Down To The River

‘Down To The River’ was a b-side of Paul McCartney’s 1993 single ‘C’Mon People’.

McCartney and his band performed the song on four occasions during the Unplugged 1991 Summer Tour. He last played it on 20 November 1992 at London’s Mean Fiddler.

A more recognisable form of treat was delivered in the shape of an altogether new composition, ‘Down By The River’. Apparently written by Paul over a recent morning’s muesli, it’s a catchy skiffle-style romp about ‘going down to where the waters flow’, marked by a true McCartney concert first – mouth-organ playing. Not for him, though, the Dylan-style neck appendage to keep the instrument in place, instead it was the duty of special assistant John Hammel to join Paul centre-stage and physically hold the harmonica adjacent to the microphone.

The release

On 22 February 1993 ‘C’Mon People’ was released as the second single from Off The Ground. The 7″ vinyl edition had ‘I Can’t Imagine’ on the b-side.

There were also two compact disc singles. The first had ‘C’Mon People’, ‘I Can’t Imagine’, ‘Keep Coming Back To Love’, and ‘Down To The River’, while the second had ‘C’Mon People’, ‘Deliverance’, and ‘Deliverance’ (Dub Mix).

The single was not a commercial success, although it did reach number 15 in the Netherlands. In the UK and Germany it peaked at 41.