How Venus Inspired a Paul McCartney Song
A Paul McCartney song can draw influence from numerous things. He has written multiple songs that reference the planet Venus. During an interview, Paul told Taylor Swift how the planet inspired one of those songs. The song in question appeared on one of Paul’s No. 1 albums.
A Paul McCartney song was inspired by a book discussing Venus
In a 2020 Rolling Stone article, Paul and Swift interviewed each other. Paul explained his songwriting process. “Sometimes I’ll just be inspired by something,” he said. “I had a little book which was all about the constellations and the stars and the orbits of Venus.”
Swift revealed she knew the song in question. It was “The Kiss of Venus” from the 2020 album McCartney III. Swift must be a big fan of Paul’s if she’s listening to his recent solo work. Paul didn’t even try to adapt to modern trends with “The Kiss of Venus,” as it recalls “Here Comes the Sun,” The Beatles’ folky ode to nature, but with a Baroque bridge straight out of “In My Life.” The Beatles disbanded in 1970, but their style has cast a long shadow on Paul’s career.
Paul revealed he was taken with the phrase “the kiss of Venus” from the book. “I just thought, ‘That’s a nice phrase,'” he said. “So I was actually just taking phrases out of the book, harmonic sounds.” Paul has a history of writing tunes about the planet Venus, as he also referenced it in the track “Venus and Mars”/”Rock Show” from Wings’ album Venus and Mars. The main difference between the two songs is that “Venus and Mars”/”Rock Show” has a lot more energy.
The former Beatle explained why Venus is fascinating
Paul gave fans more insight into the book that inspired “The Kiss of Venus.” “And the book is talking about the maths of the universe, and how when things orbit around each other, and if you trace all the patterns, it becomes like a lotus flower,” he explained. Swift revealed she took a similar approach to songs from her album Folklore, drawing inspiration from phrases in Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and other books.
Swift said there is something magical about Paul’s approach to songwriting. “I definitely relate to needing to find magical things in this very not-magical time, needing to read more books and learn to sew, and watch movies that take place hundreds of years ago,” she opined. “In a time where, if you look at the news, you just want to have a panic attack — I really relate to the idea that you are thinking about stars and constellations.”
How Paul McCartney’s song and its parent album performed on the pop charts
“The Kiss of Venus” was never a single. It didn’t chart on the Billboard Hot 100. McCartney III was a different story. That album climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on that chart for four weeks.
According to The Official Charts Company, “The Kiss of Venus” didn’t chart in the United Kingdom either. There, McCartney III topped the chart for a single week. It lasted on the chart for three weeks in total.
Venus has had a huge influence on many artists and Paul is one of them.
