"I like the idea of Christmas songs purely because Christmas only comes."
Paul McCartney has explained the inspiration behind his classic song 'Wonderful Christmastime', clearing up confusion about its lyrics, among other things, and also alluding to the unreleased Christmas record he's made.
The catchy song was released in 1979 and has been a favorite of fans and Christmas lovers ever since. In time for this year's holiday season, Paul McCartney answered some questions about 'Wonderful Christmastime' on the website.
Commenting on the song's popularity, Paul McCartney: “I like the idea of Christmas songs purely because Christmas only comes! They remind us of the fun atmosphere of the whole season, and when I was writing 'Wonderful Christmastime' I was trying to capture that festive aspect."
“I was really hoping it would keep coming back – and it did. Sometimes people walk into a store and listen to it a little bit more, but I don't care! I'm happy!” he continued.
Paul McCartney also responded to rumors about the song's lyrics and clarified whether he is singing "the moon is right" or "the mood is right".
"It says "the mood"! And you know what, I'm thinking Liverpool Christmas parties, that's really all I'm doing with this song. "'The mood is right, let's raise our glasses, cheers are high" – you know, all the things you do at Christmas. Especially with the old Liverpool family parties,” he explained.
Confusion over the lyrics has led to a rather outlandish theory that the song is about people practicing witchcraft and pretending to just celebrate Christmas when they are spotted.
Paul McCartney joked: “Oh yeah. Well, thank God they found me. This is completely true and I'm actually the head wizard of a coven of wizards in Liverpool (laughs). Either that… or it's complete nonsense. And you know it's the second one!”
As many of his fans wonder if he will release more Christmas music, Paul McCartney has revealed that he has created a record just for his family.
“When the kids were little, it suddenly occurred to me that there is no such thing as the ideal Christmas record, in my opinion. There are some great Christmas records, like Phil Spector's, and Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby's old standards, but I just wanted an instrumental with all the tunes," he said.
“So I finally recorded a record for the family in my studio. And Eddie Klein, my sound engineer at the time, helped me,” he continued.
“Now I have this album that I put out every year, and it's fun for the kids when we're carving the roast vegetables. I put it on and it means Christmas is here. It's actually a cute little disc! But it's just for the family," he noted.
While he didn't give a definitive answer as to whether we'll ever hear this record, Paul McCartney added: "I've often thought that it's good enough if people want to release it, and I thought I could do it for charity or something like that, but I never felt confident enough to make a decision."
"It's just a family record and I'm going to put it out again this Christmas," he said.
