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Read the original blog post1.28pm
31 March 2008
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‘San Ferry Anne’ is the penultimate song on Wings’ fifth album Wings At The Speed Of Sound. See more…
The title is a pun on the French phrase ‘ça ne fait rien’, which translates as ‘it doesn’t matter’.
I didn’t study French in school. Most British kids did. John did; he wasn’t very good at it, mind you. I chose Spanish, German and Latin, but because of the big hits that came over from France, almost any kid of my generation – including me – knew certain phrases, and in saying those words and in hearing them, my imagination almost unconsciously played with them. In this regard, ‘San Ferry Anne’ was a pun on ça ne fait rien (‘it doesn’t matter’). ‘San Ferry Anne’ was an instance of my trying to write a French song, as I had done with ‘Michelle ‘. So here’s San Ferry Anne, and she’s a doll. She looks good, she’s got a sugar daddy, a ‘little man’, who’s buying her trinkets and things, but inside her shiny shell it seems like all’s not right. Ça ne fait rien.
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3.10pm
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1 May 2011
Offline Since there is a ‘Paul McCartney Songs’ sub-forum i’m dedicating a thread to the 2 minutes of bouncy perfection that is ‘San Ferry Anne’ off of ‘Wings At The Speed Of Sound ‘.
Another gem from Paul that is not known by a lot of people. Absolutely adore it and I have no idea what Paul is on about.
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3.49pm
5 November 2011
Offline Thank you for posting, mmm. I always forget about this song until I listen to Wings At The Speed Of Sound . Definitely one of the best songs on the album, and it’s a pretty great album, so that says a lot. I’m actually listening to it right now – it’s been too long.
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6.41pm
27 March 2015
Offline Oh yes, love it. But then, Wings At The Speed Of Sound is one of my favourite albums anyway. I’d say Beware My Love (the regular version, not the John Bonham one, which is less epic i.m.o.) is my favourite track of that album, but San Ferry Anne is in the top-3, definitely.
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7.52pm
10 August 2011
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Yup – on my list too (see Best post-Beatles McCartney songs)
By the way, San Ferry Anne means “doesn’t matter” in French (“ça ne fait rien” with a strong English accent) – a nice contrast to “That Means A Lot “!
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4.42am
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1 May 2011
Offline Into the Sky with Diamonds said
Yup – on my list too (see Best post-Beatles McCartney songs)By the way, San Ferry Anne means “doesn’t matter” in French (“ça ne fait rien” with a strong English accent) – a nice contrast to “That Means A Lot “!
Oooh, never knew that. Thanks @Into the Sky with Diamonds.
JPM-Fangirl said
Oh yes, love it. But then, Wings At The Speed Of Sound is one of my favourite albums anyway. I’d say Beware My Love (the regular version, not the John Bonham one, which is less epic i.m.o.) is my favourite track of that album, but San Ferry Anne is in the top-3, definitely.
Yeah. ‘WatSoS’ could easily be my favourite Paul album and ‘Beware My Love’ is also my favourite on the album. Never get tired of hearing it.
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10.56am
10 August 2011
Offline “Beware My Love” IS great.
“And when I’m gone,
I’ll leave my message in my song”
You bet he will; great line.
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4.33pm
15 May 2015
Offline Into the Sky with Diamonds said
“Beware My Love” IS great.“And when I’m gone,
I’ll leave my message in my song”You bet he will; great line.
Oh no — another Paul is Dead “clue”…
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8.41pm
Moderators
15 February 2015
Offline Love this song, definitely a highlight of WATSOS.
What genre of music would you call this, or what Paul’s writing a pastiche of in this song? “Grotty old French ballad” doesn’t quite seem to cover it.
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1.08am
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1 May 2011
Offline Sounds great. An obscure oddity of Paul’s archive and I’m not sure there is anything else like it.
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6.59am
7 November 2022
Offline Where has this song been all my life?
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3.22am
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15 February 2015
Offline Sea Belt said
Where has this song been all my life?
Side B of Wings At The Speed Of Sound , since 1976 at least. 
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8.40pm
7 November 2022
Offline Beatlebug said
Sea Belt said
Where has this song been all my life?
Side B of Wings At The Speed Of Sound , since 1976 at least.
That’s what I get for beginning my disappointment with Paul at Venus And Mars (only liked 4 out of 13 tracks, and strangely wasn’t that impressed at the time with the title track — which now is one of my favorites).
After Venus And Mars , I didn’t feel the urge to go out and buy new McCartney albums, and this continued for years. When I decided to break the pattern, with Press To Play , my disappointment there only reinforced my resolve. It was only way later I discovered individual tracks (Take It Away; With a Little Luck; etc.) I love from this or that album. But the days of being enchanted with a whole album — which I experienced from McCartney through Band On The Run , were long over and never would happen since, really.
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