- Album This song officially appears on the This One / The First Stone 7" Single.
Related sessions
This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions
Jul 13, 1988
Oct 21, 1988
Other songs written by Paul McCartney & Hamish Stuart
Officially appears on C'Mon People
Unreleased song
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Song facts
“The First Stone” is the first song co-written by Paul McCartney & Hamish Stuart, released in 1989 as the B-Side of the “This One” single.
Last updated on March 29, 2017
Lyrics
Hey, you sinners, open all the doors,
Have I got news for you
About that money loving preach of yours.
Friday night you'll find him taking pictures
Of a model in a cheap hotel.
Sunday morning he's raving from the pulpit,
Threatening to send us all to hell, well, well.
Don't throw, don't throw, don't throw,
Don't throw any stones.
If you can't live by what you teach,
You better leave alone.
Don't throw, don't throw, don't throw,
Don't throw any stones.
Unless you practice what you preach,
You'll never find love.
Can't find love,
Can't find love,
Can't find love,
Can't find love.
Don't throw, don't throw, don't throw,
Don't throw any stones.
If you can't live by what you teach,
You better leave alone.
Don't throw, don't throw, don't throw,
Don't throw any stones.
Unless you practice what you preach,
You'll never find love.
Hey, you sinners, well, you never can tell,
The glory train is leaving in the morning
But the preacher's there to say farewell, well, well.
Can't find love,
Can't find love,
Can't find love,
Can't find love,
Can't find love,
Can't find love.
Yet be you who is without sins, cast the first stone.
(the first stone, the first stone, the first stone)
Can't find love,
Can't find love,
You can't find love,
You can't find love.
Officially appears on
7" Single • Released in 1989
4:07 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Arrangement, Backing vocals, Guitars, Producer, Vocals
- Hamish Stuart :
- Backing vocals, Guitars
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Chris Whitten :
- Drum samples, Drums
- Matt Butler :
- Assistant engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jul 13, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 21, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
CD Single • Released in 1989
4:07 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Arrangement, Backing vocals, Guitars, Producer, Vocals
- Hamish Stuart :
- Backing vocals, Guitars
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Chris Whitten :
- Drum samples, Drums
- Matt Butler :
- Assistant engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jul 13, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 21, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
12" Single • Released in 1989
4:07 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Arrangement, Backing vocals, Guitars, Producer, Vocals
- Hamish Stuart :
- Backing vocals, Guitars
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Chris Whitten :
- Drum samples, Drums
- Matt Butler :
- Assistant engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jul 13, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 21, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Flowers In The Dirt - Archive Collection
Official album • Released in 2017
4:07 • Studio version • A2017 • 2017 remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Arrangement, Backing vocals, Guitars, Producer, Vocals
- Hamish Stuart :
- Backing vocals, Guitars
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Chris Whitten :
- Drum samples, Drums
- Matt Butler :
- Assistant engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jul 13, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 21, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
7" Single • Released in 2022
4:07 • Studio version • A2017
- Paul McCartney :
- Arrangement, Backing vocals, Guitars, Producer, Vocals
- Hamish Stuart :
- Backing vocals, Guitars
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Chris Whitten :
- Drum samples, Drums
- Matt Butler :
- Assistant engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jul 13, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 21, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Bootlegs
Unofficial album • Released in 2000
4:07 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Arrangement, Backing vocals, Guitars, Producer, Vocals
- Hamish Stuart :
- Backing vocals, Guitars
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Chris Whitten :
- Drum samples, Drums
- Matt Butler :
- Assistant engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jul 13, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 21, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
UK Singles Collection - Volume 04
Unofficial album • Released in 2007
4:07 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Arrangement, Backing vocals, Guitars, Producer, Vocals
- Hamish Stuart :
- Backing vocals, Guitars
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Chris Whitten :
- Drum samples, Drums
- Matt Butler :
- Assistant engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jul 13, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 21, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Unofficial album • Released in 2011
4:07 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Arrangement, Backing vocals, Guitars, Producer, Vocals
- Hamish Stuart :
- Backing vocals, Guitars
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Chris Whitten :
- Drum samples, Drums
- Matt Butler :
- Assistant engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jul 13, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 21, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Flowers In The Dirt - Ultimate Archive Collection
Unofficial album • Released in 2015
4:07 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Arrangement, Backing vocals, Guitars, Producer, Vocals
- Hamish Stuart :
- Backing vocals, Guitars
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Chris Whitten :
- Drum samples, Drums
- Matt Butler :
- Assistant engineer
- Session Recording:
- Jul 13, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 21, 1988
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Live performances
Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.
Going further
Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989
With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.
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