‘Magneto And Titanium Man’ is the fifth song on Wings’ Venus And Mars album. See more…
Yes, that’s about Marvel Comics. When we were on holiday in Jamaica, we’d go into the supermarket every Saturday, when they got a new stock of comics in. I didn’t use to read comics from eleven onwards, I thought I’d grown out of them, but I came back to them a couple of years ago. The drawings are great. I think you’ll find that in twenty years time some of the guys drawing them were little Picassos. I think it’s very clever how they do it. I love the names, I love the whole comic book thing.
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5.57pm
7 November 2022
12.37am
7 November 2010
What an odd song this is. Why did McCartney decide to write about comic book characters? Can anyone think of any other McCartney songs that are inspired so heavily by something in pop culture?
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Sea BeltI think it's great you're going through a phase,
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11.35pm
7 November 2022
I love this song — the melody & chords, the playfully nonsensical lyrics, and Paul’s scat singing. Speaking of the lyrics, there’s that wonderful image “We went to town with the library and we swung all over that long tall bank in the main street” — an image perhaps only appreciated by Marvel Comics fans (especially of Spider Man and Daredevil).
Btw, during his Wings phase, Paul’s concerts would have giant screens showing Marvel Comics superheros during that song.
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kelicopter, Ahhh Girl, RubeNow today I find, you have changed your mind
12.43am
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20 August 2013
This retired librarian gives this song a seal of approval for the mention of a library … and for the way he pronounces it li-ber-eee.
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2.55am
7 November 2022
Ahhh Girl said
This retired librarian gives this song a seal of approval for the mention of a library … and for the way he pronounces it li-ber-eee.
Although the way he sings it, not accenting any of the 3 syllables, doesn’t quite bring out “Liberry” the way people say it, where the first syllable is accented — not to mention he could have a hidden R there barely detectable to our ear.
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kelicopterNow today I find, you have changed your mind
4.18am
30 August 2021
“We went to town with the library” is a rather odd formulation with a number of possible interpretations. Did they go to “the” town with the library? Did they go to town with a (mobile) library? Did they “go to town” meaning that they had a good time? Whatever, it’s a fun song, for me one of the standouts on the album.
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5.48am
7 November 2022
Mr. Moonlight said
“We went to town with the library” is a rather odd formulation with a number of possible interpretations. Did they go to “the” town with the library? Did they go to town with a (mobile) library? Did they “go to town” meaning that they had a good time? Whatever, it’s a fun song, for me one of the standouts on the album.
I think “went to town” as in “had a good time” makes the most sense, and I had never thought of it before. All these years I’ve puzzled over that locution.
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Mr. Moonlight, kelicopterNow today I find, you have changed your mind
1.16pm
7 November 2010
To clarify my original post, I do love the song. I just find the influence odd. Normally characters in Paul’s songs are of his own creation.
I love the vocals in this song. There’s spoken word narration like in Rocky Raccoon , but also singing that is soft and sultry, and hard and rocky.
Now I can’t stop thinking about the library line. Could “went to town with the library” be a reference to him obsessing over comic books?
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and I'm awfully glad it'll all be over in a couple
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1.41pm
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1 May 2011
Paul was a fan of the comics when a kid, rediscovered his love of them with Linda in the early 70’s and included a mix of already existing characters and his own creations when writing the song.
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4.15pm
4 September 2019
I can’t say this is really a favorite. I love Marvel comics (especially from the ’60s and 70s), and I thought it was cool that Paul wrote a song with some of their characters. And it’s catchy, I was singing it in the shower yesterday. But it just sounds goofy, a little embarrassing, sort of like how some people feel about Maxwell’s Silver Hammer . I could listen to it and enjoy, but I would be embarrassed to play it for someone and say “Hey, listen to this, it’s by the greatest songwriter who ever lived”.
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7 November 2010
Sea Belt said
One could agree it’s kind of goofy, but to me the key is whether it’s musically inspired — and I feel it is, from the chords to the melody to Paul’s various vocalizations.
Agree – the lyrics and theme are goofy, but musically this is a fantastically composed song.
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Sea Belt, Richard, Mr. Moonlight, RubeI think it's great you're going through a phase,
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2020
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