She's Given Up Talking
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- Album This song officially appears on the Driving Rain Official album.
Song facts
“She’s Given Up Talking” is a track from Paul McCartney’s 2001 album “Driving Rain“.
Recorded on 17th February 2001 onto 16-track analogue tape then loaded into Logic Audio for overdubs. Paul played Martin acoustic guitar and sang the lead vocal then overdubbed Hofner bass with a fuzz effect and his own Ludwig drum kit. Abe played Roland Handsonic electronic percussion. Rusty played Gibson SG electric guitar through a Leslie pedal and overdubbed other guitar parts. Gabe played Hammond Organ. David overdubbed electric guitar.
From the liner notes of the album, and from paulmccartney.com
‘She’s Given Up Talking’ was about someone I know whose kid had gone to school and wouldn’t talk all day that she was in school. For a year she wouldn’t talk at school and his idea of her giving up talking seemed like a good title to me. I wrote the song a couple of years ago; when I was on holiday in Jamaica and remembered this story of this girl who wouldn’t talk to the teachers or anything – which I ended up thinking that was a pretty good strategy for school, I wish I’d have thought of that. Of course I would have just got caned, they were wise to that kind of shit, my school. Then I hastily put together the middle of ‘She’s Given Up Talking’ here in LA. One of the fun things about working here was because I hadn’t told anyone what we were going to do and hadn’t played them any demos, and instead came in and just said ‘right, we’re going to do this song,’ doing that gave me a little freedom and I didn’t have to finish the songs before ten minutes before the session. I’d run upstairs to the lounge above the studio and finish it quickly. I knew what I wanted for the middle – that when she gets home she talks a lot – so I just finished it fast.
Paul McCartney – From “The Driving Rain interview” published on paulmccartney.com, November 2001
Last updated on January 21, 2021
Lyrics
She's given up talking
Don't say a word
Even in the classroom
Not a dickie bird
Unlike other children
She's seen and never heard
She's given up talking
Don't say a word
You see her in the playground
Standing on her own
Everybody wonders
Why she's all alone
Someone made her angry
Someone's got her scared
She's given up talking
Don't say a word
Ah but when she comes home
It's yap-a-yap-yap
Words are running freely
Like the water from a tap
Her brothers and her sisters
Can't get a word in edgeways
But when she's back at school again
She goes into a daze
Ah but when she comes home
It's yap-a-yap-yap
Words are running freely
Like the water from a tap
Her brothers and her sisters
Can't get a word in edgeways
But when she's back at school again
She goes into a daze
She's given up talking
Don't say a word
Even in the classroom
Not a dickie bird
Unlike other children
She's seen and never heard
She's given up talking
Don't say a word
She's given up talking
She don't say a word
Don't say a word
Officially appears on
Official album • Released in 2001
4:57 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Bass, Drums, Executive producer, Vocals
- Rusty Anderson :
- Electric guitar, Leslie pedal
- Abe Laboriel Jr. :
- Electronic percussion
- Gabe Dixon :
- Hammond organ
- David Kahne :
- Electric guitar, Mixing engineer, Producer
- Mark Dearnley :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Jaime Sickora :
- Assistant engineer
- Kevin Mills :
- Second assistant engineer
- Session Recording:
- Feb 17, 2001
- Studio :
- Henson Recording Studio, Los Angeles
Bootlegs
Driving Rain - Ultimate Archive Collection
Unofficial album • Released in 2015
4:57 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Bass, Drums, Executive producer, Vocals
- Rusty Anderson :
- Electric guitar, Leslie pedal
- Abe Laboriel Jr. :
- Electronic percussion
- Gabe Dixon :
- Hammond organ
- David Kahne :
- Electric guitar, Mixing engineer, Producer
- Mark Dearnley :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Jaime Sickora :
- Assistant engineer
- Kevin Mills :
- Second assistant engineer
- Session Recording:
- Feb 17, 2001
- Studio :
- Henson Recording Studio, Los Angeles
Latest concerts where She's Given Up Talking has been played
Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.