According to disc jockey Jimmy Savile, McCartney wrote “Paperback Writer” in response to a request from an aunt who asked if he could “write a single that wasn’t about love”. Savile said, “With that thought obviously still in his mind, he walked around the room and noticed that Ringo was reading a book. He took one look and announced that he would write a song about a book.”In a 2007 interview, McCartney recalled that he started writing the song after reading in the Daily Mail about an aspiring author, possibly Martin Amis. The Daily Mail was Lennon’s regular newspaper and copies were in Lennon’s Weybridge home when Lennon and McCartney were writing songs.The song’s lyrics are in the form of a letter from an aspiring author addressed to a publisher. The author badly needs a job and has written a paperback book based on a book by a “man named Lear”.
LYRICS:
Paperback writer, paperback writer.
Dear Sir or Madam, will you read my book?
It took me years to write, will you take a look?
It’s based on a novel by a man named Lear,
And I need a job,
So I want to be a paperback writer,
Paperback writer
It’s a dirty story of a dirty man,
And his clinging wife doesn’t understand
His son is working for the Daily Mail
It’s a steady job,
But he wants to be a paperback writer,
Paperback writer
Paperback writer, paperback writer
It’s a thousand pages, give or take a few.
I’ll be writing more in a week or two.
I could make it longer if you like the style
I can change it ’round,
And I want to be a paperback writer,
Paperback writer
If you really like it you can have the rights.
It could make a million for you overnight
If you must return it you can send it here,
But I need a break,
And I want to be a paperback writer,
Paperback writer
Paperback writer, paperback writer
Paperback writer, paperback writer
Paperback writer, paperback writer
Paperback writer, paperback writer
Paperback writer
