Paul McCartney – Soily

He wrote this song in 1971 and with the Wings they played it live for years. It’s not a love ballad by Paul…it’s a rock song with the same intensity as Juinor’s Farm. In 1974 the Wings recorded an in-studio live version that they were going to release on the album One Hand Clapping. They also shot a video while they were there for a documentary.

The album was shall we say… delayed. It didn’t see the light of day until June 14, 2024…over 50 years after it was recorded. It was recorded right after Band On The Run was released. I like hearing Paul reaching for a distorted guitar in his songs. I wish he would have done more through his career. Paul could write good rock songs such as Juinor’s Farm, Jet, Let Me Roll It, and a few more. 

The video portion didn’t get released until 2010 when it appeared in a box set for Band On The Run. The 4K version hit theaters in September of last year. This song didn’t get released to the public until Wings Over America. It was the B side to Maybe I’m Amazed…both versions of course live. The film was going to be Paul’s way of introducing a new Wings.

Guitar player Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell had left Wings right before the recording of the Band on the Run album.  New members…guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton took their spots. They would use this song as an opener through the years and an encore at some shows. It’s a song that is meant to be played live and was never featured on a studio album. 

The One Hand Clapping Album peaked at #10 on the UK Charts and #74 on the Billboard 100 in 2024. 

Jimmy McCulloch was probably the most talented guitar player Paul ever had in Wings. He famously made it when he was 16 with Thunderclap Newman. However, he had a lot of problems. He was somewhat depressed and when he wasn’t he was drinking heavily there were many arguments between the two men and he often would target Linda for her lack of musical talent. It really came to a head around the time of London Town when Jimmy quit.

Paul McCartney:  “Looking back on it [the Wings era], it’s a lot better than I thought, though some of it is just not played as well as The Beatles. My son plays a lot of Wings, so I’m re-listening, and there’s good shit that I’d forgotten about. A lot of the lyrics were off the wall, drug stimulated. Things like ‘Soily – the cat in the satin trousers says its oily’. What was I on? I think the answer is stimulants.”

Soily

One, two
One, two, three, four!

Well, people gathered here tonight
I want you to listen to me
To your left and to your right
We’ve got some pretty soily company

Readers, writers, farmer, priest
Breed controller, born deceased
Indian, lawyer, doctor, dog
And a plumber with a fattened hog

Soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
Soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
Yes, he did!

Well, come on, baby, that soily song
Soily people
Well, come on, baby that’s fine now
Yeah

Romans, Italians, country men
I want you to listen to me
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again
We’ve got some pretty soily company

Liars, cheaters, jungle chief
Saint, believer on relief
Action painter, Hitler’s son
And a commie with a tommy-gun

Soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
Soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
You know he’s right
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Ooh, yeah yeah

Well, come on, baby, that soily song
Soily people
Yeah, come on, baby, that’s going round
Yeah!

People gathered here tonight
I want you to listen to me
To your left and to your right
You’ve got some pretty soily company

Readers, writers, farmer, priest
Saint, believer on relief
Hitler’s painter, action son
And a commie with a tommy-gun

Soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
Soily, soily
Yeah, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
Yeah, soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily, yeah
Soily, soily
Well, the cat in the satin trousers said it’s oily
And you know he’s right
Ooh yeah!

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

26 thoughts on “Paul McCartney – Soily”

  1. Pingback: Paul McCartney – Soily – MobsterTiger

  3. there’s a reason Guitar Player always voted him the best bass player. but yeah, Wings over America was a huge game changer, and sure lyrics?…But Soily was alays played loud, and Medicine Jar, McCullogh’s tune…my air guitar moment

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    2. Hey Warren…I hope it’s alright…I meantion you in a post about Terry Reid on how you introduced that one to me. It will be on Saturday.

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      1. so cool….I forever only knew Terry Reid for an album called, Seed of a Memory, then while looking for a live version of Cheap Trick’s Speak Now and found his version….then looked at his history. He seems like Rory Gallagher in some ways, someone you always knew was there, but didn’t always get the headlines.

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      2. Yea that is a good comparison… he has worked with the best but just isn’t known on his own…what he is known for is turning down Jimmy Page to be the singer in Led Zeppelin but he refered Plant.

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  7. New to me! I remember hearing of One hand Clapping last year but never heard any of it nor for that matter, did I really know if it was a live one, b-sides or something like that. This one does rock but doesn’t grab me like the best of his Wings stuff does… like you say, songs like ‘Junior’s Farm’ are fairly rocking and just a tad more catchy, to me. But cool to hear ‘buried’ stuff by them!
    Hope you’re on the mend there!

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  10. Respectable little rocker from Paul. I love the whole Venus And Mars album, especially “Call Me Back Again”, which is one of his greatest vocals, I think.

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    1. Yea I know what you mean. Sometimes I like hearing the distorted Paul or rocking Paul. Jr’s Farm is one of my favorites and Let Me Roll It.

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  12. Nice rocker! I had to check and, yes, it’s also included on “Wings Over America” as the very last track – while I’ve have that great album on vinyl since the ’80s, frankly, I didn’t remember.

    And, yes, apart from silly love songs, Paul has had some neat rockers. In fact, the man himself can play a mean electric guitar. During each of the three shows I’ve seen, he rocked on the electric at some point – I believe “Let Me Roll It” was one of those songs with Paul on electric.

    Your post is also a good reminder I still need to take a closer look at “One Hand Clapping” – so much rock & roll, so little time! 🙂

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    1. Yes it is….he tried to make it into a single but never released it with a studio version which is strange from Paul. I wish Paul would have done more. I think after Venus and Mars he kinda stayed away from it as much.
      Oh I know Christian…it’s hard to keep up with old/new music

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  14. Pingback: February 4 – Maybe Linda Was Amazed – A Sound Day

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