Paul McCartney explains what his track 'Wonderful Christmastime' is really about

There have been some fan theories about the lyrics

Author: Hazel ScottPublished 20th Dec 2022

As Christmas songs are doing the rounds again, Paul McCartney has shared details about his festive track 'Wonderful Christmastime' including clearing up some confusion over the lyrics and he also shared details about his unreleased Christmas record.

The cheery song came out in 1979 and has been a favourite among fans and Christmas-lovers ever since. Ahead of the big day this year, the former Beatles star did a Q&A on his website about the making of the festive tune.

Speaking about the song's popularity, Paul said: "I like the idea of Christmas songs purely because they only come around at Christmas! They remind us of the fun atmosphere of the whole season, and when I was writing ‘Wonderful Christmastime’ I was trying to capture that party aspect. I did hope it would keep coming back – which it has. Sometimes people will go into a shop and hear it a little too much, but I don’t care! I’m happy!"

Watch 'Wonderful Christmastime' by Paul McCartney:

The musician also addressed rumours about the song's lyrics, including whether he sings "the moon is right" or "the mood is right". He explained: "It’s ‘the mood’! And you know what, I’m thinking about Liverpool Christmas parties, that’s really all I’m doing with that song. 'The mood is right, let’s raise a glass, the spirit’s up' – you know, all the stuff you do at Christmas. Particularly with my old Liverpool family parties."

The confusion over the lyrics has led to a fan theory that the song is about people practicing witchcraft and pretending that they're just celebrating Christmas when they get spotted. Paul addressed this and joked: "Oh yeah. Well, thank goodness they found me out. This is completely true and in actual fact I am the head wizard of a Liverpool coven. (Paul laughs) Either that… or it’s complete nonsense. And you know it’s the latter!"

With many fans wondering whether Paul will release any more Christmas music, he spoke about a record he made for his family: "When the kids were little, I suddenly thought there wasn’t the ideal Christmas record, in my opinion. There’s some great Christmas records like the Phil Spector one, and Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby on the old standards, but I just wanted an instrumental of all the tunes.

"So, I ended up recording one for the family in my studio. And Eddie Klein, my engineer at the time, helped me. I now have this album I pull out every year, and it’s a bit of fun for the kids when we’re carving the veggie roast. I’ll stick it on and it means Christmas is here. It’s quite a cute little record actually! But it’s just for the family."

While he didn't give away a definitive answer as to whether we would ever get to hear the unreleased music, he did add: "I've often thought it’s good enough if people would like it released, and I’ve thought I could do it for charity or something, but never really felt strongly enough to make a decision. It’s just a family record, and I’ll pull it out again this Christmas."

Play our Christmas song quiz:

Lyrics...

Guess the song from these lyrics, and then scroll down for the answers:

1) "This year, to save me from tears I'll give it to someone special."

2) "Let the Christmas spirit ring, later we'll have some pumpkin pie."

3) "Santa Claus won't make me happy with a toy on Christmas Day."

4) "You know that sweet Santa Clause is on the way."

5) "Feed the world."

6) "I've got 5 more nights until you're next to me, 4 more days of being lonely."

7) "So this is Xmas and what have you done."

8) "Look to the future now, It's only just begun."

9) "You were handsome, you were pretty, Queen of New York City."

10) "Eat, drink and be merry, come along with me."

11) "Baby if you've got to go away, don't think I could take the pain."

12) "Soon the bells will start and the thing that'll make 'em ring is the carol that you sing."

13) "I sing this song to pass the time away, driving in my car."

14) "Snow is falling all around me."