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.
Suicide
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To know quite a lot of you
And in the main
You're pretty sane, it's true
But there are a few who do to
Doo ti doo too beautiful a job
It isn't quite what they planned
When the man gets the upper hand
I'd call it suicide
If when she tries to run away
And he calls her back, she comes
If there's a next time, he's okay
'Cause she's under both his thumbs
She limps along to his side
Singing a song of ruin I'd
Bet he says nothin' doin'
I-I-I-I I'd call it suicide
She loves to ride in big parades
But he wouldn't so she won't
She needs at least a dozen maids
But if he says no she don't
He wishes she knew his side
Soon there'll be trouble brewin' I'd
Bet he says nothin' doin'
I-I-I-I I'd call it suicide
Suicide, she's commitin' it
Suicide, he's not gettin' it
Suicide, it's a quittin' a day
She limps along to his side
Singing a song of ruin I'd
Bet he says nothin' doin'
I-I-I-I I'd call it suicide
The lyrics of Paul McCartney's song Suicide reflect on the struggles of some women in oppressive relationships. He begins the song by acknowledging that he has known a lot of girls, and most of them are sane. However, he notes that there are few women who do a beautiful job, which isn't quite what they had planned. These women try to run away from their oppressive partners, but every time he calls them back, and they come back to him. If there's a next time, he's okay, and she's under his thumbs. McCartney metaphorically calls this situation a suicide because the woman is willingly going back to the oppressor even though it's a destructive decision.
The next verse talks about how the woman loves to ride in big parades, but he wouldn't let her, so she won't. She needs a dozen maids, but if he says no, she doesn't. He wishes that she knew his side, and soon there'll be trouble brewing. McCartney once again calls this suicide, indicating that the woman is killing herself by giving up her freedom and surrendering herself to an oppressive partner.
Line by Line Meaning
Girls it's been my pleasure
I have enjoyed many experiences with women
To know quite a lot of you
I have met and gotten to know many women
And in the main
Generally speaking
You're pretty sane, it's true
Most of you are mentally stable
But there are a few who do to
However, there are some who
Doo ti doo too beautiful a job
Are too good at putting up a facade
It isn't quite what they planned
Their relationships are not what they thought they would be
When the man gets the upper hand
When the man gains control
He's takin' her for a ride
He is manipulating her
I'd call it suicide
It is self-destructive behavior
If when she tries to run away
If she attempts to escape from him
And he calls her back, she comes
And he convinces her to return to him
If there's a next time, he's okay
If this happens again, he will be fine with it
'Cause she's under both his thumbs
Because he has complete control over her
She limps along to his side
She stays with him even though it hurts her
Singing a song of ruin I'd
Expressing her sorrow and regret
Bet he says nothin' doin'
He will not care about her feelings
I-I-I-I I'd call it suicide
This is self-destructive behavior
She loves to ride in big parades
She enjoys attention and admiration
But he wouldn't so she won't
But the man does not approve, so she refrains from it
She needs at least a dozen maids
She is high maintenance and requires a lot of help
But if he says no she don't
But if the man disapproves, she will not have them
He wishes she knew his side
He wants her to see things from his perspective
Soon there'll be trouble brewin' I'd
Conflict will arise soon
Bet he says nothin' doin'
He will not listen to her or try to solve their problems
I-I-I-I I'd call it suicide
This is self-destructive behavior
Suicide, she's commitin' it
She is harming herself in this relationship
Suicide, he's not gettin' it
The man does not understand or acknowledge the harm he is causing
Suicide, it's a quittin' a day
This is a day for ending this relationship
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PAUL MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
leah d
Girls it's been my pleasure
To know quite a lot of you
And in the main
You're pretty sane, it's true
But there are a few who do to
Doo ti doo too beautiful a job
It isn't quite what they planned
When the man gets the upper hand
He's takin' her for a ride
I'd call it suicide
If when she tries to run away
And he calls her back, she comes
If there's a next time, he's okay
'Cause she's under both his thumbs
She limps along to his side
Singing a song of ruin I'd
Bet he says nothin' doin'
I-I-I-I I'd call it suicide
She loves to ride in big parades
But he wouldn't so she won't
She needs at least a dozen maids
But if he says no she don't
He wishes she knew his side
Soon there'll be trouble brewin' I'd
Bet he says nothin' doin'
I-I-I-I I'd call it suicide
Suicide, she's commitin' it
Suicide, he's not gettin' it
Suicide, it's a quittin' a day
She limps along to his side
Singing a song of ruin I'd
Bet he says nothin' doin'
I-I-I-I I'd call it suicide
-paul mccartney
Christopher A.
He threw this song away? Man's a genius. And he wrote it at 14.
Ranger foot
He made this song for Frank Sinatra and he never used it
Cubarss Beatles Fan
its first Paul Mccartney song he composed this song with old piano in his childhood house
Christopher A.
@Guillermo Rodríguez Moreno I get the sense he wrote the tune when he was 14 but the lyrics developed over time.
Guillermo Rodríguez Moreno
He wrote it when he was 14?
blah blah bleee blahh
This is honestly his best take of this track.
Richard Starrkey
I think of this song every day.
Brynjar Huser
Hope you are doing all right Richard. Love from Kalbakken
Halee Young
Richard Starrkey me too but there is NO INSTRUMENTALS it makes me so angry
GhettoAhki
I'm 35 grew up on hip hop listened to the Beatles in my early-mid 20s. It's been 10 years since I heard this song but something made me think about it and only thing I could remember from this song was the word "Suicide".
Weird how life is