- Album This song officially appears on the McCartney III Official album.
- Timeline This song has been written (or started being written) in 2020 (Paul McCartney was 78 years old)
Related sessions
This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions
April - June 2020 ?
Related songs
Officially appears on McCartney III
Officially appears on McCartney III

Unreleased song
Related interviews
Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) chat
Dec 23, 2020 • From Reddit
"McCartney III" Twitter Listening Party
Dec 21, 2020 • From Tim's Twitter Listening Party
"Dare to experiment!" Paul McCartney goes far out!
January 2021 • From Uncut
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
“Winter Bird” is a track from 2020 album “McCartney III“. This 25-second-long instrumental was conceived as an intro to the latest song of the album, “When Winter Comes“. It also evolves into a longer track, “Long Tailed Winter Bird“, which became the album opener.
From the “McCartney III” press release:
Recorded earlier this year in Sussex, McCartney III is mostly built from live takes of Paul on vocals and guitar or piano, overdubbing his bass playing, drumming, etc. atop that foundation. The process first sparked when Paul returned to an unreleased track from the early 90s, ’When Winter Comes’ (co-produced by George Martin). Paul crafted a new passage for the song, giving rise to album opener ’Long Tailed Winter Bird’ — while ’When Winter Comes’, featuring its new 2020 intro ’Winter Bird’, became the new album’s grand finale.

Last updated on December 21, 2020
Officially appears on
Official album • Released in 2020
0:25 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Harmonium, Hofner bass, Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Recorder, Vocals
- Keith Smith :
- Assistant engineer
- Steve Orchard :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- April - June 2020 ?
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Official album • Released in 2020
0:25 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Harmonium, Hofner bass, Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Recorder, Vocals
- Keith Smith :
- Assistant engineer
- Steve Orchard :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- April - June 2020 ?
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
McCartney III (Deluxe Edition Blue Cover CD)
Official album • Released in 2020
0:25 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Harmonium, Hofner bass, Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Recorder, Vocals
- Keith Smith :
- Assistant engineer
- Steve Orchard :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- April - June 2020 ?
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
McCartney III (Deluxe Edition Red Cover CD)
Official album • Released in 2020
0:25 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Harmonium, Hofner bass, Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Recorder, Vocals
- Keith Smith :
- Assistant engineer
- Steve Orchard :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- April - June 2020 ?
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
McCartney III (Deluxe Edition White Cover CD)
Official album • Released in 2020
0:25 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Harmonium, Hofner bass, Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Recorder, Vocals
- Keith Smith :
- Assistant engineer
- Steve Orchard :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- April - June 2020 ?
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
McCartney III (Deluxe Edition Yellow Cover CD)
Official album • Released in 2020
0:25 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Harmonium, Hofner bass, Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Recorder, Vocals
- Keith Smith :
- Assistant engineer
- Steve Orchard :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- April - June 2020 ?
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
McCartney III (Deluxe Digital Album)
Official album • Released in 2020
0:25 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Harmonium, Hofner bass, Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Recorder, Vocals
- Keith Smith :
- Assistant engineer
- Steve Orchard :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- April - June 2020 ?
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
McCartney III (Japanese edition - Limited release)
Official album • Released in 2020
0:25 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Harmonium, Hofner bass, Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Recorder, Vocals
- Keith Smith :
- Assistant engineer
- Steve Orchard :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- April - June 2020 ?
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
McCartney III (Smoky Tint Cassette)
Cassette • Released in 2020
0:25 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Harmonium, Hofner bass, Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Recorder, Vocals
- Keith Smith :
- Assistant engineer
- Steve Orchard :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- April - June 2020 ?
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
McCartney III (Green cover, CD)
Official album • Released in 2020
0:25 • Studio version • A
- Paul McCartney :
- Acoustic guitar, Harmonium, Hofner bass, Mellotron, Percussion, Producer, Recorder, Vocals
- Keith Smith :
- Assistant engineer
- Steve Orchard :
- Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
- Session Recording:
- April - June 2020 ?
- Studio :
- Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK
Live performances
Paul McCartney has never played this song in concert.
Contribute!
Have you spotted an error on the page? Do you want to suggest new content? Or do you simply want to leave a comment ? Please use the form below!
very nice
Paul is the very best