Paul McCartney felt that some of The Beatles’ songs were deeper than others. Despite this, he felt that writing The Beatles’ “Please Please Me” was essentially the same as writing “The Long and Winding Road”. It is noteworthy that the American public had significantly different reactions to the two songs.
Paul McCartney felt he was writing mature songs in his 20s
During a 2020 interview with The New York Times Magazine, Paul was asked if his recent songs represented his artistic growth. He said he liked the idea that he would mature as he gets older. Despite this, he felt that songs he wrote in the 20s like “Yesterday” and “Eleanor Rigby” had a certain “wisdom” about them.
Paul discussed aging. “You would obviously think, ‘OK, when I get older, I’ll get deeper,’ but I’m not sure that’s true,” Paul said. “I think it’s a fact that personalities do not change much. Throughout your life you are there. ”
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Paul McCartney compared ‘Please Please Me’ to other Beatles songs
Subsequently, Paul was asked if his musical gifts had changed at all over the decades. “That’s the story you’re telling,” he replied. That’s changing. When I first said to John, ‘I wrote a few songs,’ they were simple. My first song was called ‘I Lost My Little Girl’ – four chords.
“Then we went into the next phase of songwriting, which was talking to our fans,” Paul added. “It was songs like Thank You Girl,” “Love Me Do,” “Please Please Me.” Then came a rich oar, as we got more mature, with things like ‘Let It Be’, ‘The Long and Winding Road’. But basically, I think it’s all the same, and sometimes you’re lucky. ”
Paul discussed some of the times he was lucky. “Like, ‘Let It Be’ came from a dream where my mother had said that phrase,” Paul recalled. “‘Yesterday’ came from a dream of a tune.”
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How The Beatles’ ‘Please Please Me’ and ‘The Long and Winding Road’ fared on the US charts
“Please Please Me” became a hit. It reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the hit list for 13 weeks. The Beatles released the song on the compilation album 1962-1966. The collection peaked as No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the hit list for 175 weeks.
“The Long and Winding Road” was even more popular in the United States and became The Beatles’ last No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100. It was No. 1 in two of its 10 weeks on the hit list. The Beatles released “The Long and Winding Road” on the album leave it. The album was No. 1 in four of its 79 weeks on the hit list.
“Please Please Me” and “The Long and Winding Road” may sound different, but Paul felt that the process of writing the two songs was very similar.
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