He sang about wanting to be a Paperback Writer – now Sir Paul McCartney is releasing a book of song lyrics, unseen photos and letters which will serve as his version of an autobiography.
The book includes the lyrics of 154 songs written by the legend, from his earliest boyhood compositions, through The Beatles and Wings to the present.
Each is used as a starting point to tell the story of his life and art, complete with handwritten early drafts as well as photos and letters.
Announcing the book, called The Lyrics, Sir Paul 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.
“I know that 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 serve much the same purpose. And these songs span my entire life.”
It is the first time definitive texts of the lyrics have been set out, and tells of the people and places that inspired them – and what he thinks of them now.
He said: “I hope that I’ve written 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.”
The songs are arranged alphabetically for a “kaleidoscopic rather than chronological account”, the publishers said. Editor Paul Muldoon said: “Based on conversations I had with Paul McCartney over a five-year period, these commentaries are as close to an autobiography as we may ever come.
“His insights into his own artistic process confirm a notion at which we had but guessed – that Paul McCartney is a major literary figure who draws upon, and extends, the long tradition of poetry in English.”
The book will be released in November, initially in the form of two hardback books housed in a slipcase.
Earlier this year McCartney admitted to being “a hoarder” – a habit that will have helped compile the book as it includes handwritten lyrics and other papers he has kept over the years.
A Beatles documentary film, Get Back, is out in August with unseen footage of the band from 1969.
The Lyrics: 1956 to present by Paul McCartney, will be released on November 2 by Allen Lane, costing £75.
