Related sessions
This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions
Circa 1970
Aug 06, 1971
Oct 05, 1971
Recording & mixing "Dear Friend"
Oct 16, 1971
Other message songs to John Lennon
Officially appears on Ram
Best Friend (aka "Why Did You Treat Me So Bad?")
Officially appears on Red Rose Speedway - Archive Collection
Related interviews
You Gave Me The Answer - Celebrating 50 years of Wings and ‘Wild Life’
Jan 31, 2022 • From paulmccartney.com
You Gave Me The Answer - 'Wild Life' Special
Oct 29, 2018 • From paulmccartney.com
RAM, Wings, and Beyond: An Interview with Denny Seiwell
May 22, 2012 • From The Morton Report
The Making Of Paul McCartney - The story of Band On The Run
Oct 12, 2010 • From Clash
Winter 1994 • From Club Sandwich
Nov 20, 1971 • From Sounds
McCartney: I know I'm good. If I'm in the right mood I can write a solid gold hit
Nov 20, 1971 • From Disc And Music Echo
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Song facts
If we exclude the 53 seconds of “Mumbo Link“, “Dear Friend” is the closing track of Wings’ first album “Wild Life” released in 1971. If “Wild Life” has often been considered as a low-point in Paul McCartney’s career, “Dear Friend” is usually recognized as one of the best tracks of the album (the other one being “Tomorrow“).
The song has been written about John Lennon, as Paul explained in a Club Sandwich interview, 1994:
“Dear Friend” was written about John, yes. I don’t like grief and arguments, they always bug me. Life is too precious, although we often find ourselves guilty of doing it. So after John had slagged me off in public I had to think of a response, and it was either going to be to slag him off in public — and some instinct stopped me, which I’m really glad about — or do something else. So I worked on my attitude and wrote “Dear Friend”, saying, in effect, let’s lay the guns down, let’s hang up our boxing gloves.
From paulmccartney.com, October 29, 2018:
And then with ‘Dear Friend’, that’s sort of me talking to John after we’d had all the sort of disputes about The Beatles break up. I find it very emotional when I listen to it now. I have to sort of choke it back. I’m not going to cry in front of all you lot though! [Paul gestures to the five of us in the room sitting on the edge of our seats, captivated by the story!] But, for me, it is a bit like that. I remember when I heard the song recently, listening to the roughs [remastering works-in-progress] in the car. And I thought, ‘Oh God’. That lyric: ‘Really truly, young and newly wed’. Listening to that was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s true!’ I’m trying to say to John, ‘Look, you know, it’s all cool. Have a glass of wine. Let’s be cool.’ And luckily we did get it back together, which was like a great source of joy because it would have been terrible if he’d been killed as things were at that point and I’d never got to straighten it out with him. This was me reaching out. So, I think it’s very powerful in some very simple way. But it was certainly heartfelt.
Paul McCartney
Often I would think of John, and what a pity it was that we’d argued so publicly and so viciously at times. At the time of writing this song, in early 1971, he’d called the McCartney album “rubbish” in Rolling Stone magazine. It was a really difficult time. I just felt sad about the breakdown in our friendship, and this song kind of came flowing out. “Dear friend, what’s the time?/ Is this really the borderline? Are we splitting up? Is this ‘you go your way; I’ll go mine’?”
Paul McCartney – From Paul McCartney reveals the stories behind his greatest hits | The Sunday Times Magazine | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk), 2021
It’s just about a dear friend, whatever it means to you. It’s really ‘Dear friend, quit messing around. Let’s just throw the wine, have a good time and stop messing.’ Like George says, ‘Isn’t it a pity that we break each other’s hearts.’ Well, that’s me saying, ‘Let’s not…’
Paul McCartney – From “The Beatles: Off The Record 2 – The Dream is Over: Dream Is Over Vol 2” by Keith Badman
Are there any songs which reply to John?
I don’t write anything consciously. Sometimes when I’m pissed off with John over the Apple business a line might creep in. I suppose when I wrote ‘Too many people preaching practices/Don’t let them tell you what you want to be’ was at him. If there’s anything on this album ‘Dear Friend’ is the nearest thing to that.
Paul McCartney – Interview with Disc And Music Echo, November 1971
The album was completed before John’s album [Imagine] came out
Paul McCartney – Interview with Disc And Music Echo, November 1971
Some have seen this song as an answer to John Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep“, featured on the “Imagine” album. It seems however unlikely as “Imagine” was published in September 1971, while “Dear Friend” has been recorded in July 1971.

Last updated on April 24, 2022

The book "The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present", published in 2021, covers Paul McCartney's early Liverpool days, the Beatles, Wings, and solo careers, by pairing the lyrics of 154 of his songs with first-person commentaries of the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what he thinks of them now.
"Dear Friend" is one of the 154 songs covered.
Lyrics
Dear friend, what's the time
Is this really the borderline
Does it really mean so much to you
Are you afraid, or is it true
Dear friend, throw the wine
I'm in love with a friend of mine
Really truly, young and newly wed
Are you a fool, or is it true
Are you afraid, or is it true?
Variations
Officially appears on
LP • Released in 1971
5:59 • Studio version • A • Stereo
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Piano, Vibraphone (?), Vocals
- Denny Seiwell :
- Drums, Trumpet (?)
- Richard Hewson :
- Orchestration
- Tony Clark :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Alan Parsons :
- Mixing engineer assistant
- Chris Blair :
- Recording engineer assistant
- Unknown musician(s) :
- Four cellos, Four flutes, Harp, Oboe, Tenor saxophone, Two french horns, Two trombones
- Session Recording:
- Jul 24, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 05, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Orchestra overdubs:
- Oct 16, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 16, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon
Official album • Released in 1993
5:59 • Studio version • A1993 • Stereo • 1993 remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Piano, Vibraphone (?), Vocals
- Denny Seiwell :
- Drums, Trumpet (?)
- Richard Hewson :
- Orchestration
- Tony Clark :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Alan Parsons :
- Mixing engineer assistant
- Peter Mew :
- Remastering
- Chris Blair :
- Recording engineer assistant
- Unknown musician(s) :
- Four cellos, Four flutes, Harp, Oboe, Tenor saxophone, Two french horns, Two trombones
- Session Recording:
- Jul 24, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 05, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Orchestra overdubs:
- Oct 16, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 16, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon
Wild Life - Archive Collection
Official album • Released in 2018
5:49 • Studio version • A2018 • Stereo • 2018 Remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Piano, Vibraphone (?), Vocals
- Denny Seiwell :
- Drums, Trumpet (?)
- Richard Hewson :
- Orchestration
- Tony Clark :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Alan Parsons :
- Mixing engineer assistant
- Alex Wharton :
- Remastering
- Chris Blair :
- Recording engineer assistant
- Steve Orchard :
- Remastering
- Unknown musician(s) :
- Four cellos, Four flutes, Harp, Oboe, Tenor saxophone, Two french horns, Two trombones
- Session Recording:
- Jul 24, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 05, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Orchestra overdubs:
- Oct 16, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 16, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon
Wild Life - Archive Collection
Official album • Released in 2018
5:53 • Rough mix • B
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Piano, Vibraphone (?), Vocals
- Denny Seiwell :
- Drums, Trumpet (?)
- Tony Clark :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Alan Parsons :
- Mixing engineer assistant
- Alex Wharton :
- Mastering
- Chris Blair :
- Recording engineer assistant
- Session Recording:
- Jul 24, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Aug 06, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon
Wild Life - Archive Collection
Official album • Released in 2018
Wild Life - Archive Collection
Official album • Released in 2018
Download • Released in 2018
5:59 • Studio version • E • Stereo • Orchestra Up
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Piano, Vibraphone (?), Vocals
- Denny Seiwell :
- Drums, Trumpet (?)
- Richard Hewson :
- Orchestration
- Tony Clark :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Alan Parsons :
- Mixing engineer assistant
- Chris Blair :
- Recording engineer assistant
- Unknown musician(s) :
- Four cellos, Four flutes, Harp, Oboe, Tenor saxophone, Two french horns, Two trombones
- Session Recording:
- Jul 24, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 05, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Orchestra overdubs:
- Oct 16, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 16, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon
LP • Released in 2022
5:59 • Studio version • A2022 • Stereo • 2022 half-speed mastering
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Piano, Vibraphone (?), Vocals
- Denny Seiwell :
- Drums, Trumpet (?)
- Richard Hewson :
- Orchestration
- Tony Clark :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Alan Parsons :
- Mixing engineer assistant
- Chris Blair :
- Recording engineer assistant
- Miles Showell :
- Mastering
- Unknown musician(s) :
- Four cellos, Four flutes, Harp, Oboe, Tenor saxophone, Two french horns, Two trombones
- Session Recording:
- Jul 24, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 05, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Orchestra overdubs:
- Oct 16, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 16, 1971
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013) on Amazon
Bootlegs
Live performances
Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.
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45 Years Ago: Paul McCartney Introduces Wings With the Tossed-Off 'Wild Life' 7 years ago
[…] “I don’t like grief and arguments; they always bug me,” McCartney told Club Sandwich in 1994. “Life is too precious, although we often find ourselves guilty of doing it. So, […]
Paul McCartney wrote grief-filled song for friend John Lennon – ‘I just felt sad’ | Music | Entertainment – Celebs Truth 1 year ago
[…] SOURCE / SOURCE […]
Wild Life album a low point? Like most of McCartney's work, it's pure genius. (With the exception of the albums made much later whilst he was married to a very unpleasant female) Unique sounding (but not quite as unique as the astounding Red Rose Speedway)