Fuh You

Album: Egypt Station (2018)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Paul McCartney collaborated with OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder on this cheekily titled song. In addition to OneRepublic's hit songs such as "Apologize" and " Counting Stars," Tedder has also written tunes for the likes of Beyoncé ("Halo"), Adele ("Rumour Has It"), Leona Lewis ("Bleeding Love") and Ellie Goulding ("Burn"). So when Egypt Station producer Greg Kurstin suggested he work with Tedder on some songs, the Beatle legend knew he had a good track record.
  • Speaking to DIY Magazine, McCartney explained that he listened to a lot of songs Tedder worked on (especially Beyoncé's "Halo"), and liked what he heard. He then contacted the American producer by phone who asked him what he hoped to come out of their collaboration. When Macca replied "A hit," Tedder responded, "Yeah! Now you're talking my language! The world loves a hit!'"
  • McCartney recalled the story of writing this near-the-knuckle love song with Tedder, "We were just thinking of ideas and little pieces of melody and chords and the song just came together bit by bit. And then I would try and make some kind of sense of the story. So it was like, 'Come on baby now. Talk about yourself. Tell the truth, let me get to know you' and basically I wanna know how you feel, you make me wanna go out and steal. I just want it for you."

    "So that was the basic idea," he continued, "and it developed from there... sort of a love song, but a raunchy love song. There you go - fuh you."
  • "Fuh you" is arguably the closest McCartney has ever gone to an out rightly offensive song title. However he has form for sailing close to the wind dating back to The Beatles White album track "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?." Four years later The Wings' single "Hi Hi Hi" was banned by the BBC for what they described as "Inappropriate sex and drugs references."
  • Ryan Tedder warned Paul McCartney that "Fuh You" would annoy some of his older fans but gather up some younger admirers. "I told him, I was like, 'This is gonna p--s off about half of your fan base, and then a bunch of people who are like millennials, like me or younger, are just gonna think it's catchy as hell and love it," he recalled to ABC Radio. "Which is basically what it's doing!"
  • The heartwarming, black-and-white music video follows a lovestruck teenage boy on a successful date. We see him dancing through the streets of McCartney's home city Liverpool, with a grin on his face, singing along to the song's lyrics.
  • McCartney attempted to clear up confusion over the track's name, explaining to GQ that he didn't want to use the F-word in the title as he's "got eight grandchildren."

    He added that the track came about when the songwriting session was coming to a close and he and Tedder were "getting a bit hysterical in the studio" having been confined there for a long time. McCartney suggested light-heartedly that he sings, "I just wanna shag you." They laughed then he added "No, I'll tell you what we can do is, I can make it questionable as to what it is I'm singing."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Chris Isaak

Chris IsaakSongwriter Interviews

Chris tells the story of "Wicked Game," talks milkshakes and moonpies at Sun Records, and explains why women always get their way.

Which Restaurants Are Most Mentioned In Song Lyrics?

Which Restaurants Are Most Mentioned In Song Lyrics?Song Writing

Katy Perry mentions McDonald's, Beyoncé calls out Red Lobster, and Supertramp shouts out Taco Bell - we found the 10 restaurants most often mentioned in songs.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?

Early Days of MTV

Early Days of MTVFact or Fiction

If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.