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.
Nobody Knows
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Which one of you can tell me
What is is I'm looking at
Anyone who can
Has got to be a crazy cat
'cause I believe that
That nobody knows, no nobody knows
Lord I cannot tell you
Well that's the way I like it
Yeah now, nobody knows
Nobody knows
Oh, nobody knows
Well lord you know that nobody knows
Samson and Delilah would have made a crazy pair
If the silly woman hadn't shaven off his hair
I believe that nobody knows, yeah, nobody knows
But that's the way I like it
Yeah now, nobody knows
That's the way I like it, nobody knows
I may go hungry, maybe next week
Well if I do then I'll still find something to eat
And you know, nobody knows, no nobody knows
Well that's the way I like it, baby, nobody knows
And that includes you, honey (nobody knows)
I'll pay your rent
I'll do you right (nobody knows)
Most every night
But still there's nobody knows
No now, nobody knows
And that's the way I like to keep it
Just so nobody knows
The lyrics to Paul McCartney’s song “Nobody Knows” seem to be about a sense of mystery and the unknowable nature of the world. McCartney seems to be exploring the idea that there are some things in life that nobody can fully understand or explain, no matter how hard they try. The refrain, “nobody knows, no nobody knows,” emphasizes this point, suggesting that even those who claim to have all the answers are ultimately no more certain than anyone else. The line “Which one of you can tell me / What it is I’m looking at” seems to speak to the idea that perception is subjective and that the truth is often a matter of perspective. McCartney hints at the absurdity of trying to make sense of the world, noting that anyone who claims to know for sure “has got to be a crazy cat.”
The second verse of the song takes a more narrative turn, referencing the Biblical story of Samson and Delilah. This reinforces the idea that people have always struggled to understand the inscrutable forces at work in the world, and that even timeless stories and myths can’t provide all the answers. The repeated refrain of “that’s the way I like it” is a bit of a puzzle, as it seems to contradict the overall sense of bewilderment that the rest of the song is exploring. It’s possible that McCartney is reveling in the sense of mystery and uncertainty that he finds in the world, or that he’s suggesting that the quest for knowledge and understanding is ultimately futile and that it’s better to embrace the unknown.
Line by Line Meaning
That nobody knows, no nobody knows
There is no one who knows the answer.
Which one of you can tell me
I am looking for someone who has the answer.
What is it I'm looking at
I am searching for something, but I don't know what it is.
Anyone who can
If someone is able to tell me, I will ask them.
Has got to be a crazy cat
The person who can answer me must be insane.
'Cause I believe that
I think that no one has the answer.
Yeah, nobody knows, no
No one has the answer.
Lord I cannot tell you
I don't know the answer myself.
Well that's the way I like it
I prefer not knowing the answer.
Samson and Delilah would have made a crazy pair
If Samson hadn't been bald, he and Delilah would have been a strange match.
If the silly woman hadn't shaven off his hair
If Delilah hadn't cut off Samson's hair, they would have been more compatible.
I believe that nobody knows, yeah, nobody knows
No one really knows what could have been if Samson hadn't been bald.
I may go hungry, maybe next week
I might face hunger in the future.
Well if I do then I'll still find something to eat
Even if I'm hungry, I'll be resourceful and find food.
And you know, nobody knows, no nobody knows
No one can predict the future, including me.
Well that's the way I like it, baby, nobody knows
I like not knowing the future because it is full of surprises.
And that includes you, honey (nobody knows)
No one, including my loved ones, has the power to see the future.
I'll pay your rent
I will take care of you financially.
I'll do you right (nobody knows)
I will treat you well in our relationship, but we can't know what the future holds.
Most every night
I will treat you well most of the time.
But still there's nobody knows
Even in a loving relationship, we can't know what the future holds.
No now, nobody knows
No one knows what we will face in the future.
And that's the way I like to keep it
I like the unpredictability of the future.
Just so nobody knows
I prefer to keep the uncertainty of the future a mystery to maintain excitement and surprise.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PAUL MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind