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- Album This song officially appears on the Temporary Secretary / Secret Friend 12" Single.
Related sessions
This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions
June - July 1979
Related interviews
Check His Machine: Paul McCartney Interviewed On McCartney II
Jun 14, 2011 • From The Quietus
Sir Paul McCartney on his lockdown album: 'I was just messing around'
Oct 22, 2020 • From BBC Radio 6 Music
Spread the love! If you like what you are seeing, share it on social networks and let others know about The Paul McCartney Project.
Song facts
[…] This was the album where I felt like the nutty professor in his laboratory. Some of the tracks, there’s one in particular, ‘Secret Friend’, and another one, ‘ Blue Sway’, that go on for like 10 minutes. I just got into it. Now, that’s all very well when you’re doing your first take. But then you’ve got to put a cow-bell on it and I would sit there in real time and put a cow-bell on for 10 minutes, occasionally glancing at my watch, and I’ve got five more to go: dink-dink, dinka dink-dink… Your thoughts come swimming in: “Are you kidding me? You’re really gonna stand here and do this? Why don’t you just do the cow-bell on that bit? No, I’ll mix it out later,” which of course you never do. “Right! Now we’ll do maracas!” Ch-ch-ch-ch, looking at the watch again.
Paul McCartney, from McCartney II Archive Collection, 2011
It’s very dismissable: ‘A ten-minute track, called “Secret Friend”? Leave it out! It’s not “Hey Jude”. So shut up.’ Well, it isn’t ‘Hey Jude’ but I knew what I was doing. I wasn’t trying to write ‘Hey Jude’. It’s like Picasso – dare I compare myself? Ha! No, you daren’t! But whenever he got a groove going, his Blue Period or his Cubist Period, he kicked it over. He never did any more, and the people would go, ‘I loved your Blue Period.’ ‘Yeah, well, I’m fed up with that, I’m doing cubist now.’
That’s a bit how I feel. It’s difficult to admit, but some of those songs, I’ve written them purposefully avoiding writing hits. Which is very strange. People hear that and go, ‘Why did you do that?’ It’s because I think of myself a bit more as an artist. It’s a strange period I went through. I wanted to spew this idea on a tape.
Paul McCartney – From “Conversations with McCartney” by Paul du Noyer, 2016
Last updated on April 29, 2023
Lyrics
Feel like you've never fit before
Here we are
Where are we
Cast adrift on some uncharted sea
I know we'll find our way
I know we'll reach the end
If you will say you'll be my secret friend
Night draws in, once again
As she turns her velvet collar up
A perfect day will end
If you will say you'll be my secret friend
Feel like you've never fell before, once more
Night draws in, once again
As she turns her velvet collar up
A perfect day will end
If you will say you'll be my secret friend
Feel like you've never felt before. once more
Here we are
Where are we
Cast adrift on some uncharted sea
I know we'll find our way
If you will say you'll be my secret friend
Feel like you've never felt before, once more
I need ya
I need ya
I need ya
I need ya
Night draws in, once again
As she turns her velvet collar up
A perfect day will end
If you will say you'll be my secret friend
Feel like you've never felt before, once more
Here we are
Where are we
Cast adrift on some uncharted sea
I know we'll find our way
I know we'll reach the end
If you will say you'll be my secret friend
I need ya
I need ya
Officially appears on
Temporary Secretary / Secret Friend
12" Single • Released in 1980
10:30 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Mixing engineer, Percussion, Producer, Shaker, Synthesizers, Vocals
- Eddie Klein :
- Mixing assistant
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 04, 1979
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
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
10:31 • Studio version • A1993 • 1993 remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Mixing engineer, Percussion, Producer, Shaker, Synthesizers, Vocals
- Eddie Klein :
- Mixing assistant
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 04, 1979
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
McCartney II - Archive Collection
Official album • Released in 2011
10:32 • Studio version • A1.2011 • Full Length Version - 2011 remaster
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Mixing engineer, Percussion, Producer, Shaker, Synthesizers, Vocals
- Eddie Klein :
- Mixing assistant
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 04, 1979
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
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
5:14 • Studio version • A1 • 7" Single Edit
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Mixing engineer, Percussion, Producer, Shaker, Synthesizers, Vocals
- Eddie Klein :
- Mixing assistant
- Mark Wharton :
- Remastering
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 04, 1979
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
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
Unofficial album • Released in 2000
10:28 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Mixing engineer, Percussion, Producer, Shaker, Synthesizers, Vocals
- Eddie Klein :
- Mixing assistant
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 04, 1979
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Unofficial album • Released in 2000
10:06 • Rough mix • A1
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Mixing engineer, Percussion, Producer, Shaker, Synthesizers, Vocals
- Eddie Klein :
- Mixing assistant
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
- Session Recording:
- Oct 04, 1979
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
UK Singles Collection - Volume 02
Unofficial album • Released in 2007
10:32 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Mixing engineer, Percussion, Producer, Shaker, Synthesizers, Vocals
- Eddie Klein :
- Mixing assistant
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 04, 1979
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
McCartney II - Ultimate Archive Collection
Unofficial album • Released in 2016
10:32 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Mixing engineer, Percussion, Producer, Shaker, Synthesizers, Vocals
- Eddie Klein :
- Mixing assistant
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
- Session Mixing:
- Oct 04, 1979
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Unofficial album • Released in 2016
10:07 • Rough mix • A1
- Paul McCartney :
- Bass, Drums, Electric guitar, Keyboards, Mixing engineer, Percussion, Producer, Shaker, Synthesizers, Vocals
- Eddie Klein :
- Mixing assistant
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Home Studio, Peasmarsh, Sussex, UK
- Session Recording:
- June - July 1979
- Studio :
- Spirit Of Ranachan Studio, Campbeltown, Scotland
- Session Recording:
- Oct 04, 1979
- Studio :
- EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon
Live performances
Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.
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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Please help. A friend and I here in America both have a memory of seeing a Columbia 45 of Temporary Secretary in a record store (record theatre, actually) with a 5 min. Edit of secret friend on the flip. I actually held it in my hands. We both recall this. But today i can find no evidence of this 45 existing. We were not stoned, thanks. Was it maybe issued then quickly withdrawn, like other 45s I've heard of? Someone please solve this mystery. You can even write me at gmsomethingforeverybody@gmail.com
Hi Gary, I unfortunately don't have any clue. I had a look at Discogs.com (but saw your comment there :) ) and at 45cat.com, with no success !!
Thanks. The internet seems useless...only Columbia Records could really answer this, and there's no way to actually get through to them.
I was listening to Temporary Secretary /Secret Friend this morning and reading the entries for both on your website. In the entry for Temporary Secretary you mention that « A 7″ single exists only as a demo for radio stations. » . Is this not what is being described above
I know it's probably too late to answer the original question, but the Steve Hoffman forum would 100% know the answer to this. They know all of that stuff...
The 7" edit of Secret Friend is set to release for the first time in the new singles box set. Looks like the mystery is finally solved, although 3 years late :)