Man We Was Lonely – McCartney and the Country Style

Posted On May 15, 2020

It is an overlooked fact that a number of songs from the early part of McCartney’s career bear the unmistakable influence of country music. On his debut McCartney album these include That Would Be Something and Man We Was Lonely. On Ram, we hear Heart of the Country and the country-blues track 3 Legs. His love of country found greater expression in 1974 with songs Sally G and Junior’s Farm (country rock), both recorded during a stint in Nashville.

Even songs such as The Lovely Linda bears clear country traits – the melody is derived from the country-based pentatonic major scale, and McCartney assumes an unmistakable country drawl the word “hair” (0:19):

Both The Lovely Linda and Man We Was Lonely are in the style of a traditional country two-step. In country songs from this tradition, the bass line typically alternates between the tonic and lower dominant, but McCartney decorates his bass with little runs on the Lovely Linda.

The Johnny Cash Influence

This two-step bass line can be heard in the Johnny Cash song I Walk The Line (here, Cash reverses the pattern by using tonic and upper dominant)

McCartney has commented on the influences behind Man We Was Lonely:

Actually, I thought of myself as Johnny Cash on that one. Johnny could have done that one right! I remember playing that to him and June (Carter-Cash), in fact.

What other similarities are there between the two tracks?

I Walk The Line is not in fact derived from the major pentatonic scale (the melody passes through both A natural and Eb), but it is based on the primary chords of Bb major, Eb major and F7. It is this reliance on primary major chords that is one of the defining characteristics of the country tradition – and has left some detractors to describe the country style as either “predictable” or harmonically unadventurous.

The chorus of Man We Was Lonely is based on simple primary chords and it has a two-step alternating bass line. Like I Walk The Line (but unlike The Lovely Linda) it is also not a true pentatonic major tune but is nevertheless derived from only five notes: A, B C#, D and E.

In addition, both songs feature the same trademark “step-up” bass runs (or rather walks!) to the tonic chord. Listen to Man We Was Lonely at 0:25.

And then the very first notes of I Walk The Line:

Differences Between the Two Tracks

Rich Introduction

This trait is particularly notable in Man We Was Lonely. McCartney provides an introduction that is harmonically richer than typical country music. It song begins with a chord of A13 (A G B C# F#). This extended dominant chord then moves to the tonic of D major, which is then transformed, in typical McCartney style (read about the major-minor subdominant shift in my books) to D minor. After this ambiguous beginning, the tonic chord of A major is finally emphatically stated at 0:21 and the two-step beat established. The novelty of the introduction is yet further enhanced by the use of both guitar tremolo effects and panning between speakers:

Intriguing Verse

The verse is more unusual still. The tonic of A major is suddenly transformed to its parallel minor if A minor at 0:47 and McCartney sings with a rich tenor tone, in sharp contrast to the “pinched” timbre of the chorus. The kind of shift to the parallel tonic minor has resonances of the harmonic trick used in each verse of Penny Lane.

McCartney uses the chord of A minor to modulate to the key of E minor from 0:50 by means of the chord of B7. He has moved from A major (three sharps) to E minor (one sharp) in the space of three bars without the slightest hint of fuss – no mean feat in the context of song steeped in the traditional country style:

Modulation Back to Tonic

After taking the listener on circuitous path to a remote key centre, McCartney has to guide us back to A major. From 0:58 he soars to the upper part of his tenor range from the words “now let me lie”. The chord of B7 at 1:07 provides a “pivot chord” back to A major – it is the dominant chord in E minor and the secondary dominant on chord II in A major.

We can feel that we are going back to the home key of A major from this point on. E major is emphatically stated at 1:09 on the word “home”. All in all the use of the word “home” on the dominant chord is a wonderful example of word-painting.

Harmonies

McCartney has said:

Linda sings harmony on this song, which is our first duet together.

We can hear Linda’s contribution to the melody during the verse on the words “home”, but it is the chorus where Linda’s vocal is used to best effect.

Paul McCartney offers his wife the upper vocal part (or descant part), which is pitched a third above the main vocal. There is a rich tradition of vocal harmony in the country tradition, and McCartney draws upon this in Man We Was Lonely.

For example, here are some wonderful harmonies in a two-step song sung by the Carter Family. Note the use of the autoharp (an instrument Linda used many years later in Hope of Deliverance).

Conclusion

Man We Was Lonely is one of many examples of McCartney’s adoption of the country genre in his early post-Beatles career.

It uses a number of country traits, such as two-step bass-line; a vocal melody with a limited compass and primary chords.

In common with McCartney’s usual practices, he makes use of this genre but adapts it to his own style.

Trademark stylistic McCartney traits in Man Was Was Lonely include the use of two or more contrasting vocal ranges and timbres; vocal descant harmony; modulation and re-transition passages; and the “major-minor subdominant switch”.

And Finally:

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