Despite Repeated Warnings is the fourteenth track on Egypt Station, Paul McCartney ‘s 17th solo studio album.
I was in Japan and I was reading a newspaper – I think it was like the Tokyo Times, Japan Times or something – and there was something about climate change and it’s typical, you know, the way people are kind of not doing anything about it. ‘It’s all gonna be fine, don’t worry. Oh yeah, sure there’s icebergs melting but it doesn’t matter – it’s not melting in London, so don’t worry about it’ you know.
And the phrase was in this article, it started off: ‘Despite repeated warnings they’re not listening,’ you know. It’s the idea. I like that phrase, ‘Despite repeated warnings.’ I thought, yeah, that sums up a lot of people’s feelings.
And then thought, well, what I’ll do is I’ll do a kind of song where I use symbolism, and so the person will be symbolic of certain politicians, and people who argue that climate change is a hoax, and we know a few. So I’ll do it about that and I’ll get somebody to symbolise one of those people.
So I thought, OK, it’s a sea captain, and he’s steering a boat, and he’s gonna to go towards the icebergs, but he’s been warned, and he’s going because he thinks he’s right, and he thinks they’re all making too much of it. The usual arguments, you know.
So that’s what it’s about. It’s a sort of story like the Titanic. If they’d have been warned, hey, you’re going to sink from icebergs, and if the captain says, ‘It’s doesn’t matter, it’ll be fine.’ So it’s that, using that kind of idea, so that it’s a sort of mad, daft captain, and then there’s all the people on the boat who know he’s got it wrong.
So it’s very symbolic for what’s going on in some areas of politics, in my mind.
So it’s one of those songs like Band On the Run or Live And Let Die that’s kind of episodic, and it’s kind of an epic production. That is it. And it’s hopefully trying to remind people that climate change is not a hoax, and that we should avoid having a mad captain steering us towards the icebergs.
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7.24pm
11 November 2010
When I first saw this thread title and the poster, I thought we had seriously irked Joe. Glad we didn’t.
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25 August 2012
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17 December 2012
Paul commenting on the “mad captain” in a new interview on the BBC website:
Well, I mean obviously it’s Trump but there’s plenty of them about. He’s not the only one.
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6.28pm
10 August 2011
Best comment I’ve seen so far on Youtube:
“I’m sure Trump will respond calling him a failing musician.”
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2.53pm
18 December 2017
Probably my favourite track on the album (or is it? They’re all so great!) it’s beautiful and makes me FEEL. Songs that do that are always the best.
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The Concert for Bageldesh
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Walrian here! Not Fiddy, or anyone else, actually.
10.10am
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20 August 2013
When you hear Paul sing
The engineer lives with his wife and daughter Janet
…
Although he’s working with the best crew on the planet
do you think of Interplanet Janet? I do. LOL.
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17 October 2013
7.18pm
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20 August 2013
Wigwam said
Could have originally been about Heather?
If Paul hasn’t come up with that idea already, I’m sure he’ll nick it from you for future interviews.
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