Deliver Your Children

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"Deliver Your Children"
Deliver Your Children cover.jpg
Cover in the Netherlands, where it charted
Single by Wings
from the album London Town
A-side "I've Had Enough"
Released16 June 1978
RecordedMay 1977
Genre Rock
Label Parlophone/EMI (UK)
Capitol (US)
Songwriter(s) Denny Laine
Paul McCartney
Producer(s) Paul McCartney
Wings singles chronology
"With a Little Luck"
(1978)		"I've Had Enough" / "Deliver Your Children"
(1978)		"London Town"
(1978)

"Deliver Your Children" is a song written by Denny Laine and Paul McCartney that was first issued on Wings' 1978 album London Town . It was also released as the B-side of Wings' single "I've Had Enough". In the Netherlands, it received enough airplay to be ranked on the national charts along with its A-side, and joint single reached No. 13. [1] On some charts within the Netherlands "Deliver Your Children" was ranked alone on the single charts, and it reached No. 9 on the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40 chart. [2] Laine also released solo recordings of the song. [3]

Contents

Writing and recording

Laine wrote most of the song himself and McCartney helped him complete it. [4] [5] It was originally written during the Venus and Mars sessions in 1975. [5] [6] Laine's original title for the song was "Feel the Love," despite the fact that the song lyrics do not contain the phrase, but McCartney suggested the revised title. [7] [8] It was recorded on the yacht Fair Carol in the Virgin Islands in May 1977; at the time Linda McCartney was pregnant with her and Paul's fourth child, James. [6] Laine sings the lead vocal and both Laine and McCartney play acoustic guitar. [9] Laine also plays the Spanish guitar solos. [10] McCartney also plays bass guitar, and both he and Linda McCartney provide backing vocals. [5]

Lyrics and music

"Deliver Your Children" is an uptempo song. [5] Music professor Vincent Benitez and Beatles biographer Robert Rodriguez describe it as being "folksy." [7] [9] It is one of two songs on London Town primarily written by Laine with children as its theme. [7] The verses describe a variety of unlucky experiences the singer has had, including getting caught in a rain storm, dealing with an unfaithful lover, and dealing with an unscrupulous repairman who can't fix his truck. [7] [9] Both Benitez and McCartney biographer John Blaney describe the verses as "rambling." [5] [9] The refrain contrasts by exhorting the listener to deliver the children to the good life and make things right for them. [7] [9]

According to Benitez, the song sounds as if it is in the key of A minor but the guitars are actually played in the key of D minor with a capo on the seventh fret. [9] Actually, the verses are neither in a major or a minor key, but in a Dorian mode, which emphasizes their harsh imagery. [9] The first two verses, the guitar solo near the end and the outro are in D-Dorian, while the last verses are in G-Dorian. [9] The refrain is in C major, contrasting the verses and emphasizing its more hopeful lyrics. [9]

Reception

Rolling Stone Magazine critic Janet Maslin described "Deliver Your Children" as "wonderful" and one of the best songs on London Town. [11] Rodriguez regards it as the best of McCartney's and Laine's collaborations. [7] Beatle biographers Roy Carr and Tony Tyler described it as "minor key Nashville chunkachuck" displaying "superior craftmanship." [12] Music critic Joel McNally regards it as a "good" song, describing it as "an upbeat number that dares to use some acoustic guitars in an electronic age. [13] Author Giuseppe Rausa regards "Deliver Your Children" as one of the few memorable songs on London Town, describing it as a pleasant, quick, country music-like song. [14]

Personnel

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References

  1. ↑ "I've Had Enough/Deliver Your Children". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Billboard Hits of the World". Billboard Magazine . 12 August 1978. p. 78. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Masters". Allmusic . Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  4. ↑ Philipp, J. (1991). Listen to what the man said: Paul McCartney und seine Songs : eine komplette Werkschau der Platten, Videos und Filme. Pendragon. pp. 84–85. ISBN   9783923306800.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Blaney, J. (2007). Lennon and McCartney: Together Alone. Jawbone. pp. 123–125. ISBN   9781906002022.
  6. 1 2 Madinger, C.; Easter, M. (2000). Eight Arms to Hold You. 44.1 Productions. p. 233. ISBN   0-615-11724-4.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rodriguez, R. (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years 1970–1980. Hal Leonard. pp. 223, 375. ISBN   978-0-87930-968-8.
  8. ↑ Sandford, C. (2012). McCartney. Random House. p. 255. ISBN   9781446455548.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Benitez, V.P. (2010). The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years. Praeger. pp. 84–85. ISBN   978-0-313-34969-0.
  10. ↑ Luca Perasi, Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013), L.I.L.Y. Publishing, 2013, ISBN   978-88-909122-1-4, p.156
  11. ↑ Maslin, Janet (15 June 1978), "Music Reviews : London Town by Wings", Rolling Stone , archived from the original on 6 May 2016, retrieved 6 May 2016
  12. ↑ Carr, R.; Tyler, T. (1981). The Beatles: An Illustrated Record . Harmony Books. p. 124. ISBN   0517544938.
  13. ↑ McNally, J. (7 May 1978). "McCartney Blinks at Life". Sarasota Herald-Tribune . p. 95. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Rausa, G. (5 November 2013). Dizionario della musica rock: Europa, USA, Canada e Australia. Bur. ISBN   9788858658239.
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