Paul McCartney to Publish Lyrical Biography 900 Pages Long

The Beatles are arguably the biggest band to have ever taken the stage, and interest in their music has shown no sign of slowing down despite the fact its been almost half a century since they officially called it a day. As the last founding member of the band left alive, Paul McCartney stands as an icon in music history and fans of his work will be interested to learn he plans to publish a lyrical autobiography that he describes “as close to an autobiography” as he “may ever come”.

Entitled The Lyrics, the book will come in two volumes and will be over 900 pages long and will examine the inspiration and background of over 100 of McCartney’s songs, based on conversations he had with the poet Paul Muldoon. Set to be released later this year on 2 November, The Lyrics is described as a “self-portrait in 154 songs”. Publisher Allen Lane called it “a kaleidoscopic rather than chronological account” of the musician’s life, and spans the bassist’s earliest compositions as a teenager, through to his career with The Beatles, as well as his solo albums and recent releases. The Lyrics covers “the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what [McCartney] thinks of them now”.

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

“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.”

Muldoon, who also edited the book, said: “Sir Paul and I met regularly over a period of five years for two or three hour sessions in which we talked in a very intensive way about the background to a half dozen songs. In a strange way, our process mimicked the afternoon sessions he had with John Lennon when they wrote for the Beatles. We were determined never to leave the room without something interesting.”

The upcoming book will also include material from McCartney’s personal archive, including previously unseen drafts, photographs, and letters. “We learn intimately about the man, the creative process, the working out of melodies, the moments of inspiration,” the publisher said.

McCartney said he hopes the book will “show people something about my songs and my life which they haven’t seen before. I’ve tried to say something about how the music happens and what it means to me and I hope what it may mean to others too.”