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Released in 2005

Fine Line

Written by Paul McCartney

Last updated on January 17, 2021

Album This song officially appears on the Fine Line CD Single.

Timeline This song was officially released in 2005

Timeline This song was written, or began to be written, in 2004, when Paul McCartney was 62 years old)

Master album

Related session

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

Related interviews

“Fine Line” is a track from Paul McCartney’s 2005 album “Chaos And Creation In The Backyard“. It was released on August 29, 2005, as the first single from the album in the UK (the album would be released two weeks after, on September 12).

From an interview of Paul McCartney by Gary Crowley:

What’s the inspiration behind “Fine Line”?

It was just the opening line, ‘There’s a fine line between recklessness and courage.’  You know, you’ll see some people just go, (sings) ‘Waaah’ and you’ll think, ‘that’s the way you do it and sometimes it is just foolish and just reckless but they think they’re being courageous’ so that thought really was what started me off and I just kind of followed on from that idea that you’ve got to choose which of the two you’re going to do, you know, be reckless or courageous so that was lyrically based on that.  And then I just sat down at the piano and started that kind of chuggy thing, keeping it very simple and then the little hook, (sings) ‘Fine line, it’s a fine line’ came so I brought it into the studio in Los Angeles and I was working it out and on that little bit there’s a little riff that goes around the Fine line bit and when I was playing that I made a mistake and I went to a wrong bass note and Nigel goes, ‘That’s great.  That’s it.’  I went, ‘Actually it’s a wrong note.’  He said, ‘No, no, check it out.  Listen to it.’  ‘Ooh, I see what you mean.’  It just didn’t go where you expected it.  It was supposed to be like an F# and it went to an F and so that became a really interesting little thing then.  It was like, ‘Ah, O.K. that’s good’.  That’s got a little signature originality to it so that and the words and the tune then we just put that all together.

Paul McCartney – from 2005 UK promotional-only interview CD, recorded July 2005 at Air Studios in London

Lyrics

There is a fine line,

Between recklessness and courage

It's about time

You understood which road to take

It's a fine line

Your decision makes a difference

Get it wrong you'll be making a big mistake

Come home brother all is forgiven

We all cried when you were driven away

Come home brother everything is better

Everything is better when you come home to stay

Whatever's more important to you

You've got to choose what you want to do

Whatever's more important to be

Well that's the view that you got to see

There is a long way

Between chaos and creation

If you don't say

Which one of these you're going to choose

It's a long way

And if every contradiction seems the same

It's a game that you're bound to loose

Come home brother all is forgiven

We all cried when you were driven away

Come home brother everything is better

Everything is better when you come home to stay

Come on back, come on back, come on back to me

It's a fine line, It's a fine line

Whatever's more important to you

You've gotta choose what you want to do

Whatever's more important to be

Well that's the view that you got to see

It's a fine line

Officially appears on

Bootlegs

See all bootlegs containing “Fine Line”

Related films

Live performances

“Fine Line” has been played in 34 concerts.

Latest concerts where “Fine Line” has been played

See all concerts where “Fine Line” has been played

Going further

Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 2) 1990-2012

This new book by Luca Perasi traces Paul McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1990 to 2012 in the form of 250 song entries, filled with details about the recordings, stories behind the sessions and musical analysis. His pop albums, his forays into classical and avant-garde music, his penchant for covering old standards: a complete book to discover how these languages cross-pollinate and influence each other.

The second volume in a series that has established itself as a unique guide to take the reader on a journey into the astonishing creativity of Paul McCartney.

Read our exclusive interview with Luca Perasi

Buy on Amazon

Paul McCartney writing

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