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.
Only Love Remains
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm only going to want it back.
I'll probably pretend I didn't see,
But knowing me, I'll want you back again, and again
'Til the word has lost it's meaning,
And love is all that stays. only love remains.
If you should ever feel that something's wrong,
To bring a happy ending to our song,
I'll carry on believing in a love.
If your love was to trickle through my fingers,
What would it leave me with?
Only love remains.
Only love
Old enough and strong enough to stretch across the world.
Taking the sand inside an oyster, changing it into a pearl.
Making another magic transformation,
Find the right boy for the right girl.
When all our friends have gone away and we're alone,
There's nothing left to show about,
Together we'll explore the great unknown.
I'd say we won't be going out tonight,
Let tonight be the one that we remember,
When love is all that stays,
Only love remains
Only love remains
In the song “Only Love Remains,” Paul McCartney sings of the power of love and how it endures even when everything else seems to fade away. He sings about wanting love back even if it's gone, and how he'll carry on believing in love even if it's not there. He knows that love is all that really matters, and that it's the one thing that truly stays. The song speaks to the idea that love is the most important thing we can have, and that it can transcend all boundaries.
The lyrics in the chorus, “Only love remains”, highlight the notion that love is the one thing that stays with us throughout our lives. We may lose material possessions, friends, and family, but love is something that endures. When everything else is gone, love is what remains. The verse “If your love was to trickle through my fingers, What would it leave me with? Only love remains” further emphasises this idea. Even if love is separated or broken, it is still an important part of our lives, and it is something that we will always cherish.
In the final verse, McCartney sings about being strong enough to weather any storm with the power of love. He is talking about love's ability to transform and make things right, like turning sand into a pearl. Together, even in our darkest moments, we can find joy and meaning in love. The song leaves the listener with a sense of hope and optimism, that love will always be there to guide and comfort us.
Line by Line Meaning
And if you take your love away from me,
In the event that you decide to end our relationship,
I'm only going to want it back.
I will inevitably long to rekindle our love.
I'll probably pretend I didn't see,
I may try to ignore my desire for your love.
But knowing me, I'll want you back again, and again
However, I am aware that I will not be able to resist my feelings for you.
'Til the word has lost it's meaning,
Until the term love becomes meaningless over time.
And love is all that stays. only love remains.
In the end, the only thing that will endure is the love that we have shared together.
If you should ever feel that something's wrong,
If you feel that our relationship is in trouble,
I'm going to want to put it right,
I will do everything in my power to make it right.
To bring a happy ending to our song,
To ensure that our love story concludes on a positive note,
I'll carry on believing in a love.
I will remain hopeful about our love for each other.
If your love was to trickle through my fingers,
If you were to fall out of love with me,
What would it leave me with?
What would remain for me after the love has gone?
Only love remains.
The only thing that will endure is the love that we have shared.
Old enough and strong enough to stretch across the world.
Our love is mature and robust enough to span the globe.
Taking the sand inside an oyster, changing it into a pearl.
Our love has the power to transform something insignificant and ordinary into something precious and unique.
Making another magic transformation,
Our love is powerful enough to initiate another significant change.
Find the right boy for the right girl.
Our love is capable of connecting the perfect partners together.
When all our friends have gone away and we're alone,
When we find ourselves abandoned by our companions, and we are together,
There's nothing left to show about,
There is nothing more that we need to worry about.
Together we'll explore the great unknown.
We will explore the mysteries of the world together as one unit.
I'd say we won't be going out tonight,
I would suggest that we stay in tonight,
Let tonight be the one that we remember,
Let us make a memorable night tonight,
When love is all that stays,
When love is the only thing that endures,
Only love remains
The love that we share is the only thing that will persist.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: PAUL MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind