Paul McCartney's 15 greatest songs ever, ranked

24 June 2022, 09:39

Paul McCartney's best songs. Picture: YouTube

By Tom Eames

Sir Paul McCartney will forever be one of the world's most successful and best loved musicians.

He has been a prolific songwriter and performer ever since his teenage days in the Quarrymen in the late 1950s, and shows no signs of slowing down.

We've picked our very favourite Paul McCartney songs (not including his work with The Beatles otherwise we'll be here all day, or Christmas tunes) to make for a perfect Macca setlist.

We All Stand Together (with the Frog Chorus)

Paul McCartney - We All Stand Together (Official Music Video)

OK, this tune is total cheese, but you can't help but have a soft spot for it. And only Sir Paul could do this at the height of his fame and get away with it.
The song was written for the animated movie Rupert and the Frog Song, which was also written and produced by McCartney.
Waterfalls

Paul McCartney - Waterfalls (Official Music Video)

This relaxing song featured on McCartney's 1980 album McCartney II, and reached number 9 in the UK charts.TLC's 1995 anthem 'Waterfalls' unofficially shares elements of the song, including the opening line.
McCartney later said: "In fact, somebody had a hit, a few years ago, using the first line... then they go off into another song. It's like, 'Excuse me?'".
Calico Skies

Paul McCartney - Calico Skies

Paul had been staying on Long Island when storm Hurricane Bob hit in August 1991. This made him sit with an acoustic guitar and write what he described as "a gentle love song that becomes a 1960s protest song".
He said: "Bob the hurricane, knocked out all the power; it was all candle-light, cooking on a woodfire. Very primitive, but we like that enforced simplicity. I couldn't play records, so I made up little acoustic pieces. This was one of them—it's a primitive little powercut memory."
Every Night

Every Night (Remastered 2011)

McCartney first introduced this song to The Beatles in 1969, but it wasn't included on one of their albums at the time.
Recorded for his debut album a year later, the song's lyrics reflect the difficult situation he was dealing with at the time in relation to the imminent breakup of the band, but also looked on in hope for the future.
Silly Love Songs (with Wings)

'Silly Love Songs' (from 'Rockshow') - Paul McCartney And Wings

This track was written as a response to music critics who had criticised McCartney for writing lightweight love songs. He later said: "The song was, in a way, to answer people who just accuse me of being soppy.
"The nice payoff now is that a lot of the people I meet who are at the age where they've just got a couple of kids and have grown up a bit, settling down, they'll say to me, 'I thought you were really soppy for years, but I get it now! I see what you were doing!'".
Junk

Junk (Remastered 2011)

This song was written by McCartney in 1968 while The Beatles were in India, and was originally under consideration for The Beatles album. It was passed over for that LP, as it was for Abbey Road.
He eventually included it on his debut solo album in 1970. The song’s working title was ‘Jubilee’, and also known as ‘Junk in the Yard’. The album also includes an instrumental version titled ‘Singalong Junk’, used in the movie Jerry Maguire.
Say Say Say (with Michael Jackson)

Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson - Say Say Say - HQ/HD

Produced by Beatles collaborator George Martin, this song was actually recorded before 'The Girl Is Mine' on Michael Jackson's Thriller album, but was released a year later.
Michael stayed at the home of Paul and his wife Linda during the recording sessions, and became friends with both. While there, Paul apparently showed Michael a booklet that showed all the songs that he owned publishing rights for.
"This is the way to make big money", he told Michael. "Every time someone records one of these songs, I get paid. Every time someone plays these songs on the radio, or in live performances, I get paid." Whoops.
Little Willow

Paul McCartney - Little Willow

This song was written for the children of former Beatles bandmate Ringo Starr’s first wife, Maureen Starkey Tigrett, who had recently died of cancer.
McCartney sporadically recorded the song's album Flaming Pie in a space of two years, working with Jeff Lynne, Steve Miller, George Martin, Ringo Starr and his own son, James McCartney.
Mull of Kintyre (with Wings)

Paul McCartney & Wings - Mull of Kintyre (HD 1080p)

The Christmas number one of 1977 was written in tribute to the picturesque Kintyre peninsula in Scotland and its headland, the Mull of Kintyre, where Paul McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966.
At the time, it was the UK’s best-selling single ever. He said of the song: “I certainly loved Scotland enough, so I came up with a song about where we were living. It was a love song really, about how I enjoyed being there and imagining I was travelling away and wanting to get back there.”
Live and Let Die (with Wings)

Live And Let Die (2018 Remaster)

Commissioned specifically for James Bond movie Live and Let Die, it reunited McCartney with Beatles producer, George Martin, who both produced the song and arranged the orchestral break.
Read more: Ranking all 24 James Bond themes from worst to best
McCartney said of tackling the song: “It was a job of work for me in a way because writing a song around a title like that’s not the easiest thing going.” Guns N’ Roses released a popular cover version in 1991.
Pipes of Peace

Pipe Of Peace - Paul McCartney - 1983 [HQ]

Sometimes referred to as a Christmas song due to its subject matter and release in December, this is actually an anti-war song which gave Paul a number one hit in January 1984.
Its video depicted the 1914 Christmas truce between British and German troops, and shows a British and a German soldier, both played by McCartney, who meet up in No Man's Land to exchange photos of their loved ones while others joke and play football.
This Never Happened Before

This never happened before LYRICS Paul McCartney

McCartney released this song as a promo single from his thirteenth studio album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. McCartney said that the track was “a straight love song and, you know, I’m a lover not a fighter as they say. I think that’s such an important thing in the world”.
He gave the song to his masseuse as a gift after she heard a demo, and she gave the song its first official play as the first dance to her wedding shorly after. Though, she had to give it back to him to avoid it being bootlegged.
The song was used in the 2006 movie The Lake House, in a scene where Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock’s characters enjoy a slow dance to it while attending her birthday party.
Band on the Run (with Wings)

Band On The Run

This song was partly inspired by a comment George Harrison had made (“if we ever get out of here”) during a meeting of the Beatles’ Apple record label.
Its creation coincided with Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo Starr having parted with manager Allen Klein in March 1973, leading to improved relations between McCartney and his fellow ex-Beatles.
McCartney later said of the song: “It’s a million things all put together. Band on the run – escaping, freedom, criminals. You name it, it’s there.”
Maybe I'm Amazed

Paul McCartney - Maybe I’m Amazed (Official Video)

McCartney dedicated this song to his wife Linda, who had helped him get through the break-up of the Beatles. Despite it being one of his best known solo songs, he never actually released it as a single.
During his guest appearance in The Simpsons, McCartney says to Lisa and Apu “If you play ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ backwards, you’ll find a recipe for a ripping lentil soup”, which can be heard in the background when the song is played during the closing credits.
My Valentine

Paul McCartney's 'My Valentine' Featuring Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp

This was one of two original songs featured on Paul McCartney’s mostly-jazz covers album in 2012. It was first written back in 1983, but it remained unreleased until this new arrangement.
Eric Clapton plays guitar on the song, while actors Johnny Depp and Natalie Portman appeared in its music video, performing the lyrics via sign language.