"Another Day" is a song recorded by Paul McCartney in New York in 1970, during the sessions for his album Ram. Although it was the first single of McCartney's solo career, "Another Day" was written and previewed during the Beatles' Let It Be sessions in 1969. It was released on 19 February 1971 in the UK, with "Oh Woman, Oh Why" as the B-side. Both were included on the 1993 and 2012 re-issues of his Ram album.
History
"Another Day" is written in an observational style reminiscent of "Eleanor Rigby"; Denny Seiwell, the drummer from the Ram sessions, called it "'Eleanor Rigby' in New York City." The lyrics describe the drudgery and sadness of an unnamed woman's life at work and at home. Paul's wife, Linda McCartney, provided vocal harmonies on "Another Day". Describing his and Linda's distinctive harmonies, McCartney said "I wanted 'our' sound." Paul was deliberately attempting to create a unique McCartney style; a musical identity outside of the Beatles. McCartney had decided to list Linda as co-writer of more than half the songs on Ram, and this decision extended to "Another Day." Despite her lack of a musical pedigree, he insisted that Linda had been an active collaborator, making valuable suggestions about lyrics and melodies. Linda's credits as co-writer were later regarded as business manoeuvres in the post-Beatles legal matters. In July 1971, Northern Songs and Maclen Music sued Paul and Linda McCartney for violating an exclusive rights agreement via their musical collaborations on "Another Day". In June 1972, ATV announced that "all differences between them have been amicably settled", with McCartney's lawyers successfully arguing it had been Paul's prerogative to collaborate with whomever he chose, regardless of his or her musical abilities. Paul and Linda signed a new seven-year co-publishing contract between ATV and McCartney Music. Matching the lyrical sense of isolation and social alienation was the unique sound of "Another Day." Recording engineer on the Ram sessions Dixon Van Winkle said that Paul asked him to pick the single. With McCartney's blessing, Winkle mixed the song and pressed 100 copies for radio stations. "The next day I heard it on the air, I realized...we got carried away with the bass part...it pumped like crazy. But we never remixed the song, and Paul never said anything." McCartney has played the song live several times, first on his 1993 tour and later on his 2013 Out There tour.
Recording
According to drummer Denny Seiwell, the song was the first one taped during the Ram sessions in New York City at Columbia Studios. The basic tracks consisted of McCartney on acoustic guitar, Dave Spinozza on electric guitar and Denny Seiwell on drums, with many overdubs added in subsequent sessions.
Although "Another Day" and "Oh Woman, Oh Why" were not originally included on Ram, some CD re-releases of Ram have one or both songs as bonus tracks. "Another Day" has also appeared on several of McCartney's greatest hits albums, including All the Best! It also appeared on the Wingsgreatest hits compilations Wings Greatest and even though the song was not credited to Wings and predates the band's formation. The single was re-released as part of Record Store Day 2012. It was included on the Special and Deluxe editions of the 2012 remaster of Ram. The song was included on an EP released only in Mexico.
This song is referenced in John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?" in the line "The only thing you done was 'Yesterday', and since you've gone you're just 'Another Day'". It was featured prominently in a 2009 episode of The Simpsons titled "Bart Gets a 'Z'", and has also been included in several films, such as 50 First Dates and The Lovely Bones.
