"She's My Baby" is a song credited to

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

and

Linda McCartney Linda Louise, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, cookbook author, and activist. She was the keyboardist and harmony vocalist in the band Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings tha ...

that was first released by

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

on their 1976 album ''

Wings at the Speed of Sound ''Wings at the Speed of Sound'' is the fifth studio album by the British–American rock band Wings, released on 26 March 1976. Issued at the height of the band's popularity, it reached the top spot on the US album chart—the band's fourth con ...

''. It is a love song sung by Paul directed at Linda. Critical opinion of the song has ranged from a description as Paul McCartney's "sweetest, daftest love song" to a suggestion that it deserves an "honor for sheer awfulness." In 1998, after Linda's death, Paul McCartney rearranged the song for

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

to be played at memorial concerts for his late wife. This version was included on the 1999 album ''

Working Classical ''Working Classical'' is Paul McCartney's third full-length release of original classical music as a double LP and as a single CD, and was issued less than a month after '' Run Devil Runs release in 1999. Background and recording Following up ...

''.

Lyrics and music

"She's My Baby" is a love song inspired by Linda. Paul McCartney sings the lead vocal. In each of the verses, the song describes characteristics of the singer's "baby." Some of these have been criticized as being trite; for example, the woman is described as

gravy Gravy is a sauce made from the juices of meats and vegetables that run naturally during cooking and often thickened with thickeners for added texture. The gravy may be further coloured and flavoured with gravy salt (a mix of salt and caramel food ...

to be mopped up by the singer: :''Like gravy, down to the last drop'' :''I keep mopping her up'' :''Oh yeah, she's my baby'' The verses are in the key of

C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...

. The

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

begins in the key of

F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...

, which is the

subdominant In music, the subdominant is the fourth tonal degree () of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance ''below'' the tonic as the dominant is ''above'' the tonicin other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdomina ...

key to the verses, and ends on a

dominant seventh chord Domination or dominant may refer to: Society * World domination, structure where one dominant power governs the planet * Colonialism in which one group (usually a nation) invades another region for material gain or to eliminate competition * Ch ...

G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...

, which is the dominant of C, facilitating the transition back to the verse. Like the hit singles from ''Wings at the Speed of Sound'', "

Let 'Em In "Let 'Em In" is a song by Wings from their 1976 album '' Wings at the Speed of Sound''. It was written and sung by Paul McCartney and reached the top 3 in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. It was a No. 2 hit in the UK; in t ...

" and "

Silly Love Songs "Silly Love Songs" is a song by the British–American rock band Wings that was written by Paul and Linda McCartney. The song first appeared in March 1976 on the album '' Wings at the Speed of Sound,'' then it was released as a single backed wit ...

," the

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

is prominent in the mix. This was done intentionally to make the song more danceable. Paul McCartney has stated that "That is the bass in your face. And that was really because we were making a dance record."

Personnel

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

- vocals, electric piano, keyboards, possible bass, possible electric guitar * Joe English - drums *

- backing vocals *

Denny Laine Brian Frederick Hines (29 October 1944 – 5 December 2023), known professionally as Denny Laine, was an English musician who co-founded two major rock bands: the Moody Blues and Wings. Laine played guitar in the Moody Blues from 1964 to 1966 ...

- backing vocals, possible bass *

Jimmy McCulloch James McCulloch (4 June 1953 – 25 September 1979) was a Scottish musician best known for playing lead guitar and bass as a member of Paul McCartney's band Wings from 1974 to 1977. McCulloch was a member of the Glasgow psychedelic band One i ...

- electric guitar

Critical reception

Critical reaction to "She's My Baby" has been very mixed. ''The Rough Guide to the Beatles'' author Chris Ingham calls "She's My Baby" McCartney's "sweetest, daftest love song." Chip Madiger and Mark Easter lament that on ''Wings at the Speed of Sound'' "She's My Baby" is crossfaded with the following song on the album, " Beware My Love." This limited radio play of a song they consider one of the best on the album, albeit "lightweight and jaunty."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

claimed that "'She's My Baby' sounds like an outtake from the 'white' double-LP by McCartney's former group, the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. Other critics are less kind. Reviewing ''Wings at the Speed of Sound'',

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

states that "'She's My Baby' play like the hits, only without memorable hooks." ''Fab Four FAQ 2.0'' author Robert Rodriguez calls the song "hackneyed" and suggests that it "must earn some kind of honor for sheer awfulness." Music professor Vincent Benitez acknowledges that the song is "danceable," but also calls it "superficial" and "an inane pop song with trite lyrics and images."

String quartet version

In 1998, after Linda McCartney's death, Paul McCartney rearranged the song for

to be played at memorial concerts for his late wife. The

Brodsky Quartet The Brodsky Quartet is a British string quartet, formed in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, in 1972 as the "Cleveland Quartet", and subsequently named for Russian violinist Adolph Brodsky. Ian Belton and Jacqueline Thomas are original members, ...

performed the song at memorial services in London, and the Loma Mar Quartet performed the song at memorial services in New York. The Loma Mar Quartet also recorded the string quartet version of the song for the 1999 album ''

''.

References

{{Paul McCartney 1976 songs 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 Paul McCartney songs