Linda McCartney

Released: October 26, 1998

Featuring: Paul McCartney & Wings

Songwriter: Paul McCartney Linda McCartney

Producer: Paul McCartney

[Verse 1]
Once I got fed up when you told me what to do
But still I did it, to myself I was untrue
But now I'm stronger, I can see a better way
You better listen hard to what I have to say
I've done it, I've won it, not running away

[Chorus]
I got up, I got up, I got up
And I ain't going down again
I got up, I got up, I got up
And I ain't going down again

[Verse 2]
My friends have told me I was going down fast
They try to tell me not to live in the past
Now I can laugh because I know they were right
You dirty dog, your bark was worse than your bite
I've done it, I won it and here's what I say

[Chorus]
I got up, I got up, I got up
And I ain't going down again, Yeah

[Bridge]
It's good to know that I can set myself free
Anytime I want to I can be the real me
But now I'm telling you whatever I do
One thing is certain it will be without you
I've done it, I've won it, so be on your way

[Chorus]
I got up, I got up, I got up
And I ain't going down again

[Outro]
You better believe it
I got up baby and I ain't going down
No matter what you say or do
Be on your way
Get out of here

Goodbye you dirty, dirty dog
Woof Woof

Before she met Paul McCartney, Linda Eastman McCartney (1941-1998) was a professional photographer. Despite the name, she had no connection to the Eastman Kodak fortune – rather, her family were Jewish immigrants who moved to America at a time when it was common for Jewish-Americans to choose English last names as a way to assimilate.

In May 1967, Paul was in the audience at a small music club when he struck up a conversation with Linda. In May 1968, he made an excuse to see her the next time he was in New York. Within a month, they were inseparable, and they stayed devoted to each other until she died of cancer in 1998.

Paul’s biographer called the marriage “by far the happiest and most durable in pop.” With Paul as a coach, Linda went on a notorious rise from totally untrained musician, to a (self-acknowledged) mediocre member of Wings, to the respected counter-melody, co-writer, and muse of Paul’s late-career music. In 1975, she added “activist” to her resume, when she and Paul became the most famous converts to vegetarianism at the time.

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