Paul McCartney Songs - Early Days Lyrics

Paul McCartney - Early Days

Paul McCartney - Early Days Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: New
Released: 2013

Early Days Lyrics

They can't take it from me, if they try
I lived through those Early Days
So many times I had to change the pain to laughter
Just to keep from getting crazed

Dressed in black from head to toe
Two guitars across our backs
We would walk the city roads
Seeking someone who would listen to the music
That we were writing down at home

But they can't take it from me, if they try
I lived through those early days
So many times I had to change the pain to laughter
Just to keep from getting crazy

Hair slicked back with Vaseline
Like the pictures on the wall
Of the local record shop
Hearing noises we were destined to remember
We willed the thrill to never stop

May sweet memories of friends from the past
Always come to you, when you look for them
And your inspiration, long may it last
May it comes to you time and time again

Now everybody seems to have their own opinion
Who did this and who did that
But as for me I don't see how they can remember
When they weren't where it was at

And they can't take it from me, if they try
I lived through those early days
So many times I had to change the pain to laughter
Just to keep from getting crazy

I lived through those early days
I lived through those early days

Writer/s: PAUL MCCARTNEY
Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Early Days

This song finds McCartney exploding the mythology of the Fab Four as he has a dig at people who stereotype him as the 'soft' Beatle. He told NME it is a minor bugbear of his. "It's nothing I obsess about. But it does happen," McCartney said. "I mean, The Beatles story is actually in history classes – my grandkids say, 'You were in a book today, Grandad!' And you go, 'What! Oh no! Shame of it! So you kind of like the idea of people getting it right. For me, when people analyse it all I think, well, on the basis of what? They weren't there, they don't know, they didn't sit in the room with me and John and see who did what. They heard the stories and stuff but the truth is much more subtle. If me and John were sitting down it wouldn't be 'Come on Paul, write a bit of melody... yer f---er. The film would be like that: (Adopts high-pitched McCartney voice) 'Oh, Ok John, how about this: 'la lala...'"

McCartney told the BBC that on the day he wrote this song, he had been reminiscing about his past in Liverpool with John Lennon: "I started to get images of us in the record shop listening to early rock and roll and looking at the posters and the joy that that gave me remembering all those moments," he said.

"So that song just evolved around that," Macca continued, "and then I found that one of the things that came was - you can't take it away from me, even though you can say 'hey this is what happened in Liverpool in the late 1950s but I'm going to say 'were you there or did you just read about it?' Because I was there and I was walking down that street - so it's that kind of song. It gets a bit of a dig at people who say they know what it was all about but they weren't there - but mainly it's just fond memories for me."

The song's music video was shot between Los Angeles; Natchez, Mississippi and Faraday Louisiana. The visual was directed by Vincent Haycock, who has worked with Calvin Harris on a number of his clips including the ones for Feel So Close" and "Sweet Nothing" and "Thinking About You."

Rather than a factual reflection on the early relationship between Paul McCartney and John Lennon, the visual pays homage to the twosome by portraying a pair of aspiring blues musicians in the 1950s American South. Haycock said: "Their story at its core is a universal one, two young kids who bond over their passion for music and form a band and friendship. This video is about them, and every band, and every kid who has suffered the ups and downs of starting a band, whether or not they became successful."

"The universality of their story was a big inspiration of setting the film in Mississippi during the 50s," he added. "This is a time period that inspired The Beatles ' American Rock and Roll and the Mississippi Delta Blues of the 50s. Early Days is about the spirit and inspiration young musicians find in each other."

The video also features a jam session between McCartney and Johnny Depp. The American actor and part-time guitarist has made quite a habit of appearing in the former Beatle's clips, having also featured in the visuals for "My Valentine" in 2012 and "Queenie Eye" in 2013