- Album This song officially appears on the Wings At The Speed Of Sound Official album.
Related sessions
This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions
"At The Speed Of Sound" sessions #1
September - October 1975
Recording "The Note You Never Wrote"
Oct 14, 1975
"At The Speed Of Sound" sessions #2
January - February 1976
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The book "The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present", published in 2021, covers Paul McCartney's early Liverpool days, the Beatles, Wings, and solo careers, by pairing the lyrics of 154 of his songs with first-person commentaries of the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what he thinks of them now.
"The Note You Never Wrote" is one of the 154 songs covered.
Lyrics
Later on, the story goes
A bottle floated out to sea
After days, when it had found the perfect spot
It opened up
And I read the note
That you never wrote to me
After all, I’m sure you know
The Mayor of Baltimore is here
After days now he can finally appear
Now at last he’s here
But he never is gonna get my vote
Cos he never is gonna get a quote
From the little note that you never wrote to me
Further on, along the line
I was arrested on the shore
Holding papers of governments galore
I was taken in
But I read the note that you never wrote
Yes, I read the note that you never wrote
Oh, I read the note that you never wrote to me
To me. To me. To me
Officially appears on
Official album • Released in 1976
4:29 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Bass, Electric piano (?), Flute (?), Mellotron (?), Producer
- Linda McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Keyboards, Tambourine (?)
- Denny Laine :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Backing vocals, Flute (?), Vocals
- Jimmy McCulloch :
- Electric guitar
- Joe English :
- Drums, Percussion, Tambourine (?)
- Tony Clark :
- Recording engineer
- Mark Vigars :
- Assistant engineer
- Pete Henderson :
- Mixing engineer
- Fiachra Trench :
- String arrangement
- Session Recording:
- Oct 14, 1975
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs:
- January - March 1976
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- January - March 1976
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Wings At The Speed Of Sound (1993)
Official album • Released in 1993
4:29 • Studio version • A1993 • 1993 remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Bass, Electric piano (?), Flute (?), Mellotron (?), Producer
- Linda McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Keyboards, Tambourine (?)
- Denny Laine :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Backing vocals, Flute (?), Vocals
- Jimmy McCulloch :
- Electric guitar
- Joe English :
- Drums, Percussion, Tambourine (?)
- Tony Clark :
- Recording engineer
- Mark Vigars :
- Assistant engineer
- Pete Henderson :
- Mixing engineer
- Fiachra Trench :
- String arrangement
- Peter Mew :
- Remastering
- Session Recording:
- Oct 14, 1975
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs:
- January - March 1976
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- January - March 1976
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Wings At The Speed Of Sound - Archive Collection
Official album • Released in 2014
4:29 • Studio version • A2014 • 2014 remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Bass, Electric piano (?), Flute (?), Mellotron (?), Producer
- Linda McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Keyboards, Tambourine (?)
- Denny Laine :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Backing vocals, Flute (?), Vocals
- Jimmy McCulloch :
- Electric guitar
- Joe English :
- Drums, Percussion, Tambourine (?)
- Tony Clark :
- Recording engineer
- Mark Vigars :
- Assistant engineer
- Pete Henderson :
- Mixing engineer
- Fiachra Trench :
- String arrangement
- Session Recording:
- Oct 14, 1975
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs:
- January - March 1976
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- January - March 1976
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Wings At The Speed Of Sound (Limited Orange LP)
Official album • Released in 2017
4:29 • Studio version • A2014
- Paul McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Bass, Electric piano (?), Flute (?), Mellotron (?), Producer
- Linda McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Keyboards, Tambourine (?)
- Denny Laine :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Backing vocals, Flute (?), Vocals
- Jimmy McCulloch :
- Electric guitar
- Joe English :
- Drums, Percussion, Tambourine (?)
- Tony Clark :
- Recording engineer
- Mark Vigars :
- Assistant engineer
- Pete Henderson :
- Mixing engineer
- Fiachra Trench :
- String arrangement
- Session Recording:
- Oct 14, 1975
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs:
- January - March 1976
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- January - March 1976
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Bootlegs
Let 'Em Out Vol. 1 - Wings At The Speed Of Sound Sessions And More
Unofficial album • Released in 2010
4:19 • Alternate take • No strings
Wings At The Speed Of Sound - Ultimate Archive Collection
Unofficial album • Released in 2016
4:21 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Bass, Electric piano (?), Flute (?), Mellotron (?), Producer
- Linda McCartney :
- Backing vocals, Keyboards, Tambourine (?)
- Denny Laine :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Backing vocals, Flute (?), Vocals
- Jimmy McCulloch :
- Electric guitar
- Joe English :
- Drums, Percussion, Tambourine (?)
- Tony Clark :
- Recording engineer
- Mark Vigars :
- Assistant engineer
- Pete Henderson :
- Mixing engineer
- Fiachra Trench :
- String arrangement
- Session Recording:
- Oct 14, 1975
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Overdubs:
- January - March 1976
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- January - March 1976
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Wings At The Speed Of Sound - Ultimate Archive Collection
Unofficial album • Released in 2016
4:16 • Studio version • [no strings]
Wings At The Speed Of Sound Sessions
Unofficial album • Released in 2016
4:17 • Outtake • Basic Track, No Horns
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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