The Best Paul McCartney Songs

Paul McCartney has written so many great songs that ranking them feels a little like ranking sunsets: you can do it,
but you’ll make enemies in the process. Still, if you’ve ever argued (politely… or not) about the best Paul McCartney
songs, you already know the point isn’t to “win.” The point is to relive the magicthose melodies that land like a
warm lamp in a dark room, those bass lines that walk with confidence, those choruses that make strangers sing together
like they’ve shared a family recipe for decades.

This list pulls from the full Macca universe: Beatles classics he drove (even when the credit reads Lennon–McCartney),
Wings hits that proved he wasn’t living off nostalgia, and solo gems that show how a songwriter can keep evolving
without losing his grin. Consider this a guided tour through the songs that best capture his superpowers: melody,
craft, charm, bold experiments, and the occasional “I can’t believe he got away with that” moment.

How These Picks Were Chosen (So Nobody Throws a Tambourine)

“Best” can mean “most famous,” but Paul’s catalog is too big (and too good) to stop at chart positions. These picks
balance five things: cultural impact, songwriting craft, musical inventiveness, emotional staying power, and how well
the song holds up outside its original era. Some are obvious giants. Others are the kind you play for a friend and
watch their eyebrows rise like: “Wait… this is Paul too?”

The Beatles Era: The McCartney Blueprint for Pop Greatness

If you want to understand why Paul McCartney is a songwriting magnet, start here. The Beatles years include the
tender ballads, the studio brain-twisters, and the rockers that still feel like they’re sprinting.

1) “Yesterday” (1965)

A deceptively simple song that changed pop’s emotional vocabulary. “Yesterday” is famous for how exposed it feels:
a voice, an acoustic guitar, and strings that don’t distractthey deepen the ache. It’s Paul in “less is more” mode,
proving he doesn’t need fireworks when the melody itself is the event.

2) “Hey Jude” (1968)

The ultimate communal anthem. It starts as comfortgentle piano, reassuring cadencethen expands into that legendary
singalong outro that seems to go on forever in the best way. The genius is structural: Paul turns repetition into
emotional momentum, like a pep talk that upgrades into a stadium-sized hug.

3) “Let It Be” (1970)

A gospel-leaning standard that feels older than it is, like it’s always existed and the Beatles just discovered it.
The chord changes are plainspoken, the message is calm, and the lift in the chorus hits with a kind of steady courage.
It’s the song you put on when you need your brain to unclench.

4) “Eleanor Rigby” (1966)

Paul’s short-story masterpiece: lonely people, sharp details, and a cinematic sense of place. The string writing
gives the track a tense, modern edgemore drama than decorationwhile the lyric lands with startling empathy. It’s
proof that “pop” can hold big themes without turning into homework.

5) “Blackbird” (1968)

One guitar, one voice, and a rhythm you can practically seethose taps and pauses that make the performance feel
intimate and alive. “Blackbird” is also Paul’s gift for writing something personal that becomes universal: it can
mean growth, resilience, freedom, or just a quiet moment where you feel understood.

6) “Penny Lane” (1967)

Pop as postcard. “Penny Lane” turns ordinary street life into something bright and strange, with production touches
that feel like sunlight bouncing off windows. It’s Paul’s whimsy at its best: vivid, melodic, and more emotionally
real than it first appears.

7) “Helter Skelter” (1968)

Paul rarely gets enough credit for how hard he could rock. “Helter Skelter” is chaotic in a controlled waylike a
roller coaster built by someone who also reads engineering manuals for fun. It’s loud, raw, and still thrilling,
a reminder that he wasn’t only the “sweet” Beatle.

8) “Get Back” (1969)

A lean, swaggering rocker that sounds like a band playing together in the roomwhich, in Beatles terms, is practically
a plot twist. Paul drives it with groove and attitude, proving that precision and looseness can coexist if the band’s
chemistry is that strong.

Wings: Reinvention, Risk, and Ridiculously Catchy Choruses

After the Beatles, the world didn’t just want new songsit wanted proof. Wings provided it, often with hooks so sharp
they could slice a lemon for your iced tea.

9) “Maybe I’m Amazed” (1970)

The case for Paul as a world-class vocalist and emotional communicator. The song’s power comes from its honesty:
awe, gratitude, fear, devotionall in one breath. Musically, it’s a slow-build storm, with a melody that feels like
it’s reaching upward in real time. If you want one track that makes the “he’s just a pop guy” argument collapse,
this is it.

10) “Band on the Run” (1973)

A mini-epic that moves through scenes the way a great film does: tension, escape, release, and that wide-open rush
that makes you want to drive with the windows down even if it’s 38 degrees outside. The arrangement is classic
McCartney: playful, ambitious, and somehow still easy to sing.

11) “Live and Let Die” (1973)

A Bond theme that doesn’t just do the jobit steals the entire tuxedo. “Live and Let Die” pivots between moods like
it’s flipping channels on purpose: big drama, a snap of groove, then back to fireworks. It’s one of the most
instantly recognizable songs in his post-Beatles catalog, and it’s still a live-show monster.

12) “Jet” (1973)

“Jet” is pure momentum. The vocals hit hard, the instruments feel like they’re sprinting, and the chorus arrives
like a burst of confetti. It’s the kind of track that reminds you McCartney can write a hook that feels both obvious
and impossible to copy.

13) “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” (1971)

A suite that feels like several songs shaking hands and deciding to be friends. Paul’s gift for shifting tone is
front and center: tender, silly, dramatic, then back to tender again. It’s his theatrical sidebut grounded in
melody, so it never tips into “musical theater… and not the fun kind.”

14) “Silly Love Songs” (1976)

The bass line alone deserves its own fan club. “Silly Love Songs” is Paul responding to critics with the most
McCartney move possible: instead of arguing, he writes a hit so joyous the debate becomes irrelevant. It’s bright,
danceable, and quietly sophisticated in how it stacks harmonies and groove.

15) “My Love” (1973)

A love song so sincere it risks being too sweetuntil the performance pulls it back into timelessness. The arrangement
is plush, the vocal is warm, and the emotional point is clear: this isn’t a clever exercise; it’s devotion set to
music. It’s also a great reminder that softness can be a form of strength.

Solo Paul: Hits, Heart, and Late-Career Proof He Still Has It

Paul’s solo catalog is enormous, which means it contains everything: glossy pop, odd experiments, tender acoustic
writing, and songs that feel like he’s still chasing new shapes.

16) “Coming Up” (1980)

Playful, rubbery, and built around a hook that refuses to leave. “Coming Up” shows Paul’s comfort with studio
invention: it’s pop that feels like it’s winking at you, without sacrificing the craft that makes it replayable.

17) “Ebony and Ivory” (1982)

A massive duet with a simple message that became part of pop culture. Some people prefer Paul when he’s more subtle,
but the reason this song worked is the same reason many McCartney songs work: clarity. It’s direct, singable, and
built to reach people who don’t spend their weekends debating B-sides.

18) “Here Today” (1982)

One of Paul’s most openly emotional songs, written as a reflection on friendship and loss. It’s understatedno big
tricks, no glossy disguisejust a songwriter talking to someone who isn’t there anymore. The power is in the restraint:
it trusts the listener to feel the weight without being instructed how.

19) “My Brave Face” (1989)

Co-written with Elvis Costello, this track captures Paul in “sharp and energized” mode. The melody is classic
McCartney, but the lyric has a slightly tougher edgean adult honesty about heartbreak that still keeps the tune
bouncing. It’s a great entry point if you know the hits but haven’t explored the later decades.

20) “Jenny Wren” (2005)

A late-career gem that proves melody doesn’t age out. “Jenny Wren” feels folk-like and precise, with a vocal that
leans into storytelling rather than flash. It’s the sound of a master craftsman choosing elegance over volume.

Five More Essentials (Because Only 20 Is Cruel)

21) “Paperback Writer” (1966)

Bright, punchy, and built around a premise only Paul would make charming: writing a letter about becoming a writer.
The track snaps with confidence, and it’s a perfect example of the Beatles’ pop engine running at full speed.

22) “For No One” (1966)

A heartbreak song without melodrama. The lyric is almost clinical in its accuracythose small, devastating observations
when love is already gone. It’s Paul proving he can be emotionally precise, not just emotionally big.

23) “Let Me Roll It” (1973)

A gritty groove with a vocal treatment that nods to rock attitude. It’s one of those Wings tracks that feels built
for a late-night drivesteady riff, hypnotic pulse, and a chorus that sits in your head like it paid rent.

24) “Calico Skies” (1997)

A quiet, beautifully written song that shows Paul’s acoustic side with mature simplicity. It’s not trying to be a
hit; it’s trying to be true. And that honesty is exactly why it lasts.

25) “Listen to What the Man Said” (1975)

Sunshine pop with real craft underneathtight writing, uplifting feel, and that unmistakable McCartney optimism. It’s
the sound of a songwriter who understands that joy can be serious business.

Quick Playlist Builder: Match McCartney to Your Mood

If you want comfort

• “Let It Be”
• “Blackbird”
• “Calico Skies”
• “Yesterday”

If you want adrenaline

• “Helter Skelter”
• “Jet”
• “Live and Let Die”
• “Get Back”

If you want “how is this so catchy?”

• “Silly Love Songs”
• “Coming Up”
• “Penny Lane”
• “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”

Why These Songs Endure (And Why the Debate Never Ends)

The secret to McCartney’s best songs isn’t just melodythough he has enough melody for five lifetimes. It’s range.
He can write a stadium chant and a two-minute whisper. He can build a suite that changes scenes mid-song, then turn
around and deliver a ballad so direct it feels like a personal letter. He also understands something crucial about
pop: clarity matters. Even when he experiments, the emotional signal stays strong.

That’s why “best Paul McCartney songs” lists never settle anything. Different listeners come for different versions
of Paul: the romantic, the rocker, the studio inventor, the storyteller, the optimist who keeps swinging. The good
news is that there’s no wrong door into his catalogjust different hallways lined with great hooks.

Listener Experiences: 500+ Words of Very Real McCartney Moments (Minus the Time Machine)

Ask ten people about their favorite Paul McCartney song and you’ll hear ten origin stories. A lot of fans don’t
“discover” McCartney so much as realize he’s been in their lives the whole timelike ketchup, or the concept of
weekends. Someone’s parent played the Beatles on Saturday mornings, and “Penny Lane” became the sound of pancakes.
Someone else heard “Hey Jude” at a wedding, didn’t know the verses, and still shouted the outro like it was a
national anthem they’d been trained for.

There’s a special kind of first-time shock that happens with “Maybe I’m Amazed.” People who only know the biggest
Beatles hits sometimes expect the solo years to be “nice” but lightweight. Then that song starts climbingvoice,
piano, intensityand the reaction is often the same: an actual pause, followed by, “Wait… he wrote this
right after the Beatles?” It’s a reminder that the post-breakup era wasn’t just a victory lap; it was survival,
rebuilding, and a songwriter trying to prove something to himself.

McCartney songs also sneak into life during transitions. “Let It Be” gets played when someone moves away, or when a
friend needs comfort but you don’t have the perfect words. “Blackbird” becomes a quiet soundtrack for studying late
at night, because it doesn’t demand attentionit keeps you company. “Here Today” shows up when people are grieving
and want a song that feels honest without being emotionally loud.

Then there are the moments when Paul’s fun side saves the day. “Silly Love Songs” has a way of breaking tension in a
car full of people who are tired, hungry, and one wrong sentence away from arguing about where to eat. It comes on,
the bass starts moving, and suddenly everyone’s a little more generous. “Coming Up” can do the same thing in a
kitchen while someone’s cooking: it’s bouncy enough to make chopping onions feel like choreography.

If you’ve ever built a road-trip playlist, you already know where “Band on the Run” belongs: right when the highway
opens up and the sky gets bigger. That song feels like motion. And if you’ve ever watched a crowd sing the “na-na-na”
in “Hey Jude,” you know why McCartney is still a live phenomenon. In that moment, the song isn’t owned by one person.
It becomes a shared languagehalf memory, half celebration.

The most “McCartney fan” experience of all might be this: you start by chasing the obvious classics, then you wander
into deeper cuts and realize the catalog is basically a city. You don’t run out of streetsyou just keep finding new
corners that feel strangely familiar. And sooner or later you catch yourself defending a song you didn’t even like
a year ago. That’s how it goes with Paul: the hooks are immediate, but the craft keeps unfolding.

Conclusion

The best Paul McCartney songs don’t belong to one era. They’re scattered across decades, styles, and moodsballads
and barn-burners, experiments and sure things. If you want a starting point, begin with the giants: “Yesterday,”
“Hey Jude,” “Let It Be,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Band on the Run,” and “Live and Let Die.” Then do what fans have done
for years: follow the melody wherever it leads. You’ll end up with your own list, your own favorites, and at least
one song you swear you’ll never stop replaying.