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Released in 1986

Good Times Coming / Feel The Sun

Written by Paul McCartney

Last updated on May 2, 2020

Album This song officially appears on the Press To Play Official album.

Timeline This song was officially released in 1986

Timeline This song was written, or began to be written, in 1985, when Paul McCartney was 43 years old)

Master album

Related sessions

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

“Good Times Coming / Feel The Sun” is a song from 1986 album “Press To Play“, and is yet another example how McCartney can assemble unfinished songs to create a sense of unity and a track.

From “Club Sandwich 42 – Autumn 1986“:

“There’s a nostalgic air about summers that have gone,” explains Paul. “…To me the song is three summers: one when I was a kid going to Butlin’s in my short trousers, feeling embarrassed ’cause I wanted long trousers… Then the second verse is a bit more grown up… I associate that second verse with The Beatles – ‘It was a silly season, was it the best?/We didn’t need a reason, just a rest!’ That’s one of my favourite lines on the album… Then the third verse is kinda ominous, talking about a great summer before the war.. .That’s the twist in the tail of that song.” Eddie Rayner is on guitar and Carlos Alomar shows that solos don’t have to be long to make an impact, contributing a jagged little interlude. Ruby James and Paul’s cousin Kate Robbins, the fast-rising comedienne, are on backing vocals and there’s a suitably warm reggae lilt to the song until explosive drumbeats announce the brief, upbeat “Feel The Sun“.

There’s a nostalgic air about hot summers that have gone. It’s a pretty strong feeling, even for people who are only 17, they can remember a summer when they were 10. In Britain you tend not to get too much of that stuff anyway, so you tend to remember ’em.

To me the song is three summers: one when I was a kid going to Butlins in my short trousers, feeling embarrassed cos I wanted long trousers. That was a good one, sort of donkeys on the beach summer.

Then the second verse is a bit more grown up, when I imagine you’re working, so I associate that lyric with The Beatles – ‘It was a silly season, was it the best? We didn’t need a reason, just a rest!’ That’s one of my favourite lines on the album. It reminded me of The Beatles because of some photos taken by Dezo Hoffman, great shots of us in old-fashioned Victorian bathing gear, John doing the Charleston – classic stuff.

Then the third verse is kinda ominous, talking about a great summer before the war; that takes the good-time edge off it. I remember I heard there were a couple of really cracking summers in 1936 and 1937, or whenever, but Hitler was just round the corner. I always imagined people playing a great game of cricket, in their whites, everything as it should be: gentle applause, tea… and then the next year they’re all gonna be off at war. That’s the twist in the tail of that song.

Paul McCartney from Sound On Sound interview, October 1986

A rough mix of “Good Times Coming / Feel The Sun” lasting 7 minutes is available on bootlegs. It doesn’t have all the overdubs, and includes a longer version of “Feel The Sun” (3:30 minutes instead of 1:30 in the final mix)

From the “Press To Play” inner sleeve – These coloured diagrams by Paul show the position of the voices and instruments in the mix of each track.
From the “Press To Play” inner sleeve – These coloured diagrams by Paul show the position of the voices and instruments in the mix of each track.

Lyrics

I was thinking about that summer so long ago,

Pack up your bags and yell ‘Geronimo'.

That was a golden summer. Wasn't it hot?

We laughed a lot that summer, laughed a lot.

Laughing at the good times coming,

Laughing at the good times coming in.

Good times coming, laughing at the good times coming in.

There was something about the weather, what can I say?

Nothing like any other holiday.

That was a silly season, was it the best?

We didn't need the reason, just a rest.

Happy at the good times coming,

Happy at the good times coming.

Good times coming, happy at the good times coming in.

I'm loving you, I'm loving you, I'm loving you now.

I'm loving you, I'm loving you, I'm loving you now.

There was a golden summer before the war.

They laughed a lot that summer, lah de dah.

Laughing at the good times coming,

Laughing at the good times coming in.

Good times coming, laughing at the good times coming in.

Good times coming… good, good.

Good times coming in… good, good.

Feel the sun shine in, shine in, shine in. Feel the sun shining in on you.

Feel the sun shine in, shine in, shine in. Feel the sun shining in on you.

All the beauty, all the pain. Will it ever be the same again?

If you love me, show me now. It's the only way that we know how.

Feel the sun shine in, shine in, shine in. Feel the sun shining in on you.

Feel the sun shine in, shine in, shine in. Feel the sun shining in on you.

Officially appears on

Bootlegs

See all bootlegs containing “Good Times Coming / Feel The Sun”

Live performances

Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.

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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