You Tell Me (song)

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Album This song officially appears on the Memory Almost Full Official album.

Timeline This song has been officially released in 2007

Song facts

“You Tell Me” is a song from Paul McCartney’s 2007 album, “Memory Almost Full“.

I started off just remembering summers: ‘Were we really there?’ ‘Was it real?’ Sometimes, for a lot of people, memories – particularly childhood memories – seem so golden and you think, ‘Did it really not rain all summer or am I just imagining the sunny bits?’ And then the phrase ‘You tell me’ began to be the theme of the song. I wrote it out in Long Island, during one of those summers. I was looking at a red cardinal – and for someone English that is kind of magical, seeing a bright red bird coming out of a tree – so he appeared in the lyric. A lot of what’s in the lyric was there as I was writing. It became a tribute to golden summers.
Paul McCartney – interview with Mail On Sunday, May 12, 2008

Interview with David Khane, from Mix Online, October 1, 2007:

“‘You Tell Me’ is maybe the saddest song he’s ever written,” Kahne says. McCartney wrote the song in Long Island, and is, as he describes, “a tribute to golden summers.” The mostly acoustic number opens with some forward and backward organ, along with Laboriel playing a drum pad triggering some drum samples. McCartney’s vocal was recorded in a single pass, joined by beautiful vocals from the bandmembers. The backward/forward organ, used to create a mood, is followed by a quiet count-in from McCartney. “I was really happy he let me include the count-in. It’s iconic.”

Last updated on January 18, 2021

Lyrics

When was that summer when the skies were blue?
The bright red cardinal flew down from
his tree
You tell me

When was that summer when it never rained?
The air was buzzin' with the sweet old honey bee
Let's see
You tell me

Were we there, was it real?
Is it truly how I feel?
Maybe
You tell me

Were we there, is it true?
Was I really there with you?
Let's see
You tell me

When was that summer of a dozen words?
The butterflies and hummingbirds flew free
Let's see
You tell me

Let's see
You tell me