The latest episode of the McCartney: A Life in Lyrics podcast profiles Paul McCartney’s humorously macabre 1970 Beatles song, “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.” The tune tells the story of insane medical student Maxwell Edison, who goes on a murder spree with a hammer.
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During the program, narrator Paul Muldoon points out that the other Beatles weren’t fond of the tune, and that drummer Ringo Starr had even once said it was the worst song the band had ever recorded. Muldoon then suggests that the band members’ disdain for the song may have had more to do with how much time they had to spend in the studio to get the track sounding the way McCartney wanted it.
“I was very keen on it. It took a little bit long to record,” McCartney shared. “I remember the guys getting p—ed with me. Occasionally, I, in particular, would take too long, ’cause I was trying to get what was in my head.”
McCartney explained that regardless of their disagreements, he and his bandmates generally enjoyed working together in the studio.
“Recording sessions were always good, because no matter what our personal troubles were, no matter what was sort of going down, the minute we sat down to make a song, we were good,” he maintained. “Our sort of skills came out. And so, I think we all enjoyed being in this little skillful company, where Ringo would do that, and George [Harrison] would play that, and John [Lennon] would do that, which was slightly more eccentric, and I would do that on bass or piano or whatever. So there was a great joy in that.”
More About “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”
“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” appeared on The Beatles’ 1969 studio album Abbey Road. In the podcast, McCartney said he inspired to write the song after hearing a radio production of “Ubu Cocu,” an 1897 play by the absurdist French author Alfred Jarry.
McCartney noted that story told in the song may be grisly, but it’s not meant to be taken seriously.
“You know it’s tongue in cheek,” he said. You know that it’s not a real story. This is not Dateline. You know, this is made up. And I think that’s the sort of joy of it. It’s like a children’s nursery rhyme.”
He added, “You know, nursery rhymes are always chopping off people’s heads or Humpty Dumpty’s always dropping and cracking. So there is this thing where we kind of like it, ’cause we can place it in a safe place, and we can enjoy the macabre aspect because we know it’s not real, it’s not a news story.”
About the McCartney: A Life in Lyrics Podcast
As previously reported, the McCartney: A Life in Lyrics podcasts incorporate segments of audio interviews Irish poet Muldoon conducted with McCartney for the 2021 book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present.
You can listen to the podcast series at iHeart.com, Pushkin.fm, and on various popular streaming services, including Apple Music and Spotify. The series is co-produced by iHeartPodcasts and the Pushkin audio-production company.
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