I Lost My Little Girl

Album: Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) (1991)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "I Lost My Little Girl" is the first song Paul McCartney ever wrote. He was 14 years old when he penned it, and the year was 1956. He wrote it using a Framus Zenith model 17 acoustic guitar that he kept throughout his life.

    The song wasn't officially released until 1991, after McCartney performed it for MTV Unplugged. There's also a rehearsal version of it sung by John Lennon during the Beatles Get Back Sessions.
  • The lyrics of the song's bridge go:

    Well gather round people
    Let me tell you the story
    The very first song I wrote


    It's likely that "the very song I wrote" line, at the very least, was added later and not in the original.

    The rest of the lyrics are the sort of generic lost-love stuff one would expect from a teenager, but the song has an interesting angle because McCartney's mother died of an embolism on October 31, 1956, and many have wondered if the song was about her.

    When asked by GQ if the song was about his mother, McCartney stated that he didn't know. "A psychiatrist might have a field day with that," he said. "I certainly didn't think it was at the time, but it could have been."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Tom Bailey of Thompson Twins

Tom Bailey of Thompson TwinsSongwriter Interviews

Tom stopped performing Thompson Twins songs in 1987, in part because of their personal nature: "Hold Me Now" came after an argument with his bandmate/girlfriend Alannah Currie.

Christopher Cross

Christopher CrossSongwriter Interviews

The man who created Yacht Rock with "Sailing" wrote one of his biggest hits while on acid.

Glen Burtnik

Glen BurtnikSongwriter Interviews

On Glen's résumé: hit songwriter, Facebook dominator, and member of Styx.

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.