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Released in 1982

Tug Of War

Written by Paul McCartney

Last updated on May 9, 2020

Album This song officially appears on the Tug Of War Official album.

Timeline This song was officially released in 1982

Timeline This song was written, or began to be written, in 1981, when Paul McCartney was 39 years old)

Master album

Related sessions

This song was recorded during the following studio sessions:

Related interviews

“Tug of War” is the title track from Paul McCartney’s 1982 album Tug of War. From Wikipedia:

[…] Rolling Stone described the song as McCartney’s equivalent to John Lennon’s “Imagine“. To others, however, “Pipes of Peace” is. The song has a clear division between the verses featuring sad lyrics about the struggle to survive, the necessity of conflict (pushing and pulling) and the hopeful refrain, in which McCartney looks for a future where these struggles are no longer necessary. The lyrics are seen as describing his complex relationship with Lennon, who was killed two years prior.

The single reached number 53 in the UK and number 53 in the US.

The album version starts with the sounds of people grunting as part of a real tug of war – a popular sporting event since ancient times, before Paul goes into the song, and then at the end of the song, it fades into “Take It Away“. The single version omits these factors.

From an interview with Newsweek, May 1982:

Did you have John Lennon in mind [when writing the Tug Of War album]?

No. But halfway through it, John was killed. I can’t believe it to this day, I can’t even say those words…But “Here Today” is the only song specifically about that. Obviously, “Tug of War” ties in…And so does “Somebody Who Cares.” I remember being aware of John’s death while writing it.

Paul McCartney

From an interview with Andy McKay, for Club Sandwich:

You’ve got a few songs you’ve been working on, you’re waiting to record, and in the middle of them was this song called “Tug Of War”, and as that had started by me liking the title and the idea, and seeing that it applied to more than just a sport, I did the song and started just to kind of plonk that in amongst these others that were, you know, ready to go anyway. Any lyrics I had to finish up a little bit would be governed by the new idea of a theme, so I didn’t really want to get too hung up on a theme, ‘cos it’s like everything regimented, and nothing flowing, and I wouldn’t have wanted that really, ‘cos I like the idea of a little bit of regimentation but a lot of stuff that was just kind of free-flying amongst it all. That’s why I kind of say this is a sort of loose concept, sort of starts with a concept, flows into some stuff that you could vaguely say was in the concept, but it starts sort of free-flowing all over the place. But eventually, by the time it gets to the end of the album, it sort of returns to the concept. So you know it’s just like a very loose one.

Paul McCartney

On the orchestra, we were quite happy with it, but we just weren’t ‘over the top’ happy with it. So we decided to do it again. With George Martin, it was, ‘Oh, come on, let’s really get it right,’ and that attitude really made the album enjoyable, because you know that by the time you finish the album, you’re going to have an album that you started off wanting.

Paul McCartney, from Badman, Keith. The Beatles: The Dream Is Over – Off The Record 2 (p. 303).
Paul’s handwritten lyrics for Tug Of War – From the “Tug Of War Archive Collection” @ 2015 MPL Communications Inc

Lyrics

It's a tug of war

What with one thing and another

It's a tug of war

We expected more

But with one thing and another

We were trying to outdo each other

In a tug of war

In another world

In another world we could

Stand on top of the mountain

With our flag unfurled

In time to come

In time to come we will be

Dancing to the beat played

On a different drum

It's a tug of war

Though I know I mustn't grumble

It's a tug of war

But I can't let go

If I do you'll take a tumble

And the whole thing is going to crumble

It's a tug of war

Pushing pushing, pulling pulling

Pushing and pulling

In years to come they may discover

What the air we breathe and the life we lead

Are all about

But it won't be soon enough

Soon enough for me

No it won't be soon enough

Soon enough for me

In another world we could

Stand on top of the mountain

With our flag unfurled

In a time to come we will be

Dancing to the beat played on a different drum

We will be dancing to the beat

Played on a different drum

We will be dancing to the beat

Played on a different drum

It's a tug of war, a tug of war

A tug of war

What with one thing and another

It's a tug of war

We expected more

but with one thing and another

We were trying to outscore each other

In a tug of war

Officially appears on

Bootlegs

See all bootlegs containing “Tug Of War”

Related films

Videos

Album Tug Of War

Live performances

Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.

Going further

The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present

"Tug Of War" is one of the songs featured in the book "The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present," published in 2021. The book explores Paul McCartney's early Liverpool days, his time with the Beatles, Wings, and his solo career. It pairs the lyrics of 154 of his songs with his first-person commentary on the circumstances of their creation, the inspirations behind them, and his current thoughts on them.

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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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Paul McCartney writing

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