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Released in 1971

3 Legs

Written by Paul McCartney

Last updated on April 30, 2022

Album This song officially appears on the Ram LP.

Timeline This song was officially released in 1971

Timeline This song was written, or began to be written, in 1970, when Paul McCartney was 28 years old)

Master album

Related sessions

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

Songs recorded the same day

Related interviews

Related articles

“3 Legs” is the second song of Paul and Linda McCartney’s 1971 album “Ram“. From Beatles Bible:

[…] While John Lennon and, to a lesser extent, George Harrison, were happy to write openly about The Beatles, Apple and their associated troubles, Paul McCartney preferred to couch his objections in metaphors and ambiguities. So, while it is tempting to see 3 Legs simply as an allegory for his transition from Beatle to solo artist and family man, it is far from certain.

Studio engineer Eirik Wangberg said the song was inspired by a picture drawn by the young Heather McCartney. Her father originally titled the song A Dog Is Here, according to his handwritten lyric sheet.

Regardless of his intentions, McCartney would have known that lines such as “When I thought you was my friend/But you let me down/Put my heart around the bend” and “My dog he got three legs/But he can’t run” would be analysed by legions of Beatles-watchers the world over. And he cannot have failed to recognise that the lines would be interpreted as a commentary on his former band.

Perhaps ironically, Lennon professed a liking for the song, listing it as one of the better recordings on Ram. […]

“3 Legs” was one of the last songs in the Ram sessions on which guitarist David Spinozza played. Soon after he was replaced with Hugh McCracken. […]

Two promotional films for Ram songs – 3 Legs and Heart Of The Country – were made in support of Ram. They were produced by McCartney and edited by Ray Benson, who had previously worked on the Magical Mystery Tour film.

The film for 3 Legs consisted of the McCartneys riding horses on their land in the Mull of Kintyre, Scotland. Both clips were screened on the BBC’s Top Of The Pops on 24 June 1971.

I thought it [Ram] was awful! McCartney was better because at least there were some tunes on it, like Junk. I liked the beginning of Ram On, the beginning of Uncle Albert and I liked some of My Dog’s Got Three Legs. I liked the little bit about ‘Hands across the water’, but it just tripped off all the time. I didn’t like that a bit!“

John Lennon

There’s one track, which a cute thing, a blues tune, which I had fun doing. 3 Legs, it’s called. We both played acoustic and sometimes Paul played piano but never played bass while we were there. He overdubbed the bass later. It was a bit weird, because bass, drums, and guitar would have been more comfortable.

Dave Spinoza

In 2001, during the “Wingspan Memorial Day Special“, Paul improvised the song on guitar.

Still images from promotional videos for “3 Legs”
From (136) Paul McCartney – McCartney III (Dec 18, 2020)* | Page 1112 | Steve Hoffman Music Forums – This is one of the CBS 16-track sheets shown in the books of “Ram” and “Red Rose Speedway”. This one shows the contents of the multitracks of “Three Legs” (top), “I Lie Around” and “When The Wind Is Blowing” (bottom).

Lyrics

Well, when I walk when I walk,

Park my horse upon the hill (when I walk the horse upon a hill)

When I walk, walk, walk, walk,

Park my horse upon the hill (when I walk the horse upon a hill)

And I lay me down,

Will my lover love me still?

A doggie is here, (a doggie is here), a doggie is there (a doggie is there)

My dog he got three legs, well he can't run

Well, when I thought, when I thought, when I thought

You was my friend

Well, when I thought, when I thought, when I thought

You was my friend

My dog he got three legs but he can't walk

Your dog he got none.

Your dog he got none.

When I thought,

When I thought you was my friend (when I thought that I could call you my friend)

When I thought, when I thought, when I thought you was my friend

(When I thought I could call you my friend)

But you let me down put my heart around the bend

A fly flies in (a fly flies in), a fly flies out (a fly flies out)

Most flies they got three legs, but mine got one.

Well, when I fly, when I fly, when I fly, when I fly upon the crowd

(When I fly upon the maddening crowd)

When I fly, when I fly, when I fly, when I fly upon the crowd

(When I fly upon the maddening crowd)

You can knock me down - with a feather, but you know it's not allowed

(but you know it's not allowed)

A dog is here, (a dog is here) A dog is there, (a dog is there)

My dog he got three legs but he can't run.

Officially appears on

See all official recordings containing “3 Legs”

Bootlegs

See all bootlegs containing “3 Legs”

Related film

  • 3 Legs

    1971 • For Paul & Linda McCartney • Directed by Roy Benson

Live performances

“3 Legs” has been played in 1 concerts.

Latest concerts where “3 Legs” has been played

Going further

Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989

With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.

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