- Album This song officially appears on the Back To The Egg Official album.
Related sessions
This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions
July 1976
June 29 - July 27, 1978
October - December 1978
Related interviews
Ex-Wings guitarist, Laurence Juber, talks about attending "Paul McCartney University"
Aug 09, 2010 • From Daytrippin' Beatles Magazine
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Song facts
From Wikipedia:
“Old Siam, Sir” is a hard rock single from Wings’ 1979 album, Back to the Egg. It was the A-side of the UK version of the single, reaching No. 35. The B-side in the UK was also a track from the album, “Spin it On”. “Old Siam, Sir” was also the B-side of the US single “Arrow Through Me“.
Recording
Wings drummer Steve Holley, while playing keyboards during a studio session, developed a chord sequence that was eventually used in the instrumental section of the song. Paul McCartney and guitarist Denny Laine later recorded an instrumental demo for the song called “Super Big Heatwave”.
The exact recording sequence is a bit of a blur, but over the month between June 29 and July 27 we recorded a core group of songs for the album. “Old Siam, Sir” was an early one, and Paul and I doubled up on the guitar riff. It was not unusual to find him wielding his Epiphone Casino, as he did here, with a dark growling tone. I played a Les Paul custom, adding a brighter harmony part.
Laurence Juber, in Guitar With Wings, 2014
In the case of “Old Siam, Sir,” we were jamming one day and Steve Holly was playing keyboards and had this chord sequence. I’m not sure if Paul was playing drums or if it was Linda because we’d trade off in a jamming situation, but what ended up happening was that ended up in the instrumental section of the song. I always felt that Steve should have received some sort of nod for that. Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the process in that you don’t always get full credit for what you contribute as a musician, especially as the song-writing is traditionally words and melody, not chords, licks and grooves.
Laurence Juber, interview with DAYTRIPPIN’ BEATLES MAGAZINE, 2010
Last updated on February 9, 2020

The book "The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present", published in 2021, covers Paul McCartney's early Liverpool days, the Beatles, Wings, and solo careers, by pairing the lyrics of 154 of his songs with first-person commentaries of the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what he thinks of them now.
"Old Siam, Sir" is one of the 154 songs covered.
Lyrics
In a village in
Old Siam Sir
Lived a lady
Who lost her way
In an effort
To find a man, sir
She found herself
In the old U.K.
*She waited round
In Walthamstow
She scouted round
In Scarborough
Repeat*
In a village
In old East Ham sir
She met a fellow
Who made her reel
Took her rushes
To show his mam Sir
Met his dad
At the wedding meal
In a letter from
Old Siam Sir
Came a terrible
Tale of woe
She decided
The only answer
Was to get up
A pile of dough
Repeat*
When a relative
Told her man sir
He directed her
Not to stay
In a village in
Old Siam Sir
Lives a lady
Who lost her way
**In a village in
Old Siam Sir
Lived a lady
Who lost her way
In an effort to
Find her man sir
She found herself in
The old U.K.
Repeat *
Repeat **
Walthamstow
Scarborough
Officially appears on
Official album • Released in 1979
4:11 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Electric guitar, Producer, Vocals
- Linda McCartney :
- Keyboards
- Denny Laine :
- Electric guitar
- Laurence Juber :
- Electric guitar
- Steve Holley :
- Drums
- Mark Vigars :
- Assistant engineer
- Phil McDonald :
- Recording engineer
- Chris Thomas :
- Producer
- Session Recording:
- June 29 - July 27, 1978
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Official album • Released in 1993
4:11 • Studio version • A
- Session Recording:
- June 29 - July 27, 1978
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
7" Single • Released in 2022
4:11 • Studio version • A2022 • 2022 remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Electric guitar, Producer, Vocals
- Linda McCartney :
- Keyboards
- Denny Laine :
- Electric guitar
- Laurence Juber :
- Electric guitar
- Steve Holley :
- Drums
- Mark Vigars :
- Assistant engineer
- Phil McDonald :
- Recording engineer
- Chris Thomas :
- Producer
- Alex Wharton :
- Remastering
- Session Recording:
- June 29 - July 27, 1978
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
7" Single • Released in 2022
4:11 • Studio version • A2022 • 2022 remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Electric guitar, Producer, Vocals
- Linda McCartney :
- Keyboards
- Denny Laine :
- Electric guitar
- Laurence Juber :
- Electric guitar
- Steve Holley :
- Drums
- Mark Vigars :
- Assistant engineer
- Phil McDonald :
- Recording engineer
- Chris Thomas :
- Producer
- Alex Wharton :
- Remastering
- Session Recording:
- June 29 - July 27, 1978
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Bootlegs
Live performances
“Old Siam, Sir” has been played in 18 concerts.
Latest concerts where Old Siam, Sir has been played
Concert For The People of Kampuchea
Dec 29, 1979 • United Kingdom • London • Hammersmith Odeon
Glasgow • Apollo Centre • United Kingdom
Dec 17, 1979 • Part of Wings 1979 UK Tour
Glasgow • Apollo Centre • United Kingdom
Dec 16, 1979 • Part of Wings 1979 UK Tour
Newcastle upon Tyne • City Hall • United Kingdom
Dec 14, 1979 • Part of Wings 1979 UK Tour
Birmingham • Odeon Cinema • United Kingdom
Dec 12, 1979 • Part of Wings 1979 UK Tour
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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