Paul McCartney Reveals How He Comes Up With Titles for Songs
Paul McCartney has written many iconic songs in his music career. These songs often have memorable harmonies and titles but also contain unforgettable titles. Many of his most famous titles include “Hey Jude,” “Yesterday,” “Live and Let Die,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” and “Band on the Run.” McCartney does have a unique way for coming up with song titles, which could explain why he is a music pioneer.
Paul McCartney begins with music during his songwriting process
In an interview with NPR, McCartney discussed his songwriting process. The former Beatle said he always starts by fumbling around with his guitar or piano to find a chord and melody he likes. Once he discovers the music, he finds some words or a quick phrase that starts the writing process.
“I’d either sit down with a guitar or at the piano and just look for melodies, chord shapes, musical phrases, some words, a thought just to get started with. And then I just sit with it to work it out, like I’m writing an essay or doing a crossword puzzle. That’s the system I’ve always used, that John [Lennon] and I started with. I’ve really never found a better system and that system is just playing the guitar and looking for something that suggests a melody and perhaps some words if you’re lucky. Then I just fiddle around with that and try and follow the trail, try and follow where it appears to be leading me. And sometimes it leads me down a blind alley so I have to retrace my steps and start again down another road.”
One example of this is “Yesterday.” McCartney said he discovered the tune for the song while asleep and found it on his guitar once he woke up. He then used nonsense words such as “scrambled eggs” to keep the tune registered in his mind.
Paul McCartney finds titles for songs once the song is complete
In an interview with his website, Paulmccartney.com, Paul McCartney discussed how he finds titles for his songs. The British artist shared that he typically finds the title once the song is finished. He goes through the lyrics and chooses the title he believes is the most obvious.
“You just sort of look at it and think, ‘Oh, that’s probably the title’. So then you just call it that,” McCartney explained. “There’s normally something you’ve made into a chorus that you’ve repeated a couple of times, so it seems obvious that that is the title. Sometimes there are a few choices: you can either go with that obvious one, or you can go with the first line sometimes. But I normally go with the one that seems most obvious because I’ll remember it easiest, and hopefully, other people will too!”
McCartney still isn’t fully confident in his songwriting ability
Despite writing hundreds of songs with The Beatles and as a solo artist, McCartney still isn’t fully confident with his songwriting abilities. He stated that there is never a point in songwriting where one knows what they’re doing. Every song begins from square one and it is always a fluid process.
“There is no sort of point you just think, ‘Okay, now I can do it, I’ll just sit down and do it.’ It’s a little more fluid than that,” McCartney told NPR. “You talk to people who make records or albums and you always go into the studio thinking, ‘Oh, well I know this! I’ve got a lot of stuff down, you know, I write.’ And then you realize that you’re doing it all over again you’re starting from square one again. You’ve never got it down. It’s this fluid thing, music. I kind of like that. I wouldn’t like to be blasé or think, ‘Oh you know I know how to do this.’”
