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Released in 2018

Confidante

Written by Paul McCartney

Last updated on December 19, 2020

Album This song officially appears on the Egypt Station Official album.

Timeline This song was officially released in 2018

Master album

Related sessions

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

Related interviews

“Confidante” is a track from 2018 album “Egypt Station“. Paul McCartney premiered the song before the release of the album during his July 2018 concert at The Cavern, and introduced it by explaining:

When I was a kid I’d be playing that guitar all the time. But I hadn’t done it for a while. It was there looking a bit forlorn. It used to be my confidante, my under-the-staircase friend. I had other friends!

Paul McCartney

From “Words Between The Tracks” YouTube series:

With the song “Confidante”, I happened to be at home and I was looking in the corner where, propped up, was my old Martin guitar that I normally just have there, so if I feel like playing the guitar, I’ll take it down and play it or try and write a song or whatever you do.

And I thought to myself, I haven’t had time lately to play guitar. And it reminded me that when we first got guitars years and years ago they would be like a friend. It would be like a confidant. You’d go off into a corner, and you’d write a little song, and you would sort-of almost tell your troubles to your guitar.

It’s a love song to the guitar, how the guitar was my confidant, and I told you every little secret thing, and, in fact, unlike my other so-called friends, you stood beside me while I fought. So it became a symbol of the guitar as a mate, as a friend, as a confidant.

Paul McCartney

[Paul McCartney’s] main acoustic is his Martin D28 which he’s had for about 30 years. He’s used that for everything, recording, live. We’ve got a couple, we’ve just got a new-ish one and he’s got an older one, a ’64 D28 that lives at home with him. He wrote a song on his last album called Confidante, and that was written about that guitar.

Keith Smith, Paul’s technical manager – from Music Radar, December 18, 2020
Each track of “Egypt Station” has been given individual artwork that was first published on Twitter on August 14, 2018
From Twitter –  Paul with his ‘Confidante’ 2018. Photo by @maryamccartney

Lyrics

You used to be my confidante

My underneath the staircase friend

But I fell out of love with you

And brought our romance to an end

I played with you throughout the day

And told you every secret thought

Unlike my other so-called friends

You stood beside me as I fought

In your reflected glory I

Could dream of shining far off lands

Where serpents turn to bits of string

And played like kittens in my hand

In our imaginary world

Where butterflies wear army boots

And stomp around the forest chanting

Long lost anthems

Long lost anthems

You used to be my confidante

My underneath the staircase friend

But I fell out of love with you

And brought our romance to an end

I played with you throughout the day

And told you every secret thought

Unlike my other so-called friends

You stood beside me as I fought

You stood beside me as I fought

You used to be my confidante

Variations

  • A Album version
  • L1 Live at LIPA

Officially appears on

Bootlegs

Videos

Album Egypt Station - Explorer's Edition

Album Egypt Station - Traveller's Edition

Live performances

“Confidante” has been played in 3 concerts and 1 soundchecks.

Latest concerts where “Confidante” has been played

Going further

The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present

"Confidante" is one of the songs featured in the book "The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present," published in 2021. The book explores Paul McCartney's early Liverpool days, his time with the Beatles, Wings, and his solo career. It pairs the lyrics of 154 of his songs with his first-person commentary on the circumstances of their creation, the inspirations behind them, and his current thoughts on them.

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Paul McCartney writing

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Robert • 6 years ago

That is a absolute blinder pure mcartney

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