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Released in 1974

Junior's Farm

Written by Paul McCartney • Linda McCartney

Last updated on November 4, 2016

Album This song officially appears on the Junior's Farm / Sally G 7" Single.

Timeline This song was officially released in 1974

Master album

Related sessions

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

Related interviews

From Wikipedia:

“Junior’s Farm” is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed with McCartney’s band Wings. It was a number-three hit single in the United States. It was issued as a non-album single.

Writing and release

It was recorded in 1974 in Nashville, Tennessee, while the band was staying at the Lebanon, Tennessee farm of Curly Putman Jr., which accounts for the title.

The song continued McCartney and Wings’ success after the Band on the Run album. It made number 16 on the United Kingdom charts.

The photo for the single’s picture sleeve featured the members of Wings dressed in appropriate costumes from the song’s lyrics (for example, Geoff Britton as a poker dealer and Denny Laine as the “Eskimo”). However, the photo only appeared on the picture sleeve of the single in Spain and in advertisements elsewhere. In the UK and the US, the single was released in an Apple Records company sleeve. In some other countries in Europe, a black-and-white band photo was used instead (see alternative cover).

This was McCartney’s last release on Apple Records before signing a solo recording contract with Capitol Records in May 1975, following the dissolution of the Beatles’ partnership.

Music video

The music video of Junior’s Farm shows Paul McCartney playing a Kay electric bass guitar.

B-side and later release

The B-side, “Sally G“, was also a top-20 hit on the US charts, peaking at number 17. “Junior’s Farm” was later released on the McCartney/Wings compilation Wings Greatest in 1978 and the US version of All the Best! in 1987, although it was not on the UK edition of the latter album. The 3-minute radio edit of the song was included on the Wingspan: Hits and History compilation. “Sally G” was released in 1993 as a bonus track on Wings at the Speed of Sound in The Paul McCartney Collection. Both songs are now remastered and featured on the Hear-Music version of Venus and Mars released in November 2014.

Lyrics

You should have seen me with the poker man,

I had a honey and I bet a grand,

Just in the nick of time I looked at his hand.

I was talking to an Eskimo,

Said he was hoping for a fall of snow,

When up popped a sea lion ready to go.

Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go

Down to junior's farm where I want to lay low.

Low life, high life, oh, let's go,

Take me down to junior's farm.

At the Houses of Parliament

Ev'rybody's talking 'bout the President,

We all chip in for a bag of cement.

Olly Hardy should have had more sense,

He bought a gee-gee and he jumped the fence,

All for the sake of a couple of pence.

Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go

Down to junior's farm where I want to lay low,

Low life, high life, oh, let's go,

Take me down to junior's farm,

Everybody tag along.

I took my bag into a grocer's store,

The price is higher than the time before,

Old man asked me why is it more.

I said you should have seen me with the poker man,

I had a honey and I bet a grand,

Just in the nick of time I looked at his hand.

Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go

Down to junior's farm where I want to lay low,

Low life, high life, oh, let's go,

Take me down to junior's farm,

Let's go, let's go,

Down to junior's farm where I want to lay low.

Low life, high life, oh, let's go,

Take me down to junior's farm

Ev'rybody tag along.

Take me down to junior's farm.

Variations

Officially appears on

See all official recordings containing “Junior's Farm”

Bootlegs

See all bootlegs containing “Junior's Farm”

Related film

  • Junior's Farm

    1974 • For Paul McCartney & Wings • Directed by David Litchfield

Videos

Album One Hand Clapping (2 LP and 7”)

Album Wings Greatest

Concert Nov 21, 1974 in London

Concert Jul 15, 2011 in New York

Concert May 06, 2013 in Goiania

Concert Oct 18, 2023 in Adelaide

Live performances

“Junior's Farm” has been played in 172 concerts and 18 soundchecks.

Latest concerts where “Junior's Farm” has been played

See all concerts where “Junior's Farm” has been played

Going further

The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present

"Junior's Farm" 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.

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Paul McCartney writing

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