A self-taught musician, McCartney is proficient on bass, guitar, keyboards, and drums. He is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing (mainly playing with a plectrum), his versatile and wide tenor vocal range (spanning over four octaves), and his eclecticism (exploring styles ranging from pre-rock and roll pop to classical and electronica). McCartney began his career as a member of the Quarrymen in 1957, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Starting with the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, he gradually became the Beatles' de facto leader, providing the creative impetus for most of their music and film projects. His Beatles songs "And I Love Her" (1964), "Yesterday" (1965), "Eleanor Rigby" (1966) and "Blackbird" (1968) rank among the most covered songs in history.
In 1970, McCartney debuted as a solo artist with the album McCartney. Throughout the 1970s, he led Wings, one of the most successful bands of the decade, with more than a dozen international top 10 singles and albums. McCartney resumed his solo career in 1980. Since 1989, he has toured consistently as a solo artist. In 1993, he formed the music duo the Fireman with Youth of Killing Joke. Beyond music, he has taken part in projects to promote international charities related to such subjects as animal rights, seal hunting, land mines, vegetarianism, poverty, and music education.
McCartney is one of the most successful composers and performers of all time. He has written or co-written 32 songs that have reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and as of 2009, had sales of 25.5 million RIAA-certified units in the United States. His honours include two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as a member of the Beatles in 1988 and as a solo artist in 1999), 18 Grammy Awards, an appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1965, and a knighthood in 1997 for services to music. As of 2020, he is also one of the wealthiest musicians in the world, with an estimated fortune of £800 million.
Best known for primarily using a plectrum or pick, McCartney occasionally plays fingerstyle. He was strongly influenced by Motown artists, in particular James Jamerson, whom McCartney called a hero for his melodic style. He was also influenced by Brian Wilson, as he commented: "because he went to very unusual places". Another favourite bassist of his is Stanley Clarke. McCartney's skill as a bass player has been acknowledged by bassists including Sting, Dr. Dre bassist Mike Elizondo, and Colin Moulding of XTC.
During McCartney's early years with the Beatles, he primarily used a Höfner 500/1 bass, although from 1965, he favoured his Rickenbacker 4001S for recording. While typically using Vox amplifiers, by 1967, he had also begun using a Fender Bassman for amplification. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he used a Wal 5-String, which he said made him play more thick-sounding basslines, in contrast to the much lighter Höfner, which inspired him to play more sensitively, something he considers fundamental to his playing style. He changed back to the Höfner around 1990 for that reason. He uses Mesa Boogie bass amplifiers while performing live.
McCartney was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 as a member of the Beatles and again as a solo artist in 1999. In 1979, the Guinness Book of World Records recognised McCartney as the "most honored composer and performer in music", with 60 gold discs (43 with the Beatles, 17 with Wings) and, as a member of the Beatles, sales of over 100 million singles and 100 million albums, and as the "most successful song writer", he wrote jointly or solo 43 songs which sold one million or more records between 1962 and 1978. In 2009, Guinness World Records again recognised McCartney as the "most successful songwriter" having written or co-written 188 charted records in the United Kingdom, of which 91 reached the top 10 and 33 made it to number one.
McCartney has written, or co-written, 32 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: twenty with the Beatles; seven solo or with Wings; one as a co-writer of "A World Without Love", a number-one single for Peter and Gordon; one as a co-writer on Elton John's cover of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"; one as a co-writer on Stars on 45's "Medley"; one as a co-writer with Michael Jackson on "Say Say Say"; and one as writer on "Ebony and Ivory" performed with Stevie Wonder. As of 2009, he has 15.5 million RIAA certified units in the United States as a solo artist plus another 10 million with Wings.
Credited with more number ones in the UK than any other artist, McCartney has participated in twenty-four chart topping singles: seventeen with the Beatles, one solo, and one each with Wings, Stevie Wonder, Ferry Aid, Band Aid, Band Aid 20 and "The Christians et al." He is the only artist to reach the UK number one as a soloist ("Pipes of Peace"), duo ("Ebony and Ivory" with Wonder), trio ("Mull of Kintyre", Wings), quartet ("She Loves You", the Beatles), quintet ("Get Back", the Beatles with Billy Preston) and as part of a musical ensemble for charity (Ferry Aid).
"Yesterday" is one of the most covered songs in history with more than 2,200 recorded versions, and according to the BBC, "the track is the only one by a UK writer to have been aired more than seven million times on American TV and radio and is third in the all-time list ... [and] is the most played song by a British writer [last] century in the US". His 1968 Beatles composition "Hey Jude" achieved the highest sales in the UK that year and topped the US charts for nine weeks, which is longer than any other Beatles single. It was also the longest single released by the band and, at seven minutes eleven seconds, was at that time the longest number one. "Hey Jude" is the best-selling Beatles single, achieving sales of over five million copies soon after its release.
In July 2005, McCartney's performance of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with U2 at Live 8 became the fastest-released single in history. Available within forty-five minutes of its recording, hours later it had achieved number one on the UK Official Download Chart.
In December 2020, the release of his album McCartney III and its subsequent charting at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 earned McCartney the feat of being the first artist to have a new album in the top two chart positions in each of the last six decades.
Despite Repeated Warnings
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Our danger's up ahead
The captain won't be listening
To what's real said
It feels that there's a good chance
That we've been misled
And so the captain's planning
What can we do, what can we do
What can we do to stop
This foolish plan going through
What can we do, what can we do
This man is bound to lose his ship and his crew
Despite repeated warnings
From those who are to know
Well, he's got his own agenda
And so we'll go
We shout the loudest
We'll not always be the smartest
But they have their promised moments
Right before they fall
Red sky in the morning
Doesn't ever seem to face him
But a sailor's warning signal
Should concern his soul
How can we stop him?
Grab the keys and lock him up
If we can do it, we can save the day
The engineer is with his wife and daughter Janet
But he misses them so
Although he's working with the best crew on the planet
They'll never want him to go
He had a premonition
He said that something's wrong
And by his own admission
He knew it all along
The captain's crazy but he doesn't let them know it
He'll take us with him if we don't do something soon to stop him
How can we stop him?
Grab the keys and lock him up
If we can do it, we can save the day
No brakes, the engineer cries
The cabin's gonna leak, that's when the temperatures rise
The heat is going up, the engine's gonna blow
And we're gonna be left down below, down below
Yes we can do it
Yeah, we can do it now
Yes we can do it
Yes we can do it
Yeah, we can do it now
Yes we can do it
Yeah, we can do it now
Yes we can do it
Yeah, we can do it now
Oh yeah
Even life would work out the way you plan it
And that'd be so fine for the wife and Janet
Sometimes you might have to battle through it
But that's the way you learn how you got to do it
Yes we can do it
Yeah, we can do it
Yes we can do it
Yeah, we can do it
Despite repeated warnings
Our danger's up ahead
While the captain wasn't listening
To what was said
So we went to the captain
And told him to turn round
But he laughs in our faces
Says that we are mistaken
So we gather around him
And everyone stood around him
Oh, but he should have listened
To the will of the people
It's the will of the people
It's the will of the people
The song "Despite Repeated Warnings" by Paul McCartney tells the story of a captain who is ignoring repeated warnings and is putting his ship and crew in danger. The captain has his own agenda and won't listen to anyone else, even though there are clear signs that something is wrong. The crew is worried and frustrated, and they are trying to figure out how to stop the captain before it's too late.
The main theme of this song is the importance of listening to the warnings and advice of others. The captain is so focused on his own plans and goals that he is ignoring the reality of the situation. This can be seen as a metaphor for the importance of paying attention to the environment and the opinions of experts when it comes to issues like climate change or public health.
The song also highlights the power of collective action and the need for people to stand up for what they believe in. The crew in the song tries to convince the captain to change course, but he refuses to listen. Eventually, they come together and make a plan to stop him. This can be seen as a call to action for individuals to come together and fight for what they believe in, even if it means going against powerful forces.
Line by Line Meaning
Despite repeated warnings
Although we have tried to warn him many times
Our danger's up ahead
We are heading towards great danger
The captain won't be listening
The captain refuses to listen to our warnings
To what's real said
He dismisses what we are saying as not important or meaningful
It feels that there's a good chance
We think that there is a strong possibility
That we've been misled
We have been given false or incorrect information
And so the captain's planning
The captain has made plans to continue on his current course
To steam ahead
To continue moving forward despite the risks
What can we do, what can we do
What actions can we take to prevent a disaster
What can we do to stop
What can we do to prevent this from happening
This foolish plan going through
Stopping this reckless and risky plan from being carried out
This man is bound to lose his ship and his crew
If the captain continues on his current path, he will surely put his ship and crew in danger
From those who are to know
From those who have expertise or knowledge in this area
Well, he's got his own agenda
The captain is operating according to his own personal interests or goals
And so we'll go
And so we will continue on this dangerous course
We shout the loudest
We speak up the most forcefully
We'll not always be the smartest
Our ideas or suggestions may not always be the most intelligent or effective
But they have their promised moments
Even those with less experience or expertise have valuable insights or ideas
Right before they fall
Often, the people who are ignored or dismissed are the ones who end up being right
Red sky in the morning
Bad weather or difficult circumstances may be on the horizon
Doesn't ever seem to face him
The captain does not appear to be concerned by these warning signs
But a sailor's warning signal
A clear indication that something dangerous is about to happen
Should concern his soul
The captain should be deeply worried by these signs of trouble
How can we stop him?
What actions can we take to prevent the captain from making a catastrophic mistake?
Grab the keys and lock him up
Physically preventing the captain from taking control of the ship
If we can do it, we can save the day
Stopping the captain's reckless plans could prevent a disaster from occurring
The engineer is with his wife and daughter Janet
The ship's engineer has a family waiting for him at home
But he misses them so
He is very homesick and wants to return to his loved ones
Although he's working with the best crew on the planet
Even though he is surrounded by skilled and competent colleagues
They'll never want him to go
His fellow crew members will miss him if something happens to him
He had a premonition
He had an unsettling feeling or intuition
He said that something's wrong
He expressed his concern that something was seriously amiss
And by his own admission
He himself acknowledged that something was not right
He knew it all along
He had a sense or intuition that things might not turn out well
The captain's crazy but he doesn't let them know it
The captain is behaving in an irrational or dangerous way, without acknowledging the risks
He'll take us with him if we don't do something soon to stop him
Unless we intervene, the captain's recklessness will put us all in danger
No brakes, the engineer cries
The engineer urgently warns that the ship cannot slow down or stop
The cabin's gonna leak, that's when the temperatures rise
The cabin is starting to take on water, which will cause the temperature to increase
The heat is going up, the engine's gonna blow
The ship's heat levels are dangerously high and the engine is at risk of failing
And we're gonna be left down below, down below
The crew will suffer the catastrophic consequences of the captain's poor choices
Even life would work out the way you plan it
Even if things always went according to your expectations or desires
And that'd be so fine for the wife and Janet
And even if your family were happy and content with your choices
Sometimes you might have to battle through it
Sometimes making the right decisions is difficult and requires a struggle
But that's the way you learn how you got to do it
You must learn to make tough decisions and do what is necessary to succeed
So we went to the captain
We tried to reason with the captain and persuade him to change his course
And told him to turn round
We asked him to change course and avoid the impending danger
But he laughs in our faces
The captain scoffed at our concerns and ignored our pleas
Says that we are mistaken
The captain insists that our warnings and suggestions are incorrect or irrelevant
So we gather around him
We attempted one last effort to convince him to change course
And everyone stood around him
All the crew members came together to support and persuade him
Oh, but he should have listened
The captain should have taken our warnings seriously
To the will of the people
To the collective wisdom and consensus of the crew
It's the will of the people
The majority of the crew members agreed that the captain should change course
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Paul James McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind