Released in 1998
The White Coated Man
Written by Paul McCartney • Linda Eastman / McCartney • Carla Lane
Last updated on November 10, 2020
Released in 1998
Written by Paul McCartney • Linda Eastman / McCartney • Carla Lane
Last updated on November 10, 2020
Album This song officially appears on the Wide Prairie Official album.
Timeline This song was officially released in 1998
This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:
"Flowers In The Dirt" sessions at Hog Hill Mill
April - July 1988
You Gave Me The Answer - 'Wide Prairie'
Aug 02, 2019 • From paulmccartney.com
From Wide Prairie liner notes:
Linda’s and my involvement with animal rights caused her and our friend Carla Lane to come up with The White Coated Man. Carla’s poignant lyric explores the vivisection issue.
Linda felt deeply about the suffering of innocent animals for mankind’s gain, which still continues to this day and will until we can as a society show compassion towards the creatures we share our planet with.
Paul McCartney
Through the bars and morning light
What is this feeling?
Why can't I move?
Sometime today they'll set me free
I'll hear a voice and it will be my friend,
The white coated man
Where's the wind? Where are the leaves?
What happened? Why this pain?
Sometime today they'll set me free
I'll hear a voice and it will be my friend,
The white coated man
If man wants life and eternity
Then men must pay and men must see
That we are theirs to mind
But man is the voice, man is the law
If man gets sick he will find a cure
Our friend, the white coated man
In the distance people are laughing
Do they know about me?
Why can't I see?
And they will pay, the silent ones
And they will pay, the silent ones will pay
The silent ones will pay
The silent ones will pay
The silent ones will pay
Official album • Released in 1998
2:16 • Studio version • A
Paul McCartney : Drums, Electric guitar, Emulator strings, Hofner bass, Producer Linda Eastman / McCartney : Casio keyboard, Lead vocal Robbie McIntosh : Electric guitar Carla Lane : Spoken verse Eddie Klein : Recording engineer John Hammel : Recording engineer Steve Johnson : Bass kurzweil, Synth strings, Trumpet Alvin Clark : Recording engineer
Official album • Released in 2019
2:16 • Studio version • A2019 • 2019 remaster
Paul McCartney : Drums, Electric guitar, Emulator strings, Hofner bass, Producer Linda Eastman / McCartney : Casio keyboard, Lead vocal Robbie McIntosh : Electric guitar Carla Lane : Spoken verse Eddie Klein : Recording engineer John Hammel : Recording engineer Steve Johnson : Bass kurzweil, Synth strings, Trumpet Alvin Clark : Recording engineer Alex Wharton : Remastering
Album Wide Prairie
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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