<p id=”par-1_53″>One <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/paul-mccartney/”>Paul McCartney</a> song is a disjointed mess about water and food and freedom. It’s not surprising that <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/say-say-say-led-michael-jackson-buy-neverland-ranch.html/”>the “Say Say Say” singer</a> wrote an oddball song. What’s surprising is that the track reached No. 1 in the United States. Here is how the track in question compares to Paul’s other post-Beatles hits.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-1-paul-mccartney-song-won-t-make-sense-no-matter-how-many-times-you-hear-it”>1 Paul McCartney song won’t make sense no matter how many times you hear it</h2>
<p id=”par-2_69″>If you look at the list of Paul’s <a href=”https://www.billboard.com/artist/paul-mccartney/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Billboard Hot 100</a> No. 1 hits, you’ll see an interesting mix of songs. Some are perfectly normal, easy-listening songs, like “My Love” <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/connection-paul-mccartneys-ebony-and-ivory-the-beatles-hello-goodbye.html/”>and “Ebony and Ivory.”</a> Other tunes on the list are a tad experimental, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/john-lennon-thought-paul-mccartneys-band-on-the-run.html/”>such as “Band on the Run”</a> and “Coming Up.” However, only one of the tracks on the list is bizarre on every level: “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey.”</p>
<p id=”par-3_58″>Firstly, the song is lyrically incoherent. It starts as an apologetic ballad addressed to someone called Uncle Albert. Who is Uncle Albert — and what was the narrator supposed to do for him? We’re never told. Then, the track suddenly transitions into an upbeat track about “Hands across the water / Hands across the sky.” That’s a non-sequitur.</p>
<p id=”par-4_58″>Then, “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” becomes a nonsensical tune about Admiral Halsey from World War II needing a berth before the narrator has tea and butter pie. Then, it becomes a self-empowerment anthem about living life to the fullest. I can’t imagine anyone piecing the song together to the point where it feels like it has any internal logic.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-1″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe title=”Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey (Medley)” width=”925″ height=”694″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/8Y8fDsU0hX8?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-uncle-albert-admiral-halsey-compared-to-another-song-by-the-former-beatle”>How ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’ compared to another song by the former Beatle</h2>
<p id=”par-5_42″>“Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” goes back and forth between being a ballad, an acoustic pop song, and a rock ‘n’ roll tune. That would be fine. It’s just that these transitions feel forced. Paul hadn’t quite reached <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/connection-the-beatles-hey-jude-queens-bohemian-rhapsody.html/”>the heights of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”</a></p>
<p id=”par-6_60″>Paul had one other hit that was as fragmented as “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey”: “Band on the Run.” While “Band on the Run” combines different genres, it still coheres. It’s a song about freedom. Meanwhile, “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” is about familial issues, the water, the sky, World War II, butter pie, and living it up. Or, more likely, it’s about nothing.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-2″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe title=”Paul McCartney & Wings ‘Band on the Run’ (Lyric Video)” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/yDzhrO5K02c?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/paul-mccartney-said-song-the-beatles-white-album-1-best-melodies.html/”>
Paul McCartney Said a Song From The Beatles’ ‘White Album’ Has 1 of His Best Melodies </a>
</p>
</div>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-what-paul-mccartney-was-thinking-when-he-wrote-the-song”>What Paul McCartney was thinking when he wrote the song</h2>
<p id=”par-7_159″>During a 2021 interview with <a href=”https://www.paulmccartney.com/news/you-gave-me-the-answer-butter-pies-and-monkberry-moon-delights” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>PaulMcCartney.com</a>, Paul discussed the origin of “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey.” <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/bruce-springsteen-told-paul-mccartney-disliked-silly-love-songs-1st.html/”>“I’d always liked writing love songs</a>, ballads, and rock ‘n’ roll songs, but then one of my other little side interests was to invent surrealist stuff,” he said. “Admiral Halsey was someone I’d read about — he’s a character from American history — and I just liked the name.<br> <br>“I was playing around with that and making up a fictional story, and I just ran into the words ‘and butter pie,’” he added. “Well, there’s no such thing as a butter pie, that I’ve ever heard of anyway. So, it was a surrealist image, like in surreal art where you have a thing called a ‘hair cup,’ which is just a cup that’s made out of fur. You wouldn’t think to drink from it, it’d be disgusting, but as an image it’s interesting and shocking. ‘Butter pie’ is that kind of equivalent, but in a song.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_15″>Paul channeled his surrealist tendencies into “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” — and it paid off commercially.</p>