Paul McCartney will present a vulnerable retrospective of his early days, long before he conquered the world with The Beatles, on his new studio album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane. Out May 29th, the 14-track LP marks Sir Paul’s first new album in five years [pre-order].
Billed as “his most introspective album to date,” The Boys of Dungeon Lane revisits McCartney’s childhood growing up in post-war Liverpool. His middle-class upbringing, hard-working parents, and early friendships with John Lennon and George Harrison inspired the lyrics, and—in the style of his 1970 solo debut, McCartney—Paul plays almost all the instruments, giving it an added personal feel. McCartney spent the last five years crafting the album with producer Andrew Watt, recording in L.A. and Sussex, England, between legs of his world tours.
Along with the album announcement, McCartney shared the lead single, “Days We Left Behind”. The stripped-down, acoustic number is a melancholic memory, even the first time you hear it. As McCartney lists things he’s lost, like Lennon or a house he used to live in, the message is that—even though those things may be gone—they’re always with you. “Nothing stays the same / No one needs to cry / Nothing can reclaim / The days we left behind.”
“This is very much a memory song for me,” McCartney said. “The album title, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, comes from a lyric in this track. I was thinking just that, about the days I left behind and I do often wonder if I’m just writing about the past but then I think how can you write about anything else? It’s just a lot of memories of Liverpool. It involves a bit in the middle about John and Forthlin Road which is the street I used to live in. Dungeon Lane is near there. I used to live in a place called Speke which is quite working class. We didn’t have much at all but it didn’t matter because all the people were great and you didn’t notice you didn’t have much.”
Related: Paul McCartney Reveals Unfulfilled Plans To Record With Bob Weir In Tribute Post [Photos]
Listen to “Days We Left Behind” below and pre-order the new Paul McCartney album, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, here. Macca has a pair of intimate underplays at L.A.’s Fonda Theatre on Friday and Saturday, where there’s a good chance audiences might hear some of the new record. Registration for tickets is closed.
Paul McCartney — “Days We Left Behind” [Official Lyric Video]
The Boys of Dungeon Lane Tracklist
1. “As You Lie There”
2. “Lost Horizon”
3. “Days We Left Behind”
4. “Ripples in a Pond”
5. “Mountain Top”
6. “Down South”
7. “We Two”
8. “Come Inside”
9. “Never Know”
10. “Home to Us”
11. “Life Can Be Hard”
12. “First Star of the Night”
13. “Salesman Saint”
14. “Momma Gets By”
