Paul McCartney knows how to whip up a pop song like it’s the easiest thing ever. As such, he’s written plenty of material to fill up gaps in albums, without much concern for the song’s quality. Not like he needs to be concerned. Everything the man puts out is either a hit or becomes a retrospective cult classic years later. Let’s look at just three songs penned by McCartney that were considered “throwaways” despite being so darn good.
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“Her Majesty” by The Beatles (1969)
This Abbey Road track was, according to McCartney, a “joke” that was, in a way, “like a love song to the Queen.” The track only features Paul McCartney’s lead vocal and an acoustic guitar, and it pops up as a “hidden” track on the album, 20 seconds after “The End” wraps up. The original album sleeve didn’t list the song either, leading many music historians to believe “Her Majesty” is one of the original hidden tracks. It’s been described by many critics as a “throwaway” song, and I think that’s apt. But it’s still a fun little tune in retrospect.
“Wild Honey Pie” by The Beatles (1968)
Remember this short and sweet gem from The Beatles’ self-titled 1968 album? “Wild Honey Pie” was written by McCartney while the band was studying transcendental meditation in Rishikesh, India. Six months later, the band gathered to record it while they were “in experimental mode,” per McCartney. It’s less than a minute long and more or less includes Paul McCartney shrieking “honey pie” over and over while tracks (recorded by McCartney as well) play the acoustic guitar, bass drum, harpsichord, and tom drum. There’s little in the way of melody or even harmony. McCartney said that the band was unsure of whether or not to include the strange little tune on the album. Ultimately, Pattie Boyd, George Harrison’s wife, liked the tune, so it was tacked onto the album.
“Great Day” by Paul McCartney (1997)
“Great Day” can be found on Flaming Pie, Paul McCartney’s 1997 solo venture. The song was originally written by McCartney as a fun song he and his wife, Linda, would sing to their children. McCartney ended up recording the song years before sessions for Flaming Pie began, sometime in the early 1990s. “Great Day” would end up being the album’s closer, and a fine one at that. And according to McCartney, he was trying to do something similar with “Great Day” as he once did with “Her Majesty”.
“This is here to balance the ‘big-ness’ of the previous track, following on from ‘Beautiful Night’ in the way that ‘Her Majesty’ came after ‘The End’ on ‘Abbey Road’,” said McCartney.
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