Hi, Hi, Hi

“Hi, Hi, Hi” is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney, and released as Wings’ third non-album single in December 1972.

From Wikipedia:

Release

The single peaked at number one in Spain, number five in the United Kingdom and at number 10 in the United States in January 1973. The song became a staple of Wings’ live shows in the 1970s.

The song was included on the 2001 Paul McCartney compilation album Wingspan: Hits and History and as a bonus track on the 1993 and 2018 reissues of Red Rose Speedway.

Reception

Cash Box described it as “good old rock ‘n roll as only the McCartney’s can perform it, but with lyrics that more than suggest.”

Ban

In the UK, the song was banned by the BBC for its sexually suggestive lyrical content. The BBC also assumed that the title phrase, “We’re gonna get hi, hi, hi” was a drug reference. The specific lyrics objected to is the apparent phrase “get you ready for my body gun”; McCartney has said that the correct lyrics are “get you ready for my polygon”, an abstract image, and later said, “The BBC got some of the words wrong. But I suppose it is a bit of a dirty song if sex is dirty and naughty. I was in a sensuous mood in Spain when I wrote it.” Furthermore, Paul refers back to the song when it’s played for a live audience – “Yeah, well, the great laugh is when we go live, it makes a great announcement. You can say “This one was banned!” and everyone goes “Hooray!” The audience love it, you know. “This next one was banned,” and then you get raving, because everyone likes to. Everyone’s a bit anti-all-that-banning, all that censorship. Our crew, our generation, really doesn’t dig that stuff, as I’m sure you know.” […]

“Hi, Hi, Hi” was the second Wings song banned by the BBC in 1972, following “Give Ireland Back To The Irish” in February 1972.

“Hi, Hi, Hi” was the one that brought you back to the Top Ten, after “Give Ireland Back to the Irish” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” although in Britain they played “C Moon” because “Hi, Hi, Hi” was banned by the BBC.

I thought the “Hi, Hi, Hi” thing could easily be taken as a natural high, could be taken as booze high and everything. It doesn’t have to be drugs, you know, so I’d kind of get away with it. Well, the first thing they saw was drugs, so I didn’t get away with that, and then I just had some line “Lie on the bed and get ready for my polygon.”

The daft thing about all of that was our publishing company, Northern Songs, owned by Lew Grade, got the lyrics wrong and sent them round to the radio station and it said, “Get ready for my body gun,” which is far more suggestive than anything I put. “Get ready for my polygon,” watch out baby, I mean it was suggestive, but abstract suggestive, which I thought I’d get away with. Bloody company goes round and makes it much more specific by putting “body gun.” Better words, almost.

It made it anyway in the States.

Yeah, well, the great laugh is when we go live, it makes a great announcement. You can say “This one was banned!” and everyone goes “Hooray!” The audience love it, you know. “This next one was banned,” and then you get raving, because everyone likes to. Everyone’s a bit anti-all-that-banning, all that censorship. Our crew, our generation, really doesn’t dig that stuff, as I’m sure you know.

Paul McCartney – From Rolling Stone interview, January 31, 1974

Hi Hi Hi was a song of the times. As anyone knows about that period, drugs were fairly widespread. Looking back on it now I have a completely different perspective, but at the time it seemed to us that everyone was doing it. To me, Hi Hi Hi was a perfectly harmless little rock and roll song – ‘we’re gonna get high-high-high’. In my mind, if someone gets drunk then they’re getting high. But because of the times it was equated with pot, and so, again, the bbc banned it. They played the other side, C Moon. That was a safer track, a nice track, but Hi Hi Hi used to go down better at concerts.

The drug scene was less harmful than it was going to get. Shortly after this period people were doing much harder drugs, and you were seeing casualties. Looking back on it, I realise we were lucky to get through it.

Quite a few bands around at that time were into drinking, and though it’s not really my thing. Wings got shares into that for a while in the beginning. With the Beatles I’ve never drunk before going on stage – anything like that was done afterwards. But there was a little period in the 1970s where it seemed like a cool thing to do and we did it. It was Iike growing up, but I know we didn’t play so well if we were drunk.

Paul McCartney – From “Wingspan: Paul McCartney’s Band on the Run“, 2002

We wrote ‘Hi, Hi, Hi’ in Spain, because we had this tour coming up. Purposely as a nice easy rocker … it’s basically a rock and roll thing written on three rock and roll chords to give us something aside from the rest of our material. The general reaction is that ‘Hi Hi Hi’ is kind of the strong side, but the reason we made it a double A is that ‘C Moon’ is one of those songs that catches up on you after a while. I can hear ‘C Moon’ in a year’s time, people saying, ‘Yeah! I like that one’. There’s things to listen to on that one, put it on headphones and it’s quite a trip.

Paul McCartney – From “The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001” by Keith Badman

The BBC got some of the words wrong. But I suppose it is a bit of a dirty song if sex is dirty and naughty. I was in a sensuous mood in Spain when I wrote it. To me, it was just a song to close our act and since it went down well when we toured the Continent, I thought it would be a good single. I think it’s the best single we’ve done as Wings.

Paul McCartney – From “The Beatles: Off The Record 2 – The Dream is Over: Dream Is Over Vol 2” by Keith Badman

I just had some line, ‘Lie on the bed, get ready for my polygon.’ The daft thing about all of that was our publishing company, Northern Songs, owned by Lew Grade, got the lyrics wrong and sent them round to the radio station, and it said, ‘Get ready for my body gun,’ which is far more suggestive than anything I put. ‘Get ready for my polygon’ – watch out baby. I mean it was suggestive, but abstract suggestive, which I thought I’d get away with. Bloody company goes round and makes it much more specific by putting ‘body gun’ – better words, almost.

Paul McCartney – From “Together Alone” by John Blaney

You’ll see more sexual stuff in an evening’s viewing on TV than you’ll hear on my record. I was dejected when I heard that the BBC had banned it. but I have decided not to change the words. I write what I feel.

Paul McCartney – Interview with Daily Mirror – Friday 01 December 1972

Lyrics

Variations

Officially appears on

Bootlegs

Related films

Videos

Live performances

“Hi, Hi, Hi” has been played in 237 concerts and 3 soundchecks.

Latest concerts where “Hi, Hi, Hi” has been played

Going further

The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present

"Hi, Hi, Hi" 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: 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.

Buy on Amazon