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Released in 1991

School - Walk in Single File Out of the Classroom

Written by Paul McCartneyCarl Davis

Last updated on July 10, 2019


Album This song officially appears on the Liverpool Oratorio Official album.

Timeline This song was officially released in 1991

Master album

Related songs

Walk in Single File Out of the Classroom” is the second track of the second movement – entitled “School” – of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio, released in 1991.

II: SCHOOL.  1953. The war baby – Shanty – now 11 years old and at school, celebrates his Liverpool upbringing. With classmates, he skips lessons to “sag off” and sunbathe in the graveyard of Liverpool Cathedral. Sleeping on a gravestone, he dreams of ghosts of the past and the future. One of the ghosts, Mary Dee, is his bride-to-be. Waking and back at school, Shanty and his classmates are taught Spanish in the form of a folk song by their new mistress, Miss Inkley.

“Liverpool Oratorio” liner notes

Lyrics

HEADMASTER

Walk in single file out of the classroom,

Down the stairs and into the playground.


BOYS

Through the school gates,

Cross the road, and over the cemetery fence,

Down the hill to where the grave-stones

Lie inviting in the sun.

Officially appears on

Live performances

School - Walk in Single File Out of the Classroom” has been played in 6 concerts.

Latest concerts where “School - Walk in Single File Out of the Classroom” 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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