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.
This One
Paul McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Look you in the eye, tell you that I do,
Did I ever open up my heart
And let you look inside.
If I never did it, I was only waiting
For a better moment that didn't come.
There never could be a better moment
The swan is gliding above the ocean,
A god is riding upon his back,
How calm the water and bright the rainbow
Fade this one to black.
Did I ever touch you on the cheek
Say that you were mine, thank you for the smile,
Did I ever knock upon your door
And try to get inside?
If I never did it, I was only waiting
For a better moment that didn't come.
There never could be a better moment
Than this one, this one.
The swan is gliding above the ocean,
A god is riding upon his back,
How calm the water and bright the rainbow
Fade this swan to black.
What opportunities did we allow to flow by
Feeling like like the timing wasn't quite right?
What kind of magic might have worked if we had stayed calm,
Couldn't I have given you a better life?
Did you ever take me in your arms,
Look me in the eye, tell me that you do?
Did I ever open up my heart,
Let you look inside?
If I never did it, I was only waiting
For a better moment that didn't come.
There never could be a better moment
Than this one, this one.
The swan is gliding above the ocean,
A god is riding upon his back,
How calm the water and bright the rainbow
Fade this swan to black
In "This One," Paul McCartney asks if he and his lover ever truly showed their love for one another. He wonders if he ever held her in his arms, looked her in the eye, and said "I do," or if he ever let her look inside his heart. He admits that if he never did these things, it was only because he was waiting for the perfect moment, which never came. However, he realizes that there is never a better time than now to express his love for her.
The imagery in the song is beautiful, with the swan gliding above the ocean and a god riding on its back. However, even this beautiful moment fades eventually. McCartney questions the opportunities they may have missed because they felt the timing wasn't right, and wonders if they could have had a better life if they had just stayed calm and let the magic happen at the right moment.
The chorus of the song repeats the idea that there is never a better moment than this one. McCartney wants to seize the opportunity to show his love and make a change in their lives. He ends the song by asking if she ever held him in her arms and looked into his eyes, or if she ever opened up her heart to let him inside.
Overall, "This One" is a tender love song filled with beautiful imagery and a powerful message about seizing the moment and expressing your love.
Line by Line Meaning
Did I ever take you in my arms,
Have I ever held you in my arms?
Look you in the eye, tell you that I do,
Have I ever expressed my love for you directly and sincerely?
Did I ever open up my heart
Have I ever shared my true feelings with you?
And let you look inside.
Did I ever let you really know who I am?
If I never did it, I was only waiting
If I haven't done these things, it's because I was waiting for the right moment.
For a better moment that didn't come.
But that right moment never seemed to arrive.
There never could be a better moment
However, this very moment is the best one we have now.
Than this one, this one.
So let's not waste it.
The swan is gliding above the ocean,
Here, we see a beautiful image of nature.
A god is riding upon his back,
It's almost as if there is divine intervention in this moment.
How calm the water and bright the rainbow
The scene is peaceful and serene, with a bright rainbow in the background.
Fade this one to black.
But this moment, just like everything else, will eventually come to an end.
What opportunities did we allow to flow by
Reflecting on our past, we wonder what chances we missed.
Feeling like the timing wasn't quite right?
Perhaps we both felt like things weren't quite aligned for us yet.
What kind of magic might have worked if we had stayed calm,
But if we had remained patient and level-headed, what wonderful things might have happened?
Couldn't I have given you a better life?
It's possible that I could have provided you with a happier existence.
Did you ever take me in your arms,
Did you ever hold me in your embrace?
Look me in the eye, tell me that you do?
Did you ever look into my eyes and declare your love for me?
Did I ever open up my heart,
Did I ever share my true self with you?
Let you look inside?
Did I ever allow you to truly get to know me?
The swan is gliding above the ocean,
Once again, we see the image of the beautiful swan.
A god is riding upon his back,
And once again, we are reminded of the possibility of divine intervention.
How calm the water and bright the rainbow
The water is still calm and the rainbow remains vibrant.
Fade this swan to black.
But just like before, we know that this peaceful moment will eventually end.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: PAUL MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind