“More often than I can count, I’ve been asked to write an autobiography, but the time has never been right,” McCartney said in a statement.
“The only thing I have always been able to do, at home or on the road, is write new songs. I know some people, when they reach a certain age, like to go to a diary to remember daily events from the past, but I don’t have one of those notebooks. What I do have are my songs, hundreds of them, which I’ve learned serve much the same purpose. And these songs take up my entire life. “
Financial terms for “The Lyrics,” which has a list price of $ 100, have not been disclosed. Publishers have long searched for McCartney’s memoirs, even though he has often spoken about the past and has participated in such projects as Barry Miles’ biography “Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now” and the documentary and book “The Beatles Anthology” from the the nineties. Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones was equally open about himself, but his 2010 memoir “Life” still sold millions of copies.
No Beatle has written a standard full-fledged account of his life. Lennon published two works of stories, poems and drawings and was considered the most gifted with words, but he was murdered in 1980, at the age of 40. Ringo Starr’s ‘Another Day In the Life’ is centered around photos and quotes, as the drummer has said a traditional memoir would require multiple volumes. George Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001, released the scrapbook / retrospective “I, Me, Mine” in 1980.
According to McCartney’s publishers, his songs will be arranged alphabetically and will include McCartney’s comments on where and when they were written and what inspired them. The US edition of the book is split into two parts, packed in a single box.
“This will feature a wealth of material from McCartney’s personal archive – drafts, letters, photos – never before seen, making this also a unique visual record by one of the greatest songwriters of all time,” said Wednesday’s announcement.
McCartney has often received more praise for his melodies than his lyrics, but he has written some of the most cited songs in recent memory, including ‘Let It Be’, ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Eleanor Rigby’. Muldoon said in a statement that their conversations over the years “confirm an idea we only suspected – that Paul McCartney is an important literary figure continuing and expanding the long tradition of poetry in English.”
Known for poetry collections such as ‘Moy Sand and Gravel’ and ‘Horse Latitudes’, Muldoon also has a background in music. He has given spoken word performances, supported by the music collective Rogue Oliphant; published a book of rock lyrics, “The Word on the Street”; and collaborated on Warren Zevon’s title track “My Ride’s Here.” He even mentioned McCartney in a poem, “Sideman”:
“I’ll be McCartney to your Lennon / Lenin to your Marx / Jerry to your Ben & / Lewis to your Clark”