Women and Wives

Last updated

"Women and Wives"
Single by Paul McCartney
from the album McCartney III
B-side "Women and Wives (St. Vincent remix)"
Released17 June 2022
RecordedApril–June 2020
Studio Hogg Hill Mill (Icklesham, UK)
Genre Blues
Length2:52
Label Capitol
Songwriter Paul McCartney
Producer Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney singles chronology
"The Kiss of Venus"
(2021)		"Women and Wives"
(2022)		"Say Say Say (Kygo remix)"
(2023)
Music video
"Women and Wives" (Official Lyric Video) on YouTube

"Women and Wives" is a song by Paul McCartney, released as the fourth track from McCartney's 2020 album McCartney III . [1] It was released exclusively as a Record Store Day single. [2]

Contents

Background

McCartney wrote "Women and Wives" after reading a biography of American blues guitarist Huddy William Ledbetter, known as Lead Belly, as McCartney stated: "I wrote this when I was in Los Angeles and I had just been reading a book on the blues artist Lead Belly, so I was trying to get in this bluesy mood so I played on the piano, played some simple chords and started singing in what I imagined was like bluesy [sings], so that was that and then I recorded it at the studio in England." [3]

Recording

"Women and Wives" was recorded primarily on piano, [3] and also includes the exact double bass Bill Black used when recording with Elvis Presley, as revealed in a Spotify Storyline, [4] a feature on Spotify that would give the listener information about a song if available. [5]

Reception

Writing for the A.V. Club, Gwen Ihnat believed McCartney is "admonishing the rest of us [..] while the song ultimately has a hopeful tinge as McCartney urges each generation to teach compassion to the next, the song’s piano-led nostalgic melancholy is undeniable. [6] Mark Beaumont wrote the song is a "wise and austere piano shuffle worthy of Nick Cave or Johnny Cash". [7] Rob Sheffield called it in a Rolling Stone review a " London Town -style yacht-rock ballad". [8] It is the most played track from McCartney III live. [9] McCartney named it as his favourite track on the album. [10]

Personnel

According to the McCartney III booklet: [11]

St. Vincent remix

"Women and Wives (St. Vincent remix)"
Promotional single by Paul McCartney featuring St. Vincent
from the album McCartney III Imagined
Released16 April 2021
Length3:00
Label Capitol
Songwriter Paul McCartney
Producers
  • Paul McCartney
  • St. Vincent
Visualizer
"Women and Wives" (St. Vincent Remix) (Visualizer)" on YouTube

A remix of the track was done by American musician St. Vincent and included on McCartney III Imagined , a remix album. [13]

Reception

Stuart Berman wrote St. Vincent "amps up the film-noir melodrama of “Women and Wives” by multi-tracking herself into a girl-group chorus line" [14]


References

  1. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (17 December 2020). "Paul McCartney Delivers a Playful Gem with 'McCartney III'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  2. ↑ Paul McCartney | Women and Wives , retrieved 13 December 2025
  3. 1 2 Smith, Thomas (23 December 2020). "Paul McCartney: read the exclusive track-by-track story of 'McCartney III'". NME. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  4. ↑ "Women And Wives (song)". The Paul McCartney Project. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  5. ↑ Porter, Jon (14 May 2019). "Spotify's Storylines are like Instagram Stories for musicians". The Verge. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  6. ↑ Ihnat, Gwen (25 November 2020). "Paul McCartney's McCartney III offers lessons from a legendary life". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  7. ↑ Beaumont, Mark (15 December 2020). "Paul McCartney – 'McCartney III' review: an unpredictable quest of musical evolution". NME . Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  8. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (17 December 2020). "Paul McCartney Delivers a Playful Gem with 'McCartney III'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  9. ↑ DeRiso, Nick (8 September 2025). "The Solo Songs Paul McCartney Isn't Playing in Concert". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  10. ↑ "Paul McCARTNEY sits down with Chris Rock on RELEASED". The Paul McCartney Project. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  11. ↑ "Credits from 'McCartney III' booklet" . Retrieved 18 December 2020– via Twitter.
  12. ↑ "ALBUM REVIEW: Paul McCartney - McCartney III". www.xsnoize.com. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  13. ↑ Rapp, Allison (11 March 2021). "Paul McCartney Tabs Beck, St. Vincent for 'III Imagined' Album". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  14. ↑ Berman, Stuart (17 April 2021). "Paul McCartney - McCartney III Imagined". Pitchfork . Retrieved 13 December 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.