Paul McCartney Said There Are a Few ‘Stocking Fillers’ in His Catalog
Paul McCartney claims a few “stocking fillers” are in his massive catalog. In other words, he doesn’t believe that they are the “main Christmas present.” Here are the songs the former Beatle considers throwaways.
Paul McCartney claims a couple of songs in his and Wings’ catalog are ‘filler’
In his book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul explained that he thinks his and Wings’ song “Let ‘Em In” is a “stocking filler.” That’s how he thinks of some of his songs. “It’s a fun little item, but it’s not your main Christmas present,” he wrote.
Paul said he can get perfectionist about things and think, “This is just not one of my grand pieces.” Then, he’ll get a “bit down” on those songs. For instance, he remembers being very down about his song “Bip Bop.”
Paul used to think, “Oh God, how banal can you get?” He once said that to producer Trevor Horn, who produced greats like Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Grace Jones. When Horn heard the former Beatle say that, he said it was one of his favorites in Paul’s catalog. Suddenly, Paul saw what Horn saw in “Bip Bop,” which he initially saw when he wrote it and wanted to record it. So, Horn made Paul feel better about the tune.
It’s unclear whether Paul started thinking more of “Let ‘Em In.” It’s simple, like “Bip Bop.” However, it’s more complex.
Paul thinks there are songs in The Beatles’ catalog that are fragments or fillers
Where there are fillers, there are fragments. They’re all the same. Paul thinks a song in The Beatles’ catalog is a fragment, “Her Majesty.”
In The Lyrics, Paul wrote that the “tongue-in-cheek” tune started out with him sitting around with an acoustic guitar just for fun. Then, suddenly, he got a little idea and didn’t know what to do with it. “Her Majesty” is as simple as “Let ‘Em In” and “Bip Bop.” However, unlike those songs, Paul added “Her Majesty” to the end of a “big” song.
You could also consider The Beatles’ “Happy Birthday” and “Flying” filler songs. More specifically, Paul has said that The Beatles’ “What You’re Doing,” “Every Little Thing,” and “Hold Me Tight” were designed to be album fillers.
None of Paul’s songs are ‘stocking fillers’
It’s unclear which other songs in his catalog Paul considers “stocking fillers.” However he feels about his songs, fans love them because they came from him. Even “Blip Blop,” with its silly lyrics, came from a place somewhere inside Paul.
Whether a song is simple, silly, uninspiring, or plain doesn’t matter. One of the best singer-songwriters in rock ‘n’ roll wrote them. If you love Paul McCartney, you have to love all of him. Without “stocking fillers,” the whole of Paul’s catalog would crumble.
Thankfully, Paul released those obscure or forgotten filler songs. Otherwise, people like Horn wouldn’t have gotten some of their favorites. Can you imagine what would’ve happened if Paul thought songs like “Hey Jude” or “Yesterday” were filler songs and decided not to record them?
