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Released in 1980

Waterfalls

Written by Paul McCartney

Last updated on May 21, 2020

Album This song officially appears on the McCartney II Official album.

Timeline This song was officially released in 1980

Master album

Related sessions

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

Other singles from "McCartney II"

Related interviews

From Wikipedia:

“Waterfalls” is a Paul McCartney ballad from his first solo album after Wings, McCartney II. The song has a stripped-down sound, with McCartney only playing a Fender Rhodes electric piano and a synthesizer and singing. It was released as a single with “Check My Machine” as its B-Side and reached chart position #9 in the UK. In the US, however, it was his first single ever to miss the Billboard Hot 100 chart, only reaching number 106 despite being the follow-up to the number one hit “Coming Up“. In 2013, Rolling Stone Magazine rated it the #25 all-time Paul McCartney post-Beatles song, describing how it contrasted with Wings’ prior single.

When questioned on singles he wished were more successful, McCartney stated, “There’s quite a few, actually. … ‘Waterfalls’, I think is nice.” He also commented that TLC’s single “Waterfalls” carries elements of his song.

Paul McCartney in The Beatles – The Dream is Over: Off The Record 2, by Keith Badman:

The only song that was written before I came to record was Waterfalls… Waterfalls could have been called ‘I Need Love’ but that would have been too ordinary. I just had this waterfalls and lakes idea, from the notices you see in American tourist resorts, and it stuck. Halfway through the album, making it all up as I went along, I got a bit bored. I had finished about eight tracks by then and I thought I would do something different. So I decided to do a song that was already written, a track left over from the last Wings album, and that was my favourite at the time. That’s why it’s included. The original lyrics were just working lyrics, gut lyrics, just spewed out. I thought I’d have to get serious and sensible and change them. Lyrics like that I don’t trust. But in time, I got to like them and I thought I should add electric piano and a distant string synthesizer like a mad Swiss orchestra on a mountaintop. And it worked! A lot of people have rung up about that one and said that it’s their favourite. So when you get such a good feeling, you think that perhaps it should be a single.

From unknown McCartney interview (and reported by The Beatles Bible):

Waterfalls is basically saying don’t go doing a load of dangerous stuff, ’cause I need you. And that’s a kind of more mature thought for me than I would have been able to have done 20 years ago, ’cause I just didn’t realise that it’s not all gonna be here for ever. That’s the kind of thing you realise when you pass 30.

Yeah, it was a “song”, I’d done it on piano. You see, in the early days of the synth, you were intrigued by the synth string sounds, and you thought they were good. You were later to discover that they weren’t! And now of course it’s coming back, retro, and people are going, I like that crappy old string sound. But at the time I thought, “This is enough, it doesn’t need any more, just do the chords”. I think, looking back, it probably would have been a bigger song if it had a better production, because it’s not a bad song.

Paul McCartney, from McCartney II Archive Collection, 2011

From The Beatles Bible:

[…] Two alternative versions of Waterfall were made for its release. A single edit was sent to radio stations, and the soundtrack to the video featured a longer electric piano introduction, but omitted an instrumental break and two choruses.

The promotional video was filmed in June 1980 and featured Olaf, a polar bear from Chipperfields Circus. Filming took place inside an aircraft hanger and involved more than a ton of polystyrene to give the appearance of snow.

Lyrics

Don't go jumping waterfalls

Please keep to the lake

People who jump waterfalls

Sometimes can make mistakes

And I need love, yeah I need love

Like a second needs an hour

Like a raindrop needs a shower

Yeah I need love every minute of the day

And it wouldn't be the same

If you ever should decide to go away

And I need love, yeah I need love

Like a castle needs a tower

Like a garden needs a flower

Yeah I need love every minute of the day

And it wouldn't be the same

If you ever should decide to go away

Don't go chasing polar bears

In the great unknown

Some big friendly polar bear

Might want to take you home

And I need love, yeah I need love

Like a second needs an hour

Like a raindrop needs a shower

Yeah I need love every minute of the day

And it wouldn't be the same

If you ever should decide to go away

Don't run after motor cars

Please stay on the side

Someone's glossy motor car

Might take you for a ride

And I need love, yeah I need love

Like a castle needs a tower

Like a garden needs a flower

Yeah I need love, said I need love

Like a raindrop needs a shower

Like a second needs an hour

Every minute of the day

And it wouldn't be the same

If you ever should decide to go away

Don't go jumping waterfalls

Please keep to the lake

Officially appears on

See all official recordings containing “Waterfalls”

Bootlegs

See all bootlegs containing “Waterfalls”

Related film

  • Waterfalls

    1980 • For Paul McCartney • Directed by Keith McMillan

Live performances

Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.

Going further

The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present

"Waterfalls" is one of the songs featured in the book "The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present," published in 2021. The book explores Paul McCartney's early Liverpool days, his time with the Beatles, Wings, and his solo career. It pairs the lyrics of 154 of his songs with his first-person commentary on the circumstances of their creation, the inspirations behind them, and his current thoughts on them.

Buy on Amazon

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.

Buy on Amazon

Paul McCartney writing

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Notice any inaccuracies on this page? Have additional insights or ideas for new content? Or just want to share your thoughts? We value your feedback! Please use the form below to get in touch with us.

happyan • 1 year ago

Hello!

The first paragraph of the "unknown McCartney interview" should be from this one→https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/album/the-mccartney-interview/. There's an audio available on YouTube on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffQkQx853fs, and you can hear this part at around 48:00.

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