Big Barn Bed
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"Big Barn Bed" is a song by
Paul McCartney and Wings Paul McCartney and Wings, often billed simply as Wings, was a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in 1971 in London by former The Beatles, Beatle Paul McCartney; his wife Linda McCartney on keyboards; session drummer Denny Seiwell; a ...
from the band's 1973 album ''
Red Rose Speedway ''Red Rose Speedway'' is the second studio album by the English-American Rock music, rock band Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings, although credited to "Paul McCartney and Wings". It was released through Apple Records on 4 May 1973, preceded by its ...
''. The songwriting credits are attributed to
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
and
Linda McCartney Linda Louise, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, cookbook author, and activist. She was the keyboardist and harmony vocalist in the band Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings tha ...
.


Background

Like the ''Red Rose Speedway'' tracks "Get On the Right Thing" and " Little Lamb Dragonfly", "Big Barn Bed" was a leftover from the McCartneys' solo career. The song dates back to 1971, with the opening lines of the track constituting the coda to the "Ram On" reprise on the McCartneys' album ''
Ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
''. However, during the recording sessions for ''Red Rose Speedway'', the song was recorded by the band for the new album. "Big Barn Bed" was originally intended to be the opening track of the double-LP version of ''Red Rose Speedway'', but although the final album was cut down to a single disc, the song remained the album's opener. A live version of "Big Barn Bed" was also included as the opening track in the '' James Paul McCartney'' television special, broadcast on 10 May 1973. Throughout the performance of the song, a brief description of each member of the band was displayed on screen.


Lyrics and music

According to music professor Vincent Benitez, "Big Barn Bed" has a freer structure than most of Paul McCartney's songs. He finds the lyrics to seem more like the words were just "strung together" rather than formed into a coherent whole. The lyrics involve big barn beds and leaping
armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...
s. The song is in the key of
F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...
. Beatle historian
Bruce Spizer David "Bruce" Spizer (born July 2, 1955) is an American tax attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana, who is also recognized as an expert on the Beatles. He has published thirteen books about the band, and is frequently quoted as an authority on th ...
described the song as "a pleasant-sounding mid-tempo rocker."


Reception

In a contemporary review for ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'',
Lenny Kaye Lenny Kaye (''né'' Kusikoff; born December 27, 1946) is an American guitarist, composer, and writer, notable for his work with the Patti Smith Group, his contributions to music magazines, and his garage rock retrospective anthology '' Nuggets' ...
described the track as "captur ngMcCartney's current approach as well as any", saying, "Neither verse nor chorus are anything much, but the song draws you slowly in with the same steady roll of traction demonstrated by that odd union of records which score heavily in the discotheque markets, reaching its peak with the endless repetitions of the chorus line in the end."
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
editor
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
includes "Big Barn Bed" among "the greatest songs" on ''Red Rose Speedway'', but labels the track as "slight". ''
Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists and fans of guitar-based music and trends. The magazine has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original a ...
'' contributor Damien Faneilli rated it as one of McCartney's 15 best "under-the-radar" post-Beatle songs, praising its simplicity, harmonies, acoustic guitars and "weird but fun lyrics". Author John Blaney considered "Big Barn Bed" to be "little more than an underdeveloped fragment that went nowhere". ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Dave Swanson rated "Big Barn Bed" as McCartney's 4th most underrated song, saying that it starts ''Red Rose Speedway'' "in wonderful fashion" and that "A seductive rhythm lures in the listener and the echo-laden vocals keep you hooked as a catchy-as-can-be chorus ices the cake." Wings' lead guitarist
Henry McCullough Henry Campbell Liken McCullough (21 July 1943 – 14 June 2016) was a musician and singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland. He was best known for his work as a member of Spooky Tooth, the Grease Band and Paul McCartney and Wings. He al ...
included a version of "Big Barn Bed" on his 2011 solo album ''Unfinished Business''.


Personnel

*
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
– vocals, bass guitar, piano *
Linda McCartney Linda Louise, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, cookbook author, and activist. She was the keyboardist and harmony vocalist in the band Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings tha ...
– backing vocals *
Denny Laine Brian Frederick Hines (29 October 1944 – 5 December 2023), known professionally as Denny Laine, was an English musician who co-founded two major rock bands: the Moody Blues and Wings. Laine played guitar in the Moody Blues from 1964 to 1966 ...
– backing vocals, acoustic guitar *
Henry McCullough Henry Campbell Liken McCullough (21 July 1943 – 14 June 2016) was a musician and singer-songwriter from Northern Ireland. He was best known for his work as a member of Spooky Tooth, the Grease Band and Paul McCartney and Wings. He al ...
– backing vocals, electric guitar *
Denny Seiwell Denny Seiwell (born July 10, 1943) is an American drummer and a founding member of the rock band Wings. He also drummed for Billy Joel and Liza Minnelli and played in the scores for the films ''Waterworld'', ''Grease 2'', and '' Vertical Lim ...
– drums


References


External links


Lyrics from Paul McCartney's official site
{{authority control 1973 songs Paul McCartney songs Paul McCartney and Wings songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Songs written by Linda McCartney Music published by MPL Music Publishing