Released in 1991
Written by Paul McCartney • Declan MacManus / Elvis Costello
Last updated on March 18, 2017
Album This song officially appears on the Mighty Like a Rose Official album.
Timeline This song was officially released in 1991
Timeline This song was written, or began to be written, in 1987, when Paul McCartney was 45 years old)
This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:
You had your own way one too many times and now
You're going to find out what it's like
Just what it's like, now you're a mess
You wanted something you could never possess
You went your own way one too many nights
You treated her like some small oversight
What in the world makes her think that she can
Turn you from a playboy into a man
She's going to make you suffer tonight
To turn you from a playboy into a man
And when you're worthy of her then she might
Turn you from a playboy into a man
Turn you from a playboy into a man
You thought you were the answer to her prayers
The perfect gift that every girl prefers
But that's the trouble 'cos every girl
Still thinks you're her's
So there you are with your gold chains jangling
Your lucky charms and your jewelry dangling
But when she saw you she turned and ran
To turn you from a playboy into a man
She's going to make you suffer tonight
Turn you from a playboy into a man
And when you're worthy of her then she might
Turn you from a playboy into a man
Turn you from a playboy into a man
Turn you from a playboy into a man
You couldn't see that the juvenile things that you do
Would drag you down and now that the joke's on you
You're pretty cold and you end as you start
When your facade isn't falling apart
So now you're standing in your underwear
Well now you know just how it feels for her
You're halfway there you know that she can
Turn you from a playboy into a man
She's going to make you suffer tonight
Turn you from a playboy into a man
And when you're worthy of her then she might
Turn you from a playboy into a man
Turn you from a playboy into a man
Turn you from a playboy into a man
Playboy
Playboy
Playboy
Official album • Released in 1991
3:20 • Studio version • A
Marc Ribot : Guitar section Elvis Costello : 12-string rickenbacker, Big stupid guitar, Cox organ, Producer, Vocals Mitchell Froom : "piano frenzy", Cox organ, Producer Jim Keltner : Drums Larry Knechtel : "piano frenzy", Upright piano Jerry Scheff : Bass Kevin Killen : Producer Benmont Tench : "piano frenzy"
Recording : Late 1990 - early 1991 • Studio Ocean Way, Hollywood & Westside Studios, London
Flowers In The Dirt - Archive Collection
Official album • Released in 2017
2:57 • Demo • B • Original Demo
Performed by : Paul McCartney • Elvis Costello Paul McCartney : Producer Eddie Klein : Recording engineer
Session Recording: Oct 23, 1987 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Flowers In The Dirt - Archive Collection
Official album • Released in 2017
2:55 • Demo • C • 1988 Demo
Paul McCartney : Backing vocals, Guitar, Höfner bass, Lead vocal, Producer Hamish Stuart : Electric guitar Chris Whitten : Drums Elvis Costello : Backing vocals, Guitar, Lead vocal, Producer Peter Henderson : Recording engineer Kevin Armstrong : Electric guitar Richard Moakes : Assistant recording engineer
Session Recording: Jan 26, 1988 • Studio Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Unofficial album • Released in 2004
2:53 • Demo • McCartney & Costello demo
Recording : Spring-Summer '87
Flowers In The Dirt - Ultimate Archive Collection
Unofficial album • Released in 2015
2:53 • Studio version • [demo]
Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.
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.
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