Paul McCartney Says ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ Is Not About Witchcraft After Fan Theory Goes Viral
Whether people love the song or not, “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney is still one of the most popular songs during the holiday season. However, a fan theory suggests that the song may actually be about witchcraft. This theory recently went viral, leading to McCartney having to directly deny the theory. But isn’t that precisely what a witch would do?
A viral theory suggests ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ is about witchcraft
Fans never thought “Wonderful Christmastime” was about anything except the December holiday until YouTuber Ryan George shared an intriguing theory on Twitter. His theory suggests that the song is about Paul McCartney and his friends performing witchcraft but have to pretend that they’re celebrating Christmas when somebody walks in on them.
According to the theory, the lines “The moon is right/The spirits up” is McCartney saying that the atmosphere is right to begin performing magic and sorcery. However, somebody walks in right after, “And that’s enough,” leading to the group having to cover their tracks by singing, “Simply having a wonderful Christmastime.” George has analyzed other Christmas songs on his YouTube channel, but this might be his most elaborate theory.
Paul McCartney denies ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ witchcraft theory
In an interview for his website, Paulmccartney.com, Paul McCartney was asked about the “Wonderful Christmastime” theory. The former Beatle jokes that it’s all true and he is “the head of a Liverpool coven.”
“Well, thank goodness they found me out,” McCartney jokes. “This is completely true and in actual fact, I am the head wizard of a Liverpool coven. Either that… or it’s complete nonsense. And you know it’s the latter!”
McCartney debunks the theory by confirming the first lyric is “the mood” and not “the moon.” He says the song is about the old Liverpool Christmas parties he used to have, and the first line suggests that the mood is right to celebrate.
“It’s ‘the mood’! This is the mood; I’ve gathered together the witches and wizards… I’ve got ‘the mood’, which is what we in wizardry call it. The thing is about this stuff, it’s so easy to convince half the people in the world. You do have to be a little bit careful! No, it’s ‘the mood’. And you know what, I’m thinking about Liverpool Christmas parties, that’s really all I’m doing with that song. ‘The mood is right, let’s raise a glass, the spirit’s up’ – you know, all the stuff you do at Christmas. Particularly with my old Liverpool family parties.”
McCartney never sang Christmas carols as a kid
While “Wonderful Christmastime” reminds Paul McCartney of celebrating Christmas as a kid, he never did sing carols in a choir, which he references with “the choir of children sing their song.” He shares that he always enjoyed Christmas carols, but his dad didn’t, which is why he never participated in them.
“I can’t remember ever having done it, so I probably didn’t,” McCartney explains. “The fun thing about Christmas caroling, that probably would have influenced my decision NOT to do it, was that my dad always used to make fun of them. He’d say, ‘Here’s a shilling to go sing in the next street’. He was not a big fan of Christmas carols. I quite like them!”
