Some songwriters need to know the direction their entire song is going to go before they begin. But there are others who can step outside that comfort zone and let the song direct itself once they’ve established a little bit of a foundation. Paul McCartney has always been one of those writers unafraid to follow a song along an unknown path. That strategy has led to intriguing tracks like “Mr. Bellamy”, a quirky gem that he released in 2007.
The Birth of “Bellamy”
After some ups and downs, Paul McCartney found an undeniable artistic groove in the first decade of the new millennium. The spark was his 2005 album Chaos And Creation In The Backyard. A largely one-man affair, it featured some of his strongest post-Beatles writing and inventive, engaging arrangements.
He had actually started a different album before that, one featuring his touring band. Once he settled on the path of DIY on Chaos And Creation In The Backyard, he put those other songs aside. After the completion of the interim album, he went back to those songs and made them the basis of the Memory Almost Full album, released in 2007.
In addition to the band tracks, he included a few songs on the LP that he recorded all by himself. One of those was “Mr. Bellamy”. On the website created to coincide with the release of the album (as sourced from Beatles Bible), Paul McCartney explained how he created this character and the whole dramatic scenario based on a piano riff and a single line of lyric:
“Sometimes I don’t actually know where I’m going, so then I look at just what that verse is, and in this case I got a picture of a guy sitting on top of a skyscraper and all the people in the street – the rescue team, the psychiatrist, the man with the megaphone shouting: ‘Don’t jump’ and the people shouting: ‘Jump’. So I fished around for a name and came up with Bellamy, which sounded like someone who might want to jump. And I just followed the story through.”
Examining the Lyrics of “Mr. Bellamy”
The line that jump-started Paul McCartney’s imagination was this: “I’m not coming down no matter what you do.” Once he had that in place, Macca started to embellish upon the scenario of someone high on a ledge who may or may not be thinking of ending it all.
“I like it up here without you,” he insists. It’s not specified whether “you” refers to the bustling crowd below him or perhaps to an unnamed person who has set Mr. Bellamy off. Maybe it’s the entire world, for that matter. In any case, he makes clear that he’s fine on his own: “No one to tell me what to do / No one to hold my hand.”
McCartney alters the pitch of his voice at times during the song to represent the different characters in this little play. That includes the emergency personnel. They reach out to the potential victim. “Sit tight, Mr. Bellamy,” they assure. “This shouldn’t take long.” And they buoy each other’s spirits: “Steady, lads. Easy does it.”
The folks watching consider the titular character to be in a “delusionary state”. But Mr. Bellamy seems to have an idea of what he’s after. “Nobody here to spoil the view,” he explains. “Interfere with my plans.”
Paul McCartney ends the song the way he began, with this chap insisting on staying right where he is. “Mr. Bellamy” gives us some details but denies us the motivation behind the actions of the main character. Maybe Macca himself couldn’t even tell you what they might be, which somehow makes this song even more fascinating.
Image via Shutterstock
