Paul McCartney Claims He Still Doesn't Know How to Be a Songwriter in New Interview

In what might be a surprise for some, Paul McCartney claims that he still doesn’t know how to be a songwriter in a new interview. His interview came in conjunction with the release of his compilation album, Pure McCartney, and he suggested that every time he writes a new song, it is like the first time. Pure McCartney follows his 2013 release, New.

“There’s no point where you think ‘OK, now I can do it,’ as it’s a little more fluid than that,” McCartney said in an interview with NPR. “You talk to other musicians and it’s always the same. You go into the studio thinking ‘Oh, I know how to do this,’ but then you realize you’re doing it all over again and starting from square one again. You’ve never got it down. Music is fluid, and I like that. I would like to be blasé and think ‘I know how to do this.”

He further said in the interview about his music school, named LIPA, which is located in Liverpool, “I teach a songwriting class there. Nearly always, the first thing I tell students ‘I don’t know how to do this. You’d think I do, but I don’t. It’s not one of those things you ever know how to do. I could tell you ‘Select the key, we’ll select a rhythm and now think of some great words.’ That’s not really the answer.”

LIPA has produced some successful graduates, including Circa Waves, The Wombats, All We Are, Telekinesis, Eugene McGuinness, Stealing Sheep and Dan Croll according to NME.

McCartney has been giving a handful of interviews around his new album, including one where he said that comparing themselves to The Beatles was “the kiss of death” for Oasis. Oasis gave an interview in 1996 where they compared their first two albums Definitely, Maybe and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory. Noel Gallagher later admitted that he was “high” when he gave the interview.

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Paul McCartney