Magic

Song facts

“Magic” is a track from Paul McCartney’s 2001 album “Driving Rain“. 

Recorded 25th February 2001 onto 16-track analogue tape then loaded into Logic Audio for overdubs. Paul played Epiphone electric guitar then overdubbed Hofner Bass, Martin acoustic guitar and the vocal. Abe played Paul’s Ludwig drum kit. Rusty Gibson SG electric guitar and then overdubbed Martin acoustic guitar. Gabe played Fender Rhodes. David overdubbed a synth.

From the liner notes of the album, and from paulmccartney.com

‘There Must Have Been Magic’ This is about meeting Linda – ‘it must have been magic the night that we met’. I met Linda in a club and I always thought years after, particularly after she died, that if I hadn’t stood up that night in a club we might never have met again. It was something I never normally did; I wouldn’t normally stand up as someone was about to leave and say ‘Er, excuse me, hello.…’ I didn’t do that. It was a bit embarrassing for a young guy to do that. I didn’t normally do that but it was just one of those things that I felt I just had to do that night – ‘Hi, um, I’m Paul, who are you?’ And she sort of smiled and said ‘Linda’. I said ‘Er, we’re going onto another club. Are you going home? Shall we meet up at this other club?’ We were in The Bag O’Nails and we said we’d meet up in The Speakeasy. Which we did. So ‘Magic’ is a song about that; it must have been some sort of magic that made me do that. Because if I hadn’t done that I might not have met her again.

Paul McCartney – From “The Driving Rain interview” published on paulmccartney.com, November 2001

Last updated on January 21, 2021

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