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Released in 1973

Let Me Roll It

Written by Paul McCartney • Linda McCartney

Last updated on October 22, 2016

Album This song officially appears on the Band On The Run (UK version) Official album.

Timeline This song was officially released in 1973

Master albums

Related sessions

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

Related interviews

From Wikipedia:

“Let Me Roll It” is a song by Paul McCartney and Wings released on the 1973 album Band on the Run. The song was also released as the B-side to “Jet” in early 1974, and has remained a staple of McCartney’s live concerts since it was first released.

Origin

Some critics saw the song as a pastiche of John Lennon’s sound, particularly the riff and the use of tape echo on the vocals. McCartney, however, didn’t intend the song to be a pastiche of Lennon. He did say the vocal “does sound like John… I hadn’t realised I’d sung it like John.”

Live performances

Since its first release, McCartney has performed “Let Me Roll It” in his live concerts. He has also included live versions of the song on several live albums, including Wings over America, Paul Is Live, Back in the U.S. (and Back in the World), and Good Evening New York City.

In the recent tours, “Foxy Lady” from Jimmy Hendrix was performed at the end of “Let Me Roll It”, forming a kind of medley.

Paul McCartney, in Club Sandwich, 1994:

Let Me Roll It was not really a Lennon pastiche, although my use of tape echo did sound more like John than me. But tape echo was not John’s exclusive territory! And you have to remember that, despite the myth, there was a lot of commonality between us in the way that we thought and the way that we worked.

Paul McCartney, Billboard interview, 2001:

[Let Me Roll It] was a riff, originally, a great riff to play, and whenever we played it live, it goes down great. We’d play it on two guitars, and people saw it later as a kind of John pastiche, as Lennon-ish, Lennon-esque. Which I don’t mind. That could have been a Beatles song. Me and John would have sung that good.

Lyrics

You gave me something.

I understand,

You gave me loving in the palm of my hand

I can't tell you how I feel

My heart is like a wheel

LET ME ROLL IT

Let me roll it to you

Let me roll it

Let me roll it to you

I want to tell you

And now's the time

I want to tell you that

You're going to be mine

I can't tell you how I feel

My heart is like a wheel.

LET ME ROLL IT

Let me roll it to you

Let me roll it

Let me roll it to you

Variations

Officially appears on

See all official recordings containing “Let Me Roll It”

Bootlegs

See all bootlegs containing “Let Me Roll It”

Videos

Album One Hand Clapping (2 LP and 7”)

Concert Dec 03, 2009 in Berlin

Concert Dec 10, 2009 in Paris

Concert Aug 18, 2010 in Pittsburgh

Concert Aug 19, 2010 in Pittsburgh

Concert Oct 26, 2010 in London

Live performances

“Let Me Roll It” has been played in 603 concerts and 15 soundchecks.

Latest concerts where “Let Me Roll It” has been played

See all concerts where “Let Me Roll It” has been played

Going further

The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present

"Let Me Roll It" 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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