"Thinking of Linking" | |
---|---|
Song by the Beatles | |
Recorded | 23 June 1994 |
Studio | Friar Park Studio, Henley-On-Thames |
Genre | Pop |
Songwriter(s) | Paul McCartney |
"Thinking of Linking" is one of the first songs written by Paul McCartney.
McCartney wrote the song at 20 Forthlin Road,[1] probably between January and May 1958.[2] While he and George Harrison attended the cinema, a commercial advertising Link furniture caught his attention with its concluding tagline, "Are you thinking of linking?"[2] In a 1987 interview for Mark Lewisohn’s book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions,[3] McCartney recalled, " ... I came out of there thinking 'That should be a song. Thinking of linking, people are gonna get married, gotta write that!'”[1] Lewisohn writes that the only lyrics to the song are: "Well I've been thinking of linking my life with you / Thinking of linking a love so true / Thinking of linking can only be done by two."[3] In the interview, McCartney describes the lyrics as, "Pretty corny stuff!"[1] Lewisohn writes that, like most of the music John Lennon and McCartney were writing at that time, its style is heavily indebted to the sound of Buddy Holly and the Crickets.[3] Everett writes the song's sound is perhaps influenced by the Buddy Holly song Peggy Sue Got Married.[4]
In the 1970s, rumours began circulating that there existed a 1962 tape of the Beatles rehearsing several early songs, including "Thinking of Linking", but these claims are unsupported.[5] The earliest recording of the song is of the Beatles during the January 1969 rehearsals for the "Get Back" project. Throughout the informal sessions, the band played several of their earliest compositions.[6] On 3 January, while Lennon sings Irving Berlin's "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody", McCartney and Harrison begin to sing "Thinking of Linking". The song stops after one line because McCartney either forgets the words or loses interest.[7] The song is next heard on 29 January; while Lennon sings "Peggy Sue Got Married", he forgets the lyrics and instead substitutes the lyrics of "Thinking of Linking".[8]
On 23 June 1994,[9] the remaining Beatles McCartney, Harrison and Ringo Starr – "the Threetles" – played at Harrison's Friar Park home for The Beatles Anthology.[10] Among the songs performed was "Thinking of Linking", played on two acoustic guitars and brushes.[10] This performance did not feature in the original The Beatles Anthology documentary series but was later included as part of extra footage when the documentary was released on DVD in 2003. The song has a brief guitar introduction, one verse and no chorus.[citation needed]
Although the song was never completed beyond its one verse, it is historically significant as an example of one of the early songs that John Lennon and McCartney wrote together or separately before they had a publishing deal. Talking about such early songs, McCartney said "We wrote a few that never got published, before we went with a publisher, and I say, it's really now they're in here [his memory]. They never got put down anywhere so there's really only my memory that can sort of remember them, you know. So it's something I want to do something with actually, 'cause they're pretty rough songs, but they're not bad in a rock-a-billy kind of way".[11] In a 2005 interview with Lewisohn, Cliff Roberts, a singer and contemporary of the Beatles, recalled a van ride in the summer of 1962 where McCartney began singing "Thinking of Linking" and offered Roberts exclusive use of the song. He further recalled that McCartney wrote the lyrics and chords on a piece of paper, but that Roberts eventually lost it and never performed the song.[12]
Personnel
According to Everett:[13]
- Paul McCartney – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
- George Harrison – backing vocals, acoustic guitar
- Ringo Starr – drums
Notes
- ^ a b c Lewisohn 1988, p. 12.
- ^ a b Lewisohn 2013a, p. 171.
- ^ a b c Lewisohn 2013a, p. 820n37.
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 372n30.
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 371n25.
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 27.
- ^ Sulpy & Schweighardt 2007, p. 28.
- ^ Sulpy & Schweighardt 2007, p. 253.
- ^ Badman 2001, p. 521.
- ^ a b Everett 1999, p. 287.
- ^ Baird 1987.
- ^ Lewisohn 2013b, p. 1586n9.
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 287.
References
- Badman, Keith (2001). The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-8307-0.
- Baird, Julia (1987). Paul McCartney in conversation Paul Talks CD. Julia Baird.
- Everett, Walter (1999). The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver through the Anthology. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-512941-0. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- Everett, Walter (2001). The Beatles As Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514105-4. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0-600-63561-1.
- Lewisohn, Mark (2013a). The Beatles – All These Years, Volume One: Tune In. New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-1-101-90329-2.
- Lewisohn, Mark (2013b). The Beatles – All These Years, Volume One: Tune In (Extended Special ed.). Crown Archetype. ISBN 978-1-4087-0478-3.
- Sulpy, Doug; Schweighardt, Ray (2007). Drugs, Divorce and a Slipping Image: The Complete, Unauthorized Story of the Beatles' "Get Back" Sessions. Albrightsville: The 910. ISBN 978-0-9643869-8-3.