Momma Gets By

“Momma Gets By” is a track from the album “The Boys Of Dungeon Lane“, released in 2026.

Sometimes in writing a song, you don’t draw on memories or or anything in particular except just you’re making up a story. Like ‘Lady Madonna,’ it’s about not particularly people I know.

Paul McCartney – From Variety, April 17, 2026 – From the “Boys of Dungeon Lane” listening session in Los Angeles, April 16, 2026

The closing track starts as a lush, dramatic piano ballad that expand to strings and an orchestra. “Sometimes, writing a song, you don’t draw on memory, you’re making it up,” McCartney said, referencing writing “Lady Madonna.” Same with “Momma Gets By,” which includes the opening lines, “Momma gets by, while papa gets high.” But even though papa is a wastrel, Momma loves him with “all her heart and soul,” as they struggle to put food on the table. McCartney sings from the perspective of their young son, though he stressed again this was not about his parents.

From Billboard, April 17, 2026 – From the “Boys of Dungeon Lane” listening session in Los Angeles, April 16, 2026

For this, he was imagining a couple where “the mother is like the strong one and the father is a bit of a wastrel… It’s actually written from the point of view of their kid, (but) it’s nothing to do with my parents, honestly. It’s a little story I always had in my mind, like ‘Porgy and Bess.’”

From Variety, April 17, 2026 – From the “Boys of Dungeon Lane” listening session in Los Angeles, April 16, 2026

“George said I was good at making up characters and I do that a lot,” says Paul. This song had him thinking about “raising a family” with a struggling mum and dad who is “a bit of a waster”.

A piano ballad that builds with strings and an orchestra before the conclusion of the album.

From Mirror, May 5, 2026 – From the “Boys of Dungeon Lane” listening session in London, May 5, 2026

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