Wanderlust (Paul McCartney song)

"Wanderlust"
Song by Paul McCartney
from the album Tug of War
Released	26 April 1982
Recorded	1981
Genre	Ballad pop [1]
Length	3:49
Label	Parlophone (UK) Columbia Records (US)
Songwriter(s)	Paul McCartney
Producer(s)	George Martin

"Wanderlust" is a song by the English rock bassist and former Beatle Paul McCartney. It is a ballad that appears as the eighth track on his 1982 album Tug of War . A re-recorded version of the song appears on his 1984 soundtrack/studio album Give My Regards to Broad Street . ^[2]

Background

The song was written during Wings' trip to the Virgin Islands, in which the US Customs officials searched the yacht and found a bunch of marijuana, and the captain was upset about what was happening on the yacht. According to Paul McCartney: "[He] was a little sort of heavier than the other captains," and "he sort of took it a little more seriously. And at some stage we had an argument with him, and I said, 'You know, we don't need all this aggro stuff,' and we wanted to get off onto this other boat that happened to be in the harbour. These people had said we could come on this boat, and this boat happened to be called Wanderlust, so it became a symbol of freedom to me, this catamaran called Wanderlust.” ^[3]

Recording

Paul McCartney had originally intended of former Beatle guitarist George Harrison to play guitar on the track but, according to McCartney, Harrison had said: "First I've got this track that I'd like you to sing harmonies on." McCartney had later said that "he never got to do the guitar overdub in 'Wanderlust'." ^[4]

Reception

The Boston Globe writer M. Howell states that it "reprises Paul's choir-boy voice against a solo piano, just like 'Let It Be' or 'The Long and Winding Road.'" ^[5] In a review for Rolling Stone , music critic Stephen Holden states that it "compares sexual independence to foolish military adventuring. It's in these seemingly lighter moments that George Martin's studio touches illuminate McCartney's wistful hominess with exquisite musical details". ^[6]

Official album releases

	Album	Release year	Take/ version	Personnel	Ref.
1	Tug of War	1982		Paul McCartney: bass, guitar, piano, vocals; Adrian Sheppard: drums, percussion; Denny Laine: bass, guitar, guitar synthesizer; Linda McCartney: backing vocals; Eric Stewart: backing vocals; The Philip Jones Brass: horns	[7]
2	Give My Regards to Broad Street	1984	Re-recording	Paul McCartney: piano, vocals; Ringo Starr: drums; The Philip Jones Brass: horns	[2]
3	Tug of War (deluxe edition)	2015	Demo	Paul McCartney: bass, drums, electric piano, acoustic guitar, vocals	[8]
4	Pure McCartney	2016	Tug of War version		[9]

Personnel

Tug of War version

According to author John Blaney, ^[7] except where noted:

• Paul McCartney – bass, guitar, piano, vocals
• Adrian Sheppard – drums, percussion
• Denny Laine – bass, guitar, ^[10] guitar synthesizer ^[10]
• Linda McCartney – backing vocals
• Eric Stewart – backing vocals
• The Philip Jones Brass – horns

Give My Regards to Broad Street version

According to author John Blaney: ^[2]

• Paul McCartney – piano, vocals
• Ringo Starr – drums
• The Philip Jones Brass – horns

Cover versions

• The Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson contributed a cover of the song to the Paul McCartney tribute album The Art of McCartney in 2014. ^[11]

References

1. Strowe, Jeff (2 October 2015). "Paul McCartney: Tug of War / Pipes of Peace". PopMatters . Retrieved 18 November 2015.
2. Blaney 2007, p. 169.
3. Blaney 2007, p. 195.
4. "Wanderlust". The Beatles Bible. 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2025-05-10.
5. Howell, M. (18 May 1982). "The war is over: And the dream begins". The Boston Phoenix. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
6. Holden, Stephen (27 May 1982). "Music Reviews : Tug of War by Paul McCartney". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 17 April 2008. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
7. Blaney 2007, p. 153.
8. Hart, Ron. "Paul McCartney: Tug of War / Pipes of Peace". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
9. Gorondi, Paul (9 June 2016). "Review: Beatle Paul McCartney Makes Pure McCartney Mixtape Fans". ABC News . Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
10. Jackson 2012, p. 184.
11. "The Art of McCartney / Stars cover Macca songs on new deluxe package – SuperDeluxeEdition". 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2025-05-11.

Sources

• Blaney, John (2007). Lennon and McCartney: Together Alone (1st ed.). Jawbone Press. ISBN   978-1-906002-02-2.
• Jackson, Andrew Grant (2012). Still the Greatest: The Essential Solo Beatles Songs. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. ISBN   978-0-8108-8222-5.