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.
I'm Partial to Your Abracadabra
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm raptured by the joy of it all
So stop me where you start
The cockles of his heart
The panties sends it right up the wall
Please, please, stop it, it likes it
Tickles it to death either way
To drive it round the twist
The call of nature must be obeyed
Glad it's over, but this is worse
Could hardly say it had been coerced
Stop it 'cause it likes it, it's worse
I'm partial to your abracadabra
The unforeseen erogenous zones
Stop, it insists
Slap it with your wrists
It likes it when you leave it alone
There's been a manifestation
Nature made it answer the call
It simply can't resist
Boots and pants like this
Abracadabra for all
Glad that's over, but this is worse
Roll it over, too perverse
Stop it 'cause it likes it, it's worse
I'm partial to your abracadabra
I'm partial to your abracadabra
I'm partial to your abracadabra
I'm partial to your abracadabra
I'm partial to your abracadabra
I'm partial to your abracadabra
I'm partial to your abracadabra
I'm partial to your abracadabra
"I'm Partial to Your Abracadabra" by Paul McCartney is a whimsical song that plays with wordplay and innuendos. In this song, McCartney is singing about being enamored by a woman's "abracadabra," which could metaphorically refer to her charm or sexual prowess. He seems to be enjoying the feeling of being captivated by her, as he mentions being "raptured by the joy of it all." McCartney uses several euphemisms throughout the song, such as "the call of nature," "lovely boots," and "erogenous zones," which emphasize the playful and lighthearted nature of the song.
The chorus of the song has the main catchphrase, "Stop it 'cause it likes it, it's worse," which could imply that McCartney is welcome to the woman's advances and might enjoy them, but he's also aware of the potentially adverse consequences. The last verse of the song introduces a manifestation that "nature made" that seems unavoidable and has to be obeyed. The song's overall message is that sometimes people are attracted to things that might not be entirely beneficial, but they accept them anyway because of their compelling nature.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm partial to your abracadabra
I am infatuated with the way you work your magic in bed
I'm raptured by the joy of it all
I am overwhelmed with pleasure and ecstasy
So stop me where you start
Don't hold back and let's get started
The cockles of his heart
His deepest desires
The panties sends it right up the wall
The mere thought of it arouses him to the point of losing control
Please, please, stop it, it likes it
Even though it may seem like he wants it to stop, he really wants more
Tickles it to death either way
Any touch, even a light one, sends shivers down his spine
These lovely boots exist
The boots are a metaphor for something that excites him sexually
To drive it round the twist
To push him over the edge of sexual pleasure
The call of nature must be obeyed
His sexual impulses cannot be suppressed
Glad it's over, but this is worse
He may have thought he was satisfied before but now his desires have intensified
Could hardly say it had been coerced
He doesn't feel like he's being forced into anything
Stop it 'cause it likes it, it's worse
The more he enjoys it, the harder it is to control
The unforeseen erogenous zones
Unexpected areas on his body that cause sexual arousal
Stop, it insists
His body craves more even if he tries to stop it
Slap it with your wrists
Aggressive actions turn him on even more
It likes it when you leave it alone
Sometimes less is more when it comes to sexual pleasure
There's been a manifestation
Something has physically appeared due to sexual stimulation
Nature made it answer the call
His body is responding to natural sexual urges
Boots and pants like this
The specific clothing items that turn him on
Abracadabra for all
Sexual pleasure is a magical experience
Roll it over, too perverse
He's willing to try anything at this point, even things that may be seen as taboo
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHAZ JANKEL, IAN ROBINS DURY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind