The Paul McCartney song inspired by Lead Belly: “I was off on the trail”
Within the world of rock music, all roads lead back to the blues. Dating back to the music created by Black musicians of the Deep South during the 19th century, blues music paved the way for a wide variety of future genres, most notably rock and roll. Its inherent attitude, honesty, and opportunity for story-telling made the blues a natural fit for many rock musicians, and its impact can be felt in everybody from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin. For many, their introduction to blues music came with the revolutionary stylings of Lead Belly.
Huddie ‘Lead Belly’ Ledbetter is undoubtedly among the most legendary blues figures of all time. Rising to prominence during the early part of the 20th century, Lead Belly played an essential role in bringing blues music into mainstream musical consciousness and updating the style for modern and widespread audiences. Although, largely as a result of deeply ingrained racist attitudes within American society at the time, Lead Belly did not achieve a great deal of mainstream success, his musical legacy continues on to this day.
The pioneering blues of Lead Belly inspired countless artists and musical movements. Without his music, rock and roll would not exist in the same form that it does today. It makes sense, therefore, that figures like Paul McCartney would take heavy inspiration from the blues musician, particularly over the course of his solo career.
Following the break-up of The Beatles in 1970, McCartney—like the others—embarked upon a solo career that would see him explore countless different avenues of genre and style, soaking up inspiration like a Liverpudlian sponge.
Inevitably, McCartney drew upon the blues fairly regularly, with Lead Belly being a particular influence. Particularly in recent years, this influence has become pretty unavoidable, with the release of the 2020 track ‘Women and Wives’ invariably tied to the music of Lead Belly. Reportedly, McCartney wrote the song after reading a book about the blues pioneer while visiting the United States.
Speaking to Uncut at the time, Macca shared: “I was deep in the south and the blues, and I sat at the piano one day and started playing the chords at the beginning of the song. Lead Belly inspired that vocal style, well, mama… that southern blues thing. It suited this song. ‘Hear me, husband and lovers. What we do, do with our lives.’ Then, I was off on the trail. So suddenly, ‘Seems to matter to others.’ Hey let’s think about what we’re handing down to them. As a parent and grandparent, you think that kind of stuff.”
Although McCarntey’s overt appreciation for Lead Belly has been a relatively recent revelation, his musical roots are irrevocably tied to the blues legend. Prior to The Beatles, McCartney had been a member of the teenage skiffle group The Quarrymen alongside John Lennon and George Harrison.
Skiffle was a short-lived precursor to rock and roll, and it was introduced to the British mainstream by Lonnie Donegan’s ‘Rock Island Line’. The track itself is a traditional folk number, but Lead Belly was among the first artists to rearrange and record the song back in the 1920s, years prior to the advent of skiffle, Lonnie Donegan, or, indeed, The Quarrymen. So, while ‘Women and Wives’ might be the most obvious example of Lead Belly’s influence on McCartney, it certainly was not the first time the blues pioneer had an impact on the former Beatle.
