartney – from the “McCartney III” Tim’s Twitter Listening Party, December 21, 2020
From the “McCartney III” press release:

Recorded earlier this year in Sussex, McCartney III is mostly built from live takes of Paul on vocals and guitar or piano, overdubbing his bass playing, drumming, etc. atop that foundation. The process first sparked when Paul returned to an unreleased track from the early 90s, ’When Winter Comes’ (co-produced by George Martin). Paul crafted a new passage for the song, giving rise to album opener ’Long Tailed Winter Bird’ — while ’When Winter Comes’, featuring its new 2020 intro ’Winter Bird’, became the new album’s grand finale.

The album comes full circle when it ends on the riff from the opening track, ‘Long Tailed Winter Bird’, and segues into ‘When Winter Comes’, which you recorded years ago with George Martin, right?

Yes. There’s nothing on that track – it’s just me – but I made a track called ‘Calico Skies’ a while ago [for the 1997 album Flaming Pie], which George produced. And at the same time, because I was in the studio and had an extra minute or so, I had this other song, so I said, ‘let me knock this one off.’ That was ‘When Winter Comes’, and I mention George because it was on a George Martin produced session, but is just me on the guitar. It was nearly going to be a bonus extra that was going to be on a reissue of Flaming Pie, but I’d just been reading that great book on Elvis, Last Train to Memphis, and it mentioned a song and said you’ve probably never heard it because it was buried as a bonus on the B-side of an album. So I thought, no, I’d rather have this one as a proper track. And we finished the album with it because it was the reason for doing the whole thing, because me and my mate Geoff Dunbar, who’s an animation director, were talking about making an animated film to that song. So that’s where the opening and closing tracks come from, which got me into the studio in the first place.

Paul McCartney – from an interview with Stuart Stubbs, from Loud And Quiet magazine, October 2020
There’s a lovely bit on “Winter Bird/When Winter Comes” where you sing, “Must fix the fence by the acre plot… dig a drain by the carrot patch…” That could be you in 1970.

It’s me, remembering that period and writing a song from the point of view of that man, making a home for his family in the countryside. That’s what I used to do. Paint the roof, fix the drains, fix the fence, whatever. I know a lot of people these days are getting into that. It’s very satisfying. In my case, the horror was how heavy The Beatles’ situation had become, but for a lot of people these days it’s the horror of what’s going on with the world – particularly this year with Covid. I just want to plant some vegetables for my family and see them grow. I got very ambitious. I made a kitchen table. I’m incredibly proud of it.

Paul McCartney, in UNCUT interview, January 2021

 

And thank you, Pepperland, for taking on the task of continuing the thread after that Cuba-going bemagnus bailed on us.
And everyone else who posted often with besame mucho Macca love.

 

"When Winter Comes" is a lovely little song -- not masterpiece-level great, but nice. And as I mentioned in another thread, it seems weirdly appropriate for the time it was released, with its images of scarcity and loneliness. It doesn't feel accidental that he chose to pull it out of mothballs and release it during COVID.

 

Winter Bird / When Winter Comes

A highlight. It's a beautiful winter song that touches the listener's heart. Bravo!!!

Lyrics:

VERSE 1
Must fix the fence by the acre plot
Two young foxes have been nosing around
The lambs and the chickens won’t feel safe until it’s done

VERSE 2
I must dig a drain by the carrot patch
The whole crop spoils if it gets too damp
And where will we be with an empty store
When winter comes

CHORUS
When winter comes
And food is scarce
We’ll warn our toes
To stay indoors
When summer’s gone
We’ll fly away
And find the sun
When winter comes

VERSE 3
I must find the time to plant some trees
In the meadow where the river flows
In time to come they’ll make good shade for some poor soul

[Repeat chorus]
[Repeat verse 1]
[Repeat chorus]

And find the sun
When winter comes

© 2020 MPL Communications Ltd.

Credits:

McCartney …

Released: December 18, 2020

Written by Paul McCartney
Length: 2:47 min
Instruments and Voices (Acoustic Guitar, Harmonium, Hofner Bass, Mellotron, Percussion, Recorder, Vocals) by Paul McCartney
Produced and Composed by Paul McCartney

When Winter Comes also with George Martin and Bob Kraushaar

Made in Rockdown
Engineered by Steve Orchard assisted by Keith Smith at Hog Hill Mill
Mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound
Label: Capitol


Paul's own words:

‘It’s just me’: an exclusive interview with Paul McCartney about McCartney III - Loud And Quiet

"The album comes full circle when it ends on the riff from the opening track, ‘Long Tailed Winter Bird’, and segues into ‘When Winter Comes’, which you recorded years ago with George Martin, right?

Paul: Yes. There’s nothing on that track – it’s just me – but I made a track called ‘Calico Skies’ a while ago [for the 1997 album Flaming Pie], which George produced. And at the same time, because I was in the studio and had an extra minute or so, I had this other song, so I said, ‘let me knock this one off.’ That was ‘When Winter Comes’, and I mention George because it was on a George Martin produced session, but is just me on the guitar. It was nearly going to be a bonus extra that was going to be on a reissue of Flaming Pie, but I’d just been reading that great book on Elvis, Last Train to Memphis, and it mentioned a song and said you’ve probably never heard it because it was buried as a bonus on the B-side of an album. So I thought, no, I’d rather have this one as a proper track. And we finished the album with it because it was the reason for doing the whole thing, because me and my mate Geoff Dunbar, who’s an animation director, were talking about making an animated film to that song. So that’s where the opening and closing tracks come from, which got me into the studio in the first place."


Music Video:

 

More about Winter Bird / When Winter Comes...

Lyric Video:



Credits:

Lucy Dyson- Artist, animator, director. Berlin
Randi Wilens
Molly Rose Dyson
Isobel Knowles

Lucy Dyson on Instagram:

"❄️ When Winter Comes ❄️ the final of the 11 official lyric videos I made for @paulmccartney Beautiful illustrations by @mollydogson and animation by @isobelknowles ⛄️ It was an epic but incredible project creating a whole albums-worth of visual content for Sir Paul working with MPL and Capitol Records ☺️"

 

When winter Comes is synonymnious to LOVELY.
This LOVELY song is a fittong end to this thread that started of with the LOVELY Linda.
It s been a LOVELY thread

 

Agreed, a great album closer!

 

To go along with our lovely thread starter!

 

More about Winter Bird / When Winter Comes...

12 Days Of Paul

Winter Bird / When Winter Comes

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=770958336830136

 

More about Winter Bird / When Winter Comes...

Animated short film



‘When Winter Comes’ – New Animated Film

"The film adopts a painterly style glimpsing a family readying their farm for winter and highlights the themes of nature, family and home in the song. To create the short animated film, Paul enlisted the help of Rupert and the Frog Song director Geoff Dunbar for a unique hybrid of hand and digitally drawn animation.

 

More about Winter Bird / When Winter Comes...

Animated short film



Making Of

 

More about Winter Bird / When Winter Comes...

Animated short film



Winter Sun (0:56)

Written by Paul McCartney

 

More about Winter Bird / When Winter Comes...

When Winter Comes (Anderson .Paak Remix) (2:21)

Credits:

Album: McCartney III Imagined
Released: Apr 16, 2021
Written and Composed by Paul McCartney

Vicky Nguyen: Piano, Rhodes, Synths
Mac DeMarco: Guitar, Bass, Percussion
Anderson .Paak: Drums
Paul McCartney: Vocals

Recorded and Mixed by Jhair “Jha” Lazo at Sick Vibes, Burbank, CA

Produced by Anderson .Paak, Mac DeMarco, Vicky "Farewell" Nguyen

Original Production by Paul McCartney and George Martin. Engineered by Bob Kraushaar

Mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound

Visualizer:

 

More about Winter Bird / When Winter Comes...

Finally,

 

I quite like this little instrumental piece. I'm sure it will turn up on a deluxe edition someday.

 

When Winter Comes is another of the album's highlights. Yes, it would have fit well on Flaming Pie, if only because of Great Day - they are bookends. But it fits very well on MIII mostly due to the unintended lyrical association with the pandemic & lockdown. It's a beautiful melody with purposefully straightforward lyrics.

I didn't really notice how different Paul's vocal sounds on this track until it was pointed out to me. One highlighted it becomes impossible to unhear. That knowledge gives the song a greater gravitas, the stark difference from the old man voice.

I don't mind Paul's old man voice. He has always had many different voices. The delicacy and vulnerability of I'm Carrying. The grit of Oh Woman Oh Why. The smooth soulful My Love. The pop star Listen To What The Man Said. The balladeer of Bluebird. The sandpaper Winter Rose. Now he has added the world weary, old guy voice. That's fine with me.

Overall, MIII is half a good album. About a quarter are songs that are just okay and I skip or listen as the mood takes me. One quarter are songs that I wouldn't miss if they were excised. If Band On The Run is a five star album and Pipes of Peace is a one star album, MIII would be two and a half to three stars. Too many songs that I do not engage with. Having said that, the quality of the musicianship is outstanding. Even the songs that I find most tedious are given interesting and detail oriented arrangements.

But, it was made clear, that this album was "just a bit of fun" during lockdown, so I can't be too disappointed that it isn't Egypt Station II.

 

Another Egypt Station enthusiast. Unfortunately Egypt Station got bashed pretty severely on the McCartney III thread. To me ES is close to a modern era masterpiece! Was just listening to it last night and I still just love it. Just a masterwork! Egypt Station and Red Rose Speedway (double album version) are still my two favorite McCartney albums ever!

 

This! You are so right on here!

 

I don’t know if it has been mentioned here but the London Town Expanded Edition from 1993 is now up on Spotify.

This is notable only because it marks the debut of Girls’ School on the streaming site.

 

Girl s school is a wicked little rocker. One of Paus better rock n roll track.

 

YES! Been waiting for that! Now, does it count as a #1 single in that it was put out as a double a sided single that went to #1 in parts of the world, but I seriously doubt anyone would really think Girls School could go to #1 on it's own!

 

I just made a Back To London Town Spotify Playlist (48 minutes)

1. Backwards Traveller
2. Getting Closer
3. Cafe On The Left Bank
4. London Town
5. I've Had Enough
6. Daytime Nighttime Suffering
7. Arrow Through Me
8. With A Little Luck (DJ edit)
9. Good Night Tonight
10. Old Siam Sir
11. Winter Rose/Love Awake
12. Girls' School
13. Mull of Kintyre

Not a bad album had it turned out that way!!

 

London Town never was a bad album in the first place.