Try Not To Cry

Song facts

“Try Not To Cry” is one of the three original McCartney songs appearing on “Run Devil Run” (the other two being “What It Is” and “Run Devil Run“). From the liner notes of “Run Devil Run“:

“I just wrote a bluesy song that never gets in the way of the snare. It was actually that simple.”

From an interview with Laura Gross (promotional interview for “Run Devil Run” in 1999):

Laura Gross: Now this one is yours, Try Not To Cry.

Paul McCartney: Yeah. Some songs come from, like, an idea. And this one came from a very specific idea. When you’re mixing a record, it’s really good if you can get like, let’s say, a lot of bass drums come through. And sometimes the words go over the bass drum. So you got to favour the words. So you don’t get enough bass drum. So I thought, ah, I know, just as a little exercise, I’ll work, I’ll work out a song, was actually not the bass drum, was the snare drum, I’ll work out a song that avoids the off beat. So it was like, Sometimes, I’m right, sometimes, I’m wrong. Put the song in the gaps. Yeah, so that was like the whole idea of the song and I put some words, you know, filled out all the words. And the chorus didn’t bother with that, the chorus just went to a chorus. But that was the whole idea. So consequently, when I came in, all I could tell the guys was, well, it goes like this, you know, you got, I said, I’m sitting there, you know, supposed to be a good song writer, and I’m saying, I’ve got this song, guys. And I’m thinking, God, they’re just gonna laugh at me. It goes like this, Somet, Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong, how can, I do it, if I don’t know, the song, all day, I try. And I’m looking at them and they’re going, uhuhm. They’re trying to look interested, you know. This is, this is good, Paul. I think, they’re thinking, oooh, tilt, you know, something, ba, drastically wrong has happened here. Sometimes I’m right, ponk. But, and then, it worked out, you know. And then, and they all saw what I was trying to do. And they fell in with it and so they laid it with the off beat. Peh, peh. So it worked out fine, but it was, was kind of like a little formula. But they, it worked out nice, I’m really pleased with it, actually.

Last updated on September 20, 2016

Lyrics