Nineteen Hundred And Eighty-Five (song)

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

Timeline This song has been officially released in 1973

Song facts

From Wikipedia:

“Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” (sometimes written as “1985”) is a song by the British–American rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, released as the final track on their 1973 album Band on the Run. It has been featured on the 2001 documentary DVD Wingspan and Paul McCartney and Wings’ 1974 TV special One Hand Clapping. A 2016 remix of the song was nominated for a Grammy Award. The song was referenced in Brett Easton Ellis’s novel Glamorama, driving a group of fictional supermodels to extreme terrorist acts.
Lyrics and music
Paul McCartney has said that the song originated with just the first line.
“With a lot of songs I do, the first line is it. It’s all in the first line, and then you have to go on and write the second line. With ‘Eleanor Rigby’ I had ‘picks up the rice in the church where the wedding has been.’ that was the one big line that started me off on it. With this one it was ‘No one ever left alive in nineteen hundred and eighty-five.’ That’s all I had of that song for months. ‘No one ever left alive in nineteen hundred and eighty… six?’ It wouldn’t have worked!”
The tune is the climactic track from the album Band on the Run. It continues the album’s theme of escape by describing the singer achieving artistic freedom through love. Author Andrew Grant Jackson calls the lyrics “gibberish” and mere placeholders for the excitement and “cinematic purpose” of the music.”
The song has a grandiose ending with a full orchestra and the band. Other instrumentation includes mellotron, organ and horns. The album version ends with an excerpt of the opening song’s chorus. This song is featured on several episodes of Trigger Happy TV. In its early life, it was simply titled “Piano Thing”. […]
Live performances

“Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five” was never performed live by Wings. McCartney performed the song live for the first time ever during his 2010–2011 Up and Coming Tour. He played the song live again during his 2011–2012 On the Run Tour, his 2013–2015 Out There Tour, his 2016–2017 One on One Tour, his performance on 26 July 2018 in the Liverpool Cavern Club, his 2018–2019 Freshen Up tour and at 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief.
Cover versions
[…] In 2016, German producer Timo Maas and Canadian DJ James Teej released a remix of the track with McCartney’s approval. Their version received a Grammy nomination for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. […]

This was originally a little thing I couldn’t get words to, except for the first phrase. But the words just came to me the day we were due to record, and I think it’s turned out quite well.
Paul McCartney – From interview with Disc Magazine, 1973

Last updated on March 19, 2022

Lyrics

Oh no one ever left alive in 1985, will ever do
She may be right
She may be fine
She may get love but she won't get mine
‘Cos I got you

Oh I Oh I

Well I just can't enough of that sweet stuff
My little lady gets behind

INTERLUDE

Oh my mama said the time would come when I
would find myself in love with you
I didn't think
I never dreamed
That I would be around to see it all come true

Woh I Oh I

Well I just can't enough of that sweet stuff
My little lady gets behind.

INTERLUDE

Oh no one ever left alive in 1985 . . .

FINALE