The Lyrics by Paul McCartney is a super special book with Collectors Item potential to have and cherish, and some day pass on! It's the first on my annual Top Gift Of the Year list for 2021.
UPDATE: As of 11/4 the price has gone back down to $60 on this amazon link. It's where I bought mine at that price, but then it went up. Now it's down again. That's $40 SAVINGS! POUNCE ON IT, because it seems to fluctuate.
Note: Because of this year's potential supply chain interruption, I'm going to post item's I'd have saved for my annual Top Gifts of The Year post, because it goes up in early December in the month. This year, I'm posting Top Gifts as I see them!
This is one to buy in Hardcover if you can, but it is pricey at about $100. But it is substantial (See pics below with my hand for size).
If you Google, depending on the day, you can find it for less. I got mine for $60 on Amazon a week ago, but those have gone up to $90 as of today. Still, the prices will vary based on the sellers, so keep checking. Maybe Prime Day will offer it for less.
The Kindle version costs $54 today, but it seems the kind of thing to have in your hands as a visceral tome. Yes you can read the story behind each song on Kindle, but I'd recommend the book, the better to clearly see and share the photos and scrutinize the hand written lyrics.
I googled around and Wordery is offering it for 81 and free shipping as of today.
If you can't find a lower price, why not give that business to your local bookstore to keep them afloat. It is easy to send them through a mail order service someone on your list who lives far away, but you can also use Barnes and Noble, the last standing book store chain in the USA!
But, whatever way it's seen, it is a marvel to know the often very unrelated, or wild connections behind how each brilliant song we know by heart was written, listed in alphabetical order - including songs Paul wrote before and after the Beatles.
The synopsis from Blackwells says it well:
A work of unparalleled candor and splendorous beauty, The Lyrics celebrates the creative life and the musical genius of Paul McCartney through 154 of his most meaningful songs.
From his early Liverpool days, through the historic decade of The Beatles, to Wings and his long solo career, The Lyrics pairs the definitive texts of 154 Paul McCartney songs with first-person commentaries on his life and music. Spanning two alphabetically arranged volumes, these commentaries reveal how the songs came to be and the people who inspired them.
With images from McCartney's personal archives--handwritten texts, paintings, and photographs, hundreds previously unseen--The Lyrics, spanning sixty-four years, becomes the definitive literary and visual record of one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
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