Dear Boy (song)

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Album This song officially appears on the Ram LP.

Timeline This song has been officially released in 1971

Timeline This song has been written (or started being written) in 1971 (Paul McCartney was 29 years old)

Daytime Nightime Suffering

Dear Friend

Master release

Ram

By Paul & Linda McCartney

Related sessions

This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions

Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"

Mar 01, 1971

Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"

Mar 09, 1971

Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"

Mar 10, 1971

Recording "Dear Boy", "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"

Mar 12, 1971

"Thrillington" session #1

Jun 15, 1971

"Thrillington" session #2

Jun 16, 1971

"Thrillington" session #3

Jun 17, 1971

"Thrillington" session #4

Jun 18, 1971

Related interviews

You Gave Me The Answer (2016)

2016 • From paulmccartney.com

Interview with Eirik Wangberg

Jan 01, 2005

Spread the love! If you like what you are seeing, share it on social networks and let others know about The Paul McCartney Project.

Song facts

“Dear Boy” is a song from Paul and Linda McCartney’s 1971 album “Ram“. From Wikipedia:

[…] Credited to Paul and Linda McCartney, the song was written during the couple’s lengthy holiday on their farm in the Mull of Kintyre. The lyrics were written by Paul about how lucky he was to have Linda. […]
“Dear Boy” was also written as a message to Linda McCartney’s ex-husband, Joseph Melville See, about how See missed out on Linda. In the 2012 RAM Special Edition Documentary, Paul describes the song as written about Linda’s former husband, Joseph Melville See Jr., and the things he hadn’t seen in her. […]
Paul’s former partner John Lennon, however, thought that the song was about him. Certain lines such as “She was just the cutest thing around” could have referred to Paul as being the cute Beatle. Paul may have changed the gender to conceal his identity and John mentioned in subsequent interviews that the Ram album had subtle allusions to himself and Yoko Ono. Since then, however, Paul has said that the song wasn’t about Lennon.

Dear Boy was my attempt at an autobiography about myself and how lucky I was to have Linda. I never realized how lucky I was to have her until I began writing the song.
Paul McCartney, 1971

Dear Boy wasn’t getting at John, Dear Boy was actually a song to Linda’s ex-husband: ‘I guess you never knew what you had missed.’ I never told him that, which was lucky, because he’s since committed suicide. And it was a comment about him, ’cause I did think, ‘Gosh, you know, she’s so amazing, I suppose you didn’t get it.’
Paul McCartney, in MOJO interview, 2001

From The Beatles Bible:

At the memorial service for Linda McCartney, held on 8 June 1998 at St Martin-in-the-Fields church in London, a number of songs were performed. The Brodsky Quartet played a series of songs written by Paul for his wife: they were Golden Earth Girl, Dear Boy, Calico Skies and My Love.

From mixing engineering Eirik Wangberg:

How did you achieve the sort of “4 dimensional” Paul and Linda angelical harmonies?
It was quite a challenge for me to do these things. But, when it works it’s really lots of fun – especially if the arranger (Paul) knows his job. As Paul really knew what he was doing (laughs), the harmonies and voice tracks (there were many ones) did not step on each other or kill each other in the mix. As you may already know, Paul is here inspired by the Beach Boys vocal arrangements, whom I also have recorded. Elton John calls these harmonies the best he’s ever heard!
Engineer Eirik Wangberg, interviewed by Claudio Dirani, 2005

Last updated on June 5, 2020

Lyrics

I guess you never knew Dear Boy
What you had found,
I guess you never knew Dear Boy
That she was just the cutest thing around,
I guess you never knew what you had found, Dear Boy.

I guess you never saw Dear Boy
That love was endless,
And leave you when you love too long, Dear Boy
And never give it all away
I guess you never give it all away Dear Boy

I stepped in, my heart was dumb
And now for my love came through, and brought me down,
Can't be on hang about.

Dear Boy, how much you missed,
Dear Boy.

I hope you never know, Dear Boy,
How much you missed;
And even when you fall in love, Dear Boy,
It won't be half as good as this.
Hope you never know how much you missed, Dear boy.
How much you missed Dear Boy.