The Paul McCartney Song He Says Is Now ‘a Little Bit Embarrassing’ Because He Has Grandkids

Paul McCartney has mostly abstained from including any explicit material in his music. However, many of his songs, including ones he wrote for The Beatles, include indirect references to drugs and sex. One song Paul McCartney made during his time with Wings he says is a “bit embarrassing” now because he has grandkids. 

‘Hi, Hi, Hi’ was banned by the BBC

“Hi, Hi, Hi” is a song performed by Paul McCartney and Wings and was released in 1972 as the double A-side single with “C Moon.” The song contains more overt references to sex and drugs as McCartney says, “We’re gonna get Hi Hi Hi” and “Yes, I go like a rabbit, gonna grab it.” The BBC banned the song, believing the lyrics were too crude. However, that may have backfired. In a 1974 Rolling Stone interview, McCartney said the ban only made it more fun to play live. 

“Yeah, well, the great laugh is when we go live, it makes a great announcement,” McCartney said. “You can say ‘This one was banned!’ and everyone goes “Hooray!” The audience love it, you know. “This next one was banned,” and then you get raving because everyone likes to. Everyone’s a bit anti-all-that-banning, all that censorship. Our crew, our generation, really doesn’t dig that stuff, as I’m sure you know.”

This is not the first McCartney track to get banned as the BBC banned many Beatles’ tracks, including “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” “I Am the Walrus,” and “A Day in the Life.”

Paul McCartney says the song is ‘embarrassing’ now because he has grandkids

Paul McCartney has eight grandkids and likes to be referred to as “Grandude.” In an interview with GQ, he discussed how “Hi, Hi, Hi, is a “little bit embarrassing” now because his grandchildren hear him sing about getting high. He mentioned that when he performs the song live now, he likes to add in a lyric to make the track more family-friendly. 

“You know, a lot of people were getting high. So, to me, it’s just like a fantasy song.‘Hey girl, c’mon. Let’s get high,’” McCartney explained. “Now, I must admit, it can get a little bit embarrassing ‘cause I’ve got grandkids, and there’s me going, ‘Yeah, let’s everybody get high.’ So, when we’re doing it live, I kinda go, ‘Let’s get high…on life.’ A little bit of a disclaimer there. At the time, it was about the times and multicolored band. It’s very much a period piece, but it goes down well.”

‘Hi, Hi, Hi’ still became a top 10 hit

Despite being banned, “Hi, Hi, Hi” was a hit for Macca and Wings. The song peaked at No. 5 in the U.K. and No. 10 in the U.S. In Spain, the song reached No. 1 on the charts. The song was later included on the compilation album Wingspan: Hits and History as a bonus track and on a 2018 reissue of Red Rose Speedway. 

Fortunately for Paul McCartney, there are plenty of appropriate songs he can introduce to his grandkids that won’t be embarrassing.