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Released in 1980

Darkroom

Written by Paul McCartney

Last updated on November 15, 2016

Album This song officially appears on the McCartney II Official album.

Timeline This song was officially released in 1980

Master album

Related sessions

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

Related interview

“Darkroom” is a song written and performed by Paul McCartney, released on his second solo album, “McCartney II“, released in 1980.

Paul McCartney in The Beatles – The Dream is Over: Off The Record 2, by Keith Badman:

It wasn’t anything to do With Linda, and the darkroom where she develops her pictures. Actually, somehow I just heard the word ‘darkroom’ and thought it had lots of connotations. It could be a dark room, a photographic darkroom, or just a room, which is dark. You know, a fellow saying to a girl, ‘Come to my dark room,’ is a bit like a ‘Come, let me take you to the Casbah,’ kind of thing. So I thought of this double meaning and it’s just a chant that says, ‘Comma, come along to my darkroom. ‘ And then I added a sort of atmosphere thing in the background and that’s it. It’s supposed to sound like a sort of freaky darkroom or something. Originally ‘Darkroom’ wasn’t going to be on this album because we had to knock off about eight or nine tracks at the beginning. We had planned a double-album, but then it came down to a single album. I was going to lose ‘Darkroom’ because the original version is a very long track and goes on through all sorts of little crazy noises. But I edited it down because I liked it, and now it’s on the album.

The Beatles - The Dream is Over: Off The Record 2

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While the version of “McCartney II” lasts 2:18, a different mix lasting 3:45 was available on bootlegs before its official release on “McCartney II – Archive Collection” in 2011.

In 2005, a mix of “Darkroom” appeared on “Twin Freaks“, the collaborative effort by Paul McCartney and DJ Freelance Hellraiser.

Lyrics

Got a place we can go

Lights are low

Let me show you to my darkroom

Come a come along with me to my darkroom

Come a come along with me to my darkroom

Come a come along with me to my darkroom

Come a come along with me to my darkroom

Come a come a come a come a come a

Come a come a come a come a come a

Got a place we can go

Lighting low

Let me show you to my darkroom

Got a place

Got a place we can go

We can go

Come a come along with me to my darkroom

Lighting low

Let me show you to my darkroom

Come a come along with me to my darkroom

Officially appears on

Bootlegs

See all bootlegs containing “Darkroom”

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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Paul McCartney writing

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