Paul McCartney Shares Unreleased Beatles Lyrics in New Book

Paul McCartney’s upcoming book “The Lyrics,” out Nov. 2, will feature 154 lyrics to songs, from 1956 to the present, some of which have never been heard by the public before, including an unrecorded track titled “Tell Me Who He Is.”

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Described by McCartney as a “self-portrait in 154 songs,” the book of lyrics, arranged alphabetically, will be accompanied with the stories behind each song, how it was written and more commentary from McCartney on what he thinks of the tracks today. The book also spans McCartney’s earlier songs written when he was a child, his time with The Beatles, Wings, and through on his solo albums and the present.

News of the book comes one month after the Beatles docuseries, McCartney, 3, 2, 1 aired on Hulu, which features McCartney, who recently released his 18th solo album McCartney III, sharing details about his life with The Beatles in a candid conversation with producer Rick Rubin.  

“The Lyrics” will also be accompanied by a display in the British Library from Nov. 5 to March 13, which will coincide with the release of the upcoming Peter Jackson-helmed Beatles documentary, The Beatles: Get Back, out on Thanksgiving.

“More often than I can count, I’ve been asked if I would write an autobiography, but the time has never been right,” writes McCartney in the foreword. “The one thing I’ve always managed to do, whether at home or on the road, is to write new songs.”

McCartney adds, “I know that some people, when they get to a certain age, like to go to a diary to recall day-to-day events from the past, but I have no such notebooks. What I do have are my songs, hundreds of them, which I’ve learned serve much the same purpose. And these songs span my entire life.”

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View the Sept/Oct 2021 Digital Edition feat. Thomas Rhett