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Released in 1986

However Absurd

Written by Paul McCartney • Eric Stewart

Last updated on May 2, 2020

Album This song officially appears on the Press To Play Official album.

Timeline This song was officially released in 1986

Timeline This song was written, or began to be written, in 1985, when Paul McCartney was 43 years old)

Master album

Related sessions

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

Other "Press To Play" songs co-written with Eric Stewart

“However Absurd” is a song from 1986 album “Press To Play“.

From “Club Sandwich 42 – Autumn 1986“:

“‘Talk More Talk’ and ‘However Absurd’ are the two main surrealist lyrics… ‘Absurd’ was another thing you start off and think ‘Ooh no, that’s too Beatley, so I won’t do it.’ So I resisted it for a little while, but… it was a good system then, why ignore it now?.. .There’s a sort of ‘Walrus’ intro to this track… It’s a style I know and love. The lyrics on this one are a bit bizarre, but then again they make a kind of sense… In the middle it explains itself a bit… ‘Something special between us… Words wouldn’t get my feelings through’. That’s taking off into The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran – there’s a line of his that always used to attract me and John, which was ‘Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it just to reach you.’” Indeed, students of The Beatles’ White Album will recall those words from John’s poignant ‘Julia‘. Anne Dudley’s orchestration contrasts effectively with ‘bass effects’ and synthesised ‘strings’; synth and heavy guitar take over as the song repeats and intensifies in a slightly ‘Hey Jude‘ manner; the spacey fade-out completes the Beatles flavour. Move over all buskers: Mac’s back.

Club Sandwich No 42 Autumn 1986

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It did suggest the epic finale – which is why it’s at the end of the album! For me, it was another thing you start off and think ‘Ooh no, that’s too Beatley, so I won’t do it’. So I resisted it for a while, but I kept coming back to ‘Why? Tell me one good reason why you’re resisting this Beatles influence?’ Cos if anyone’s got a right to do it, there’s three guys alive who’ve got the right to do it. I’ve got past the point of comparisons with The Beatles, or being accused of being a ‘Beatle Stylist’, but I mean, I was involved in all that stuff very heavily, and realising it was a good system then, why ignore it now?

There’s a sort of ‘Walrus’ intro to this track, but of course any time you play that style on piano it evokes that. It’s a style I know and love. The lyrics on this song are a bit bizarre, but then again they make a kind of sense, a strange kind of sense. But then I find that things in life don’t always make sense, they’re not always conveniently wrapped up with a little sticker that says ‘This is very sensible!’ Sometimes they are completely absurd, which is what the song is about. In the middle section it explains itself a bit, less surrealist: ‘Something special between us… Words wouldn’t get my feelings through… However absurd it may seem.’ That’s taking off into ‘The Prophet’ by Kahlil Gibran – there’s a line of his that always used to attract me and John, which was ‘Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it just to reach you’. So it’s that kind of meaning to ‘However Absurd’.

Paul McCartney, in Sound On Sound interview, October 1986
From the “Press To Play” sleeve – These coloured diagrams by Paul show the position of the voices and instruments in the mix of each track.

Lyrics

Ears twitch, like a dog, breaking eggs in a dish.

Do not mock me when I say this is not a lie.

It's funny thing, half serious, with our hands on our ears.

Living dreams with mouths ajar, wide awake, we go to sleep.

However absurd, however absurd… It may seem.

However absurd, however absurd… It may seem.

Something special between us,

When we made love the game was over.

I couldn't say the words,

Words wouldn't get my feelings through,

So I keep talking to you…

However absurd, however absurd… It may seem.

However absurd, however absurd… It may seem.

Custom made, dinosaurs, too late now, for a change.

Everything is under the sun, but nothing is for keeps…

However absurd, however absurd… It may seem.

However absurd, however absurd… It may seem.

Officially appears on

Bootlegs

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

Talk more talk, chat more chat

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Sonia • 2 years ago

Is this about John? Especially the less "surreal" part?

sirrichardthelionheart • 1 year ago

I thought the lyric was: 'Do not MARK me when I say...' ?

I was asked to provide a recording for a UK Macca Charity album and I chose this song - always loved it!

https://richardcummins.bandcamp.com/track/however-absurd-3

Faith • 1 year ago

Lyrical correction: "something sparked off between us" this is wrong virtually everywhere.

And yeah, I think there's really not much doubt this is about John. Its one of the more obvious ones... hurts my heart to listen to it.

The PaulMcCartney Project • 1 year ago

All lyrics I have found for the song say "Do not mock". Also, @faith, I don't see "something sparked off between us" in this song. Are you sure this is the right song? Thanks!

Emma • 1 year ago

Great website!

Must say I agree with Faith... have listened many times and it's definitely NOT "Something special between us". I think I hear "sparks off" more than "sparked off" but there you go... one to listen to again.

So many Macca songs from this period seem to be about loss and the tragedy of not having said "the words" to the lost one...

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