B-side "Oh Woman, Oh Why" Recorded 12 October 1970 Length 3:41 | Format 7" Genre Rock | |
Released 19 February 1971 (UK)
22 February 1971 (US) | ||
"Another Day" is a song recorded by Paul McCartney in New York in 1970, during the sessions for his album Ram. Although it was the first single of McCartney's solo career, "Another Day" was written and previewed during the Beatles' Let It Be sessions in 1969. It was released on 19 February 1971 in the UK, with "Oh Woman, Oh Why" as the B-side. Neither song was included on the Ram album.
Contents
History
"Another Day" is written in an observational style reminiscent of "Eleanor Rigby"; Denny Seiwell, the drummer from the Ram Sessions, called it "'Eleanor Rigby' in New York City." The lyrics describe the drudgery and sadness of an unnamed woman's life at work and at home.
Paul's wife, Linda McCartney, provided vocal harmonies on "Another Day". Describing his and Linda's distinctive harmonies, McCartney said "I wanted 'our' sound." Paul was deliberately attempting to create a unique McCartney style, a musical identity outside of the Beatles. McCartney had decided to list Linda as co-writer of more than half the songs on Ram, and this decision extended to "Another Day." Despite her lack of a musical pedigree, he insisted that Linda had been an active collaborator, making valuable suggestions about lyrics and melodies. Linda's credits as co-writer were later regarded as business manoeuvres in the post-Beatles legal matters. In July 1971, Northern Songs and Maclen Music sued Paul and Linda McCartney for violating an exclusive rights agreement by collaborating on "Another Day". In June 1972, ATV announced that "all differences between them have been amicably settled" and Paul and Linda signed a new seven-year co-publishing contract between ATV and McCartney Music.
Matching the lyrical sense of isolation and social alienation was the unique sound of "Another Day." Recording engineer on the Ram sessions Dixon Van Winkle said that Paul asked him to pick the single. With McCartney's blessing, Winkle mixed the song and pressed 100 copies for radio stations. "The next day I heard it on the air, I realized...we got carried away with the bass part...it pumped like crazy. But we never remixed the song, and Paul never said anything."
McCartney has played the song live several times over the years, first on his 1993 World Tour and then for the first time in 20 years on his 2013 Out There Tour.
Recording
According to drummer Denny Seiwell, the song was the first one taped during the Ram sessions in New York City at Columbia Studios. Basic track consisted of McCartney on acoustic guitar, Dave Spinozza on electric and Denny Seiwell on drums, with many overdubs added in subsequent sessions (bass, percussion, several other guitar parts).
Later release
Although "Another Day" and "Oh Woman, Oh Why" were not originally included on Ram, some CD re-releases of Ram have one or both songs as bonus tracks. "Another Day" has also appeared on several of McCartney's greatest hits albums, including All the Best!. It also appeared on the Wings greatest hits compilations Wings Greatest and Wingspan: Hits and History even though the song was not credited to Wings and predates the band's formation. The single was re-released as part of Record Store Day 2012. It was included on the Special and Deluxe editions of the 2012 remaster of Ram.
The song was included on an EP (along with "Oh Woman, Oh Why", "Junk" and "Valentine's Day") released only in Mexico.
Chart performance
The song was a hit in the United States and the United Kingdom, peaking at number five in the US and number two in the UK in March 1971. In Australia, the song spent one week at number one. In France, the song was also a number one hit.
In popular culture
This song is referenced in John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?" in the line "The only thing you done was 'Yesterday', and since you've gone you're just 'Another Day'". It was featured prominently in a 2009 episode of The Simpsons titled "Bart Gets a 'Z'", and has also been included in several films such as 50 First Dates (2004) and The Lovely Bones (2009).