A new podcast series featuring Paul McCartney being interviewed about his songwriting, titled McCartney: A Life in Lyrics, premiered this week, and the first two episodes can be heard now at Pushkin.fm, and on various popular streaming services.
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The series was inspired by McCartney’s 2021 New York Times bestselling book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, which features profiles of 154 songs written by the former Beatles star. The podcast incorporates audio interviews that McCartney did with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon that served as the basis for the book.
Each episode focuses on one specific song, with Muldoon serving as the series’ hosts and playing clips of his conversations with McCartney discussing the various aspects of and stories behind the tune.
The first two episodes profile the classic Beatles songs “Eleanor Rigby” and “Back in the USSR.”
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With regard to “Eleanor Rigby,” which first appeared on The Beatles’ 1996 album Revolver, McCartney discusses how the song was partly inspired by his experience as a Boy Scout when he would offer to do odd jobs for elderly people around his community.
McCartney also shared his recollection about how he came up with the names of the song’s main characters, and revealed that famed Beat poet Allen Ginsberg once gave him a thumbs-up with regard to the lyrics.
“I knew Ginsberg quite well, and he edited some of my poems,” McCartney recalled, adding that Ginsberg didn’t feel the need to edit “Eleanor Rigby,” which he said “was a great poem.”
As for the music of “Eleanor Rigby,” which features a string quartert, McCartney noted that it was influenced by his appreciation of Bach. He also explained that the sharp, repetitive strings that Beatles producer George Martin added to the track were inspired by Bernard Herrmann’s score for the Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1960 horror film Psycho.
In the “Back in the USSR” episode, McCartney talked about how the song, which appeared on The Beatles’ 1968 self-titled double album, a.k.a. The White Album, took a comical, subversive look at the West’s perception of the Soviet Union as a bleak, oppressive place.
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McCartney also discussed how the musical and lyrical influences of Chuck Berry and The Beach Boys were integrated into the song.
In addition, McCartney lamented that “Back in the USSR” has become somewhat dated, because many younger people don’t understand some of the references since the breakup of the Soviet Union decades ago.
Two 12-episode seasons of McCartney: A Life in Lyrics are planned, with new episodes of the first season premiering in weekly installments. The series also will air on U.S. radio stations as broadcast specials starting October 8.
In addition, the entire first season of the podcast series is available now to subscribers to the Pushkin+ service.
Meanwhile, a paperback version of The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present will be released on November 7.
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