"Mary Had a Little Lamb" is a song written by Paul and

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

and released as a non-album single by the British–American rock band Wings in March 1972. It is based on the traditional nursery rhyme of the same name.

Background

At the time, some observers such as

Roy Carr Roy Carr (1945 – 1 July 2018) was an English music journalist, covering pop, rock and jazz. He joined the ''New Musical Express (NME)'' in the late 1960s, and edited ''NME'', '' Vox'' and ''Melody Maker'' magazines. Biography Born in Blackpoo ...

and

Tony Tyler James Edward Anthony Tyler (31 October 1943 in Bristol – 28 October 2006 in Hastings, East Sussex) was a British writer who authored several books and wrote for the ''NME'','' Macworld'', ''MacUser'', ''PC Pro'' and '' Computer Shopper''. He j ...

of ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' presumed the song was recorded by McCartney in response to the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

ban of his previous single, the political "

Give Ireland Back to the Irish "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" is the debut single by the British–American rock band Wings that was released in February 1972. It was written by Paul McCartney and his wife Linda in response to the events of Bloody Sunday, on 30 January that ...

", but McCartney has denied this, saying that it was a sincere effort to write a song for children.Garbarini, Vic (1980). ''The McCartney Interview'' nterview LP Columbia Records. In fact, the song was written before "Give Ireland Back to the Irish", as a demo of the song can be heard during an interview recorded for radio station WRKO in December 1971. For the front and rear cover and the labels, two illustrations by

Clara Miller Burd Clara Miller Burd (17 May 1873 – 11 November 1933) was an American stained glass designer and children's book and magazine cover illustrator. Early life Burd was born on 17 May 1873 in New York City, United States of America to Charles Edgar ...

were used.

Charts and reception

"Mary Had a Little Lamb" was released as a single on 12 May 1972 in the UK, moved back from its original planned date of the 5th. The record was released in the US on 29 May. On 25 May, the band mimed a performance of the song for

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 19 ...

's ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' TV show. The song was attacked by several contemporary rock critics, with one commenting that McCartney had "fallen to tripe" of this genre. However, some critics suspected this immediate change in musical direction to be a deliberately ironic musical manoeuvre. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said of it that "the nursery rhyme we all know and love gets a bouncy treatment." It reached the top 10 in the UK, peaking at number nine. Some US radio stations also played the pop/rock B-side, "

Little Woman Love "Little Woman Love" is a Wings song released as the B-side of the non album single "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on 12 May 1972 by Apple Reords. History It was composed by Paul McCartney in 1970 and recorded during the ''Ram'' sessions but left off t ...

". Apple Records in the US even revised the picture sleeve for the single to credit both sides by name (see reverse cover), but the single still failed to rise above number 28 in the US. It was also included on ''

The 7" Singles Box ''The 7" Singles Box Set'' is a box set by Paul McCartney released in December 2022 containing 80 seven-inch vinyl singles originally released between 1971 and 2022. The box set was packaged in a wooden crate manufactured in the United Kingdom an ...

'' in 2022.

Charts

References

{{Authority control Paul McCartney songs 1972 singles Apple Records singles Paul McCartney and Wings songs Songs written by Paul McCartney Songs written by Linda McCartney Song recordings produced by Paul McCartney Music published by MPL Music Publishing Songs based on children's songs Songs about shepherds Songs about sheep