Waterfalls (Paul McCartney song)

"Waterfalls"
Single by Paul McCartney
from the album McCartney II
B-side"Check My Machine"
Released13 June 1980 (1980-06-13)
RecordedJuly–August 1979
GenreSoft rock
Length4:43 (Album Version)
3:20 (DJ Edit)
LabelParlophone/EMI (UK)
Columbia (US)
Songwriter(s)Paul McCartney
Producer(s)Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney singles chronology
"Coming Up"
(1980) 		"Waterfalls"
(1980) 		"Temporary Secretary"
(1980)
McCartney II track listing
11 tracks
Side one
  1. "Coming Up"
  2. "Temporary Secretary"
  3. "On the Way"
  4. "Waterfalls"
  5. "Nobody Knows"
Side two
  2. "Front Parlour"
  3. "Summer's Day Song"
  4. "Frozen Jap"
  5. "Bogey Music"
  6. "Darkroom"
  7. "One of These Days"
Music video
"Waterfalls" on YouTube

"Waterfalls" is a Paul McCartney ballad from his first solo album after Wings, McCartney II. The song has a minimalist sound, with McCartney only playing a Fender Rhodes electric piano and a synthesizer and singing, and a short solo performed on acoustic guitar.

"Waterfalls" was released as a single with "Check My Machine" as its B-Side and reached chart position No. 9 in the UK and No. 4 in Ireland.[1][2] In the US, however, it was his first single ever to miss the Billboard Hot 100 chart, only reaching No. 106 despite being the follow-up to the No. 1 hit "Coming Up".[3] In 2013, Rolling Stone rated it the No. 25 all-time Paul McCartney post-Beatles song, describing how it contrasted with Wings' prior single.[4]

Billboard described "Waterfalls" as having "a subtle oriental flavour" and "appropriately sparse" instrumentation, and described McCartney's vocal performance as "inimitable" and "creamy."[5] Cash Box called it a "whimsical ballad," stating that it has an "almost dirge-like melody."[6] Record World said that "Stately keyboards surround [McCartney's] boyish falsetto for pop-A/C appeal."[7]

When questioned on singles he wished were more successful, McCartney stated, "There's quite a few, actually. ... 'Waterfalls', I think is nice." He also commented that TLC's single "Waterfalls" carries elements of his song.[4][8]

McCartney also said of his song:

Waterfalls’ is basically saying don’t go doing a load of dangerous stuff, ’cause I need you. And that’s a kind of a more mature thought for me than I would have been able to have done 20 years ago, ’cause I just didn’t realize that it’s not all gonna be here forever. That’s the kind of thing you realize when you pass 30.[9]

  1. ^ "Waterfalls". Retrieved 28 March 2009.
  2. ^ "Official Charts: Paul McCartney". The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  3. ^ Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, Eight Arms To Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium (Chesterfield, MO: 44.1 Productions, 2000), 250.
  4. ^ a b "Paul's 40 Greatest Solo Songs". Special Collector's Edition: Paul McCartney. Rolling Stone. 2013. p. 89.
  5. ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. 2 August 1980. p. 60. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  6. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 2 August 1980. p. 18. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Hits of the World" (PDF). Record World. 2 August 1980. p. 1. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Paul McCartney". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  9. ^ McGuinness, Paul (18 June 2022). "Best Paul McCartney Songs: 20 Post-Beatles And Solo Tracks". U Discover Music. Retrieved 19 June 2022.