Paul McCartney said The Beatles‘ “I’ll Follow the Sun” is a “Leaving of Liverpool” song. Swap following the sun with following dreams. Paul did all that, becoming a rock ‘n’ roll star with his band. The Beatles wouldn’t have been as popular if they had never left home.
Paul McCartney said The Beatles’ ‘I’ll Follow the Sun’ is a ‘Leaving of Liverpool’ song
In The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul wrote about his fondest childhood memories growing up on Forthlin Road in Liverpool. Mary McCartney worked as a midwife and brought the McCartneys a handsome salary. Therefore, the family lived in a nicer area. They had lace curtains, which is probably why Paul still has lace curtains. “An Irish thing, maybe,” Paul said.
Paul remembers singing The Beatles’ “I’ll Follow the Sun” in his childhood living room on Forthlin Road. “I’ll Follow the Sun” is like a “Leaving of Liverpool” song when he thinks about it. Paul wrote, “I’m leaving this rainy northern town for someplace where more is happening.”
Paul certainly left Liverpool for better things.
Paul related the lyrics to ‘I’ll Follow the Sun’ to the layout of his childhood home
In The Lyrics, Paul said the meaning of “I’ll Follow the Sun” is similar to leaving his childhood home. However, he also explained that the the lyrics are like the layout of the house.
“I’ll Follow the Sun” follows the same structure as Irving Berlin’s “Cheek to Cheek.” It starts with “Heaven, I’m in heaven,” goes through two verses, and comes back at the end of the middle eight to “heaven.” Paul thinks his childhood on Fortlin Road was similar.
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“It was like our house in Forthlin Road,” Paul explained. “You went in the front door, went around through the living room, dining room, kitchen, hall, and ended up back where you started. ‘I’lI Follow the Sun’ does that too.”
The song is one of the earliest Beatles songs that didn’t use pronouns as much
Paul explained that in early Beatles songs, he and John Lennon used pronouns the “you,” “me,” “him,” “her,” “my,” and “she” because they wanted to speak to their fans directly. There was a certain formula. However, that didn’t mean each song repeated itself.
Paul wrote that one of the great things about The Beatles was “our aversion to repeating ourselves. We were intelligent young lads; we didn’t like being bored.” Even during their earlier performances during their residency in Hamburg, they always changed up their setlist.
“By the time we came back to England, we had a large repertoire, and I think when we started making records, that idea persisted,” Paul wrote. “Why repeat ourselves? Why make the same record twice?”
While “I’ll Follow the Sun” is speaking to someone, it’s one of the first Beatles songs that truly distanced itself from The Beatles’ pronouns formula. Paul explained that he also used a new combination of notes.
“There’s something quite original about it,” Paul wrote. “I’ll Follow the Sun” is special for Paul for multiple reasons.
