Anthony Howe
5/05/25
Paul McCartney needs no introduction. 1/4 of the Beatles. 1/2 of Lennon-McCartney. Writer of some of the greatest songs that will ever come to exist. When you hear the words politics and The Beatles, most would immediately think of John Lennon. Lennon wore his politics on his sleeve, never ashamed of the fact that he was a revolutionary, happy to openly criticise the existing structures of the world order to fight for the values he held so dear.
The contrast between Lennon and McCartney, that is so often attributed to their songwriting, when applied to their politics, creates an interesting case study. The politics of John Lennon are a well-trodden story. The bed-in for peace. Give Peace a Chance. His Maoist sympathies. Yet, the politics of Paul McCartney is a story less well known. A story that requires you to scratch beneath the surface, a politics that so often requires you to delve deep beyond the captivating melodies, a politics occasionally laid bare for all to see.
Paul McCartney’s most brazenly political song is “Give Ireland Back to the Irish”, released as a single in February of 1972 as a response to the Bloody Sunday killings. This is one of McCartney’s few openly political songs that resulted in a ban by the BBC due to its alleged pro-IRA sympathies. Despite it being his punchiest political song, it is still delivered in a classic McCartney style. Upbeat. Melodic. Catchy. Promoting the message that if only we could come together as one people, then the troubles could be resolved.
Give Ireland Back to the Irish represents a much wider story than that of the killings that took place in January 1972. This song personifies a personal relationship between McCartney, the music, and the message. A relationship that began in 1957 and continues to this very day. If any of the subject material addressed by McCartney across his decade-spanning musical career warranted a down-to-earth and downbeat protest song, it would be this one. Yet, for McCartney, he refuses to see the music as secondary. No subject matter will be able to resist the force of his melody-making sensibilities, should they guide him that way. McCartney unashamedly talks of Britain’s greatness in a song supposed to be in protest of British activity in Northern Ireland. Unapologetic that the musicality of Give Ireland Back to the Irish is given equal weight to its message. That’s the difference between Lennon and McCartney; for the latter, the music and the message must sit as equals. Never to compromise each other, never to have one diluted to favour the other.
This is what makes the politics of Paul McCartney so interesting. So often, the true meaning of his songs are shrouded in beautiful melodies, glorious orchestration, and intricate instrumentation, resulting in pop perfection. It is McCartney’s unwillingness to compromise on the musicality of his songs that requires you to dig deeper and uncover what truly drives him.
Tune in to “The Young Ones” final radio show tomorrow from 11:30 am as we delve further into the politics of Paul McCartney.
Picture Credit: PaulMcCartney.com, 2025
Politics Hour 