- Album This song officially appears on the Pipes Of Peace Official album.
- Timeline This song has been written (or started being written) in 1982 (Paul McCartney was 40 years old)
Related sessions
This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions
Jan 29, 1982
Mixing "Tug Of Peace", "The Other Me"
Jul 06, 1983
Related interviews
Paul McCartney Talks 1983 Classic ‘Pipes Of Peace’ With James Dean Bradfield
Sep 30, 2015 • From DIY
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Song facts
“Tug Of Peace” is a track from 1983 album “Pipes Of Peace“.
The great thing about working with Paul is that you can try anything, he’s great for experimenting. For example, on ‘Tug Of Peace’ I had the idea of having a kind of Zulu sound, and I wanted to get the noise of thumping assegais on the ground. So we got a whole stack of garden canes, and Paul and I ended up with about 15 each, holding them, and chomping them down, which is that tremendous sound you hear on the off-beat. Just a noise that I had in my mind, which he thought would be fun to do.
George Martin, from Club Sandwich N° 31, 1983
Last updated on February 23, 2020
Lyrics
It's a tug of war
No no, your troubles cease when you learn to
play the pipes of peace
It's a tug of war
No no, your troubles cease when you learn to
play the pipes of peace
What with one thing and another
It's a tug of war.
No no no no
It's a tug of war,
No no, your troubles cease you learn to
play the pipes of peace
It's a tug of war,
Learn to play the pipes of peace
Pushing, pushing
Pulling, pulling
Pushing, pulling
Officially appears on
Official album • Released in 1983
2:55 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Arrangement, Backing vocals, Bass (?), Drums (?), Electric guitar (?), Garden canes, Keyboards (?), Shaker (?), Tambourine (?), Vocals
- George Martin :
- Arrangement, Garden canes, Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Jon Jacobs :
- Mixing engineer assistant, Recording engineer assistant
- Session Recording:
- Jan 29, 1982
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Jul 06, 1983
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Official album • Released in 1993
Studio version • A • 1993 remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Arrangement, Backing vocals, Bass (?), Drums (?), Electric guitar (?), Garden canes, Keyboards (?), Shaker (?), Tambourine (?), Vocals
- George Martin :
- Arrangement, Garden canes, Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Jon Jacobs :
- Mixing engineer assistant, Recording engineer assistant
- Session Recording:
- Jan 29, 1982
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Jul 06, 1983
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Pipes Of Peace - Archive Collection
Official album • Released in 2015
2:55 • Studio version • A2015 • 2015 remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Arrangement, Backing vocals, Bass (?), Drums (?), Electric guitar (?), Garden canes, Keyboards (?), Shaker (?), Tambourine (?), Vocals
- George Martin :
- Arrangement, Garden canes, Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Jon Jacobs :
- Mixing engineer assistant, Recording engineer assistant
- Sam Okell :
- Remastering
- Alex Wharton :
- Remastering
- Session Recording:
- Jan 29, 1982
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Jul 06, 1983
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
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
Pipes Of Peace - Ultimate Archive Collection
Unofficial album • Released in 2016
2:54 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar (?), Arrangement, Backing vocals, Bass (?), Drums (?), Electric guitar (?), Garden canes, Keyboards (?), Shaker (?), Tambourine (?), Vocals
- George Martin :
- Arrangement, Garden canes, Producer
- Geoff Emerick :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Jon Jacobs :
- Mixing engineer assistant, Recording engineer assistant
- Session Recording:
- Jan 29, 1982
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
- Session Mixing:
- Jul 06, 1983
- Studio :
- AIR Studios, London, UK
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
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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