"Little Lamb Dragonfly" 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 ...

, composed by

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

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 ...

and originally released on the 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 song was originally recorded during the sessions for McCartney's ''

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 ...

'' album in early 1971, and thus

Hugh McCracken Hugh Carmine McCracken (March 31, 1942 – March 28, 2013) was an American rock guitarist and session musician based in New York City, primarily known for his performance on guitar and also as a harmonica player. McCracken was additionally ...

plays guitar on the recording rather than Wings' guitarist

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 ...

. However, Laine did provide backing vocals during the production work for ''Red Rose Speedway''. McCartney originally intended to use the song as part of his ''

Rupert and the Frog Song ''Rupert and the Frog Song'' is a 1984 animated short film based on the comic strip character Rupert Bear, written and produced by Paul McCartney and directed by Geoff Dunbar. The making of ''Rupert and the Frog Song'' began in 1981 and ended in ...

'' animated film project. Chip Madinger and Mark Easter noted that drummer

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 ...

may have assisted in writing the song, although he was not credited.

Music and lyrics

Music professor Robert Rodriguez described the tune of "Little Lamb Dragonfly" as "quietly haunting" with "the power to move people without their quite understanding why." The song is structured in three sections. The first section is the "Little Lamb" segment, and is in the

keys Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * ...

D major D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...

and

C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...

. The middle section contains three verses of the "Dragonfly" part of the song, and is in

E major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...

. In between the second and third "Dragonfly" verses, there is a repetition of some of the music from the "Little Lamb" segment, which helps the song maintain unity. Finally, the third section is a short reprise of the "Little Lamb" segment. There have been several interpretations of what the song is about. One theory is that the song was inspired by the actual death of a sheep on McCartney's farm. McCartney confirmed that this is at least partially correct in an interview in the late 1980s. Another interpretation is that it tells a story of how McCartney became a vegetarian. This interpretation is inspired by lines such as: :''My heart is aching for you little lamb'' :''I can help you out but I cannot help you in.'' Another interpretation is that the song contains a friendly message to

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

, particularly the lines: :''Since you've gone I never know'' :''I go on but I miss you so.'' However, Rodriguez believes the latter interpretation is unlikely, since other songs McCartney recorded during the ''Ram'' sessions seemed to be intended to provoke Lennon's anger. Rather, Rodriguez believes that the lyrics are merely a number of phrases that McCartney strung together because they sounded good together, without intending any particular meaning. Author Vincent Benitez described the lyrics as "childlike" and not as sophisticated as the music, noting that this is excusable given that the song was originally intended to be used in a children's film.

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 *

– backing vocals, piano *

– guitar *

– drums *

– backing vocals, guitar *

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

– orchestral

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

Critical assessment

John Blaney suggests that McCartney's decision to include this song on ''Red Rose Speedway'' may have been triggered by his realization that the album project was faltering, but suggests that "Little Lamb Dragonfly" is "too cute for its own good," stating that while "it may be marginally better than much of what Wings recorded for ''Red Rose Speedway'', it still "fails to satisfy." However, Chris Ingham considers this song and the hit single " My Love" two of the songs on which the album works, calling this song "underrated." ''

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 ...

'' critic Lenny Kaye also considered "Little Lamb Dragonfly" one of the best songs on ''Red Rose Speedway'', calling it "soft and sensual," although he notes that the song relies too much on "la-la-las." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' called the song one of the best cuts on ''Red Rose Speedway''. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' similarly called it a "stand out" on the album." Author Ron Schaumburg described the song as "a delightful confection." Richard Burgin of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' called the song "truly wistful and lovely."

References

{{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 Rock ballads