Linda McCartney

Featuring: Paul McCartney & Wings

Songwriter: Linda McCartney Paul McCartney

Producer: Paul McCartney

I was in Paris waiting for a flight
When this guy came up to me and said
"Have you got a light?"

I was born in Arizona
And when I was only three
My mother took me to her saddle
And we rode the wide prairie

Oh, wide prairie, wide prairie
And we rode the wide prairie
My mother took me to her saddle
And we rode the wide prairie
Well I was living in Aspebueller
And when I was only ten
My father took me to his saddle
And we rode the range again

Oh, wide prairie, wide prairie
And we rode the wide prairie
My father took me to his saddle
And we rode the wide prairie
And I ain't going back
No, I ain't going back
Going back no more

Well, now we live in Albuquerque
And we raise the family tree
We spend our days a-feeling perky
And we ride the wide prairie
Oh, wide prairie, wide prairie
And we ride the wide prairie
We spend our days
A-feeling perky
And we ride the wide prairie

I was in Paris waiting for a flight
When this guy came up to me and said
"Have you got a light?"
And you know what happened

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.

more tracks from the album

Wide Prairie

From the album

Wide Prairie (1998)

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Wide PrairieLinda McCartney

Linda McCartney

Wide Prairie