Seize The Day

“Seize The Day” is a track from 2020 album “McCartney III“.

Whilst Paul didn’t start out intending to be a philosophical song, it turned out to be just that. ‘Seize The Day’ was written during lockdown when the world was learning to live with COVID-19. After writing the line, ‘Yankee toes and Eskimos’, Paul came up with ‘Can turn the frozen ice’. Paul realised he was writing about how not every day will be sunny. The song then turned into a reminder that we should hang onto the good times and ‘Seize The Day’.

From Spotify Storyline. Storyline is a feature of Spotify that gives behind-the-scenes information from artists about their songs, presented with a carousel of cards featuring a combination of text and images.

In 1970, McCartney was an album that featured themes of home, the family and love. What features on this new one?

I think it’s similar. It’s to do with freedom and love. There’s a varied lot of feelings on it, but I didn’t set out for it to all be like, ‘This is how I feel at this moment.’ The old themes are there, of love and optimism. ‘Seize the Day’ – it’s me. That’s the truth.

Paul McCartney – from an interview with Stuart Stubbs, from Loud And Quiet magazine, October 2020

Did the pandemic, did what we’re all going through, affect any of the writing, do you think?

Yeah I think so. A couple of the newer songs – this one called “Seize The Day” that had echoes of the pandemic kind of thing you know, “when the cold days come we wish that we had seized the day” kind of things, like so that was just reminding myself and anyone listening that you know you better grab the good stuff and, you know, try and get it on through the pandemic. It certainly helped me you know

Paul McCartney – from an interview with Matt Everitt, for BBC Radio 6, October 2020

How about these lines in “Seize The Day”: “The old ways fade away / There’ll be no more sun / And we’ll wish that we had / Held on to the day.” Is this age and experience talking?

I don’t go looking for it! Your life is naturally running along those lines. With songwriting, I get an idea, then I try to work out what it is I’m saying. I follow a trail, like a trail of breadcrumbs leading you out of the woods. I was in the first verse of “Seize The Day”, and completely at random – it’s always random – I came up with, “Yankee toes and Eskimos”. What’s this all about? I like it, but how the hell am I going to get out of this? Where are these breadcrumbs leading? Then out came, “Can turn to frozen ice”. That’s good! Not every day of your life is sunny, so when these cold days come, let’s seize the day – hang on to the good times. So it became philosophical, but I didn’t set out to write a philosophical song.

Paul McCartney, in UNCUT interview, January 2021

I had this little place in Scotland. So we just went out there. “It’s so remote, no one can be bothered trekking all the way up here for a meeting.” It was a good period. We grabbed our freedom – you know what, we seized the day! Also, I had a new baby; I’d not been a father before, so I was very happy. Fast forward to today and my new album cover has been taken by that baby!

Paul McCartney, remember the days after the Beatles break in 1970, in UNCUT interview, January 2021

I started that on the piano, at home on the farm and was just letting the words spill out so I didn’t know what the song was going to be about, but I eventually got to this line ‘Yankee toes and Eskimos can turn to frozen ice’. I thought ‘what is that about?’ But it’s best not to question too deeply a lyric. So instead of it making an amazing amount of sense it becomes a little bit surrealistic. Anyway, that lead to the chorus which is about the cold cold days and so then I thought ‘well when the cold days come we’ll wish that we’d enjoyed today’ so that became ‘Seize The Day’ which is basically English for carpe diem.

Paul McCartney, from NME, December 23, 2020

On this album, I was writing a song, and it suddenly got very Beatle-y. And so I’m questioning myself. I’m saying, “Should I, like, not go down this route? It’s gonna be too like a Beatles song.” Have a little mini argument with yourself. You say, “Look, just write it.” There’s one of the songs on the new album that’s called “Seize the Day.” And it’s Beatle-y, but the Beatles don’t exist anymore, Chris- They broke up. See, I was talking to someone about it the other day. And I said, “I’ve gotta admit it’s what I do. It’s the way I write songs.” If I like something that’s going a bit Beatle-y, I’m just gonna let it be.

Paul McCartney – interview with Chris Rock, December 17, 2020

In 2021, for the “McCartney III Imagined” project, American singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers reimagined “Seize The Day“.

Lyrics

Variations

• A Album version
• B "McCartney III Imagined" version

Officially appears on

Related films

Videos

Live performances

Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.