The two songs Paul McCartney didn’t want to release: “We didn’t think it was going to be a good idea”
If there was a mathematical way to construct a pop hit, chances are we wouldn’t need rockstars anymore. No one really knows the structure that gets people on their feet every time they listen to it, and it normally takes a sixth sense for most artists to figure out what they have on their hands when they start writing a song. Although Paul McCartney has become the culmination of everything that pop music has to offer, he did admit that he was uncomfortable releasing both ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Mull of Kintyre’ upon release.
Then again, how can the equivalent of a musical God be unsure of what he has on his hands, especially with songs this classic? ‘Yesterday’ didn’t exactly become the most covered song of all time by accident, and ‘Mull of Kintyre’ might be the most simplistic masterpiece of his years with Wings.
Well, in the case of ‘Yesterday,’ it’s a little bit tricky. Since the whole thing arrived fully formed in McCartney’s dream, he probably had good reason to think that he pinched it from somewhere else. Because no one’s that lucky writing a song, right? Evidently, Macca was, and him dipping his toes into easy listening would be one of the greatest tracks off of Help!, despite it being brought down to earth by the Fab Four’s cover of ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’.
As for ‘Mull of Kintyre’, McCartney probably reached the age where he could have put out nearly anything and be treated like a musical hero. His eventual drug bust in Tokyo was a distant premonition, and by celebrating his new home he built with Linda in Scotland, he made a tune far more sentimental than anything he had attempted.
At the same time, both of these songs were released at the absolute worst times for them. ‘Yesterday’ put the group in serious danger of tanking their reputation as rock and rollers, and since Macca had been considered lightweight pop rock by many, hearing him play this stately ballad amid the punk movement would have banished him to being uncool for the rest of his days.
Despite their melodic hooks, McCartney did seem apprehensive about putting out either of them, saying, “The hits are always the ones you thought wouldn’t be hits, like ‘Yesterday’ or ‘Mull Of Kintyre.’ I didn’t want to put them out. We didn’t put ‘Yesterday’ out in England, it was only here (in America) that it was a single. We didn’t think it was going to be a good idea… so it’s crazy how it goes.”
For someone as prolific with timeless melodies as McCartney, he didn’t have to worry about a damn thing. ‘Yesterday’ would quickly be adopted by the entire world as one of the most melancholy breakup songs of all time, and even at the moment when Sex Pistols ruled the airwaves, McCartney did remember getting a few co-signs from the safety pin stripe of rock fan.
It’s unthinkable to believe that either track didn’t hold any water, but the fact that McCartney needed to be convinced to release each of them is actually fairly comforting. Based on all of the great moments he gave to the world through his music, it’s nice to know that even ‘The Cute Beatle’ could be unsure of his craft now and then.
