Both in and out of The Beatles, Paul McCartney wrote quite a few of the greatest pop and rock songs of all time. And some of those gems were written in a short amount of time, from “Yesterday” to “Somedays”. Another song, though, that remains an underrated gem, is “Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me)”. That song was written by Macca in less than two hours, and I think it deserves way more love today.
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“Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me)” can be found on Paul McCartney and Wings’ legendary 1973 album Band On The Run. The title track of that album, plus a few other tracks, tend to steal all the attention. “Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me)” is an underrated gem hidden on that record, was actually the result of a personal challenge. In an interview on Aspel & Company in 1984, McCartney broke down why he wrote the lovely rock tune in less than two hours.
The Underrated Brilliance of Paul McCartney’s Quick-Written Tune, “Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me)”
The story goes that while vacationing in Jamaica around 1973, McCartney had dinner with famed actor Dustin Hoffman. Over dinner, the two began talking about songwriting. Hoffman asked McCartney if he was naturally able to write songs quickly, “like Marvin Hamlisch.” When McCartney said that wasn’t really his style, Hoffman presented him with a challenge.
Hoffman handed him a copy of Time magazine, which featured an article on the late artist Pablo Picasso. Picasso’s last words were allegedly told to guests at his home the night before he passed, which can be translated from Spanish as “Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can’t drink anymore.”
Hoffman asked McCartney if he could come up with a song off of that prompt. According to McCartney, he started riffing some words of what would eventually be the song’s melody. Hoffman “hit the ceiling” and gushed over the singer.
“He’s doing it!” Hoffman allegedly shouted. “This is it! Look at this! Hey!”
McCartney’s moment of showing off ended up leading to turn that dinner table demo into a fully-fledged song, one that took only two hours to complete. “Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me)” didn’t get released as a single, but it did make it to Band On The Run. Despite being the longest song on the record, I don’t think it gets as much love as it should. The tune also featured Denny Laine on vocals and Ginger Baker (of Cream) on percussion.
Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images
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