Paul McCartney Announces ‘The Lyrics 1956 to the Present’ Book, Spanning 154 Songs (Beatles, Wings, and Beyond)

Sir Paul McCartney is as much a wordsmith as he is a music legend, and the Beatles icon will release a special new book in November bringing together all of his collected lyrics.

The Lyrics 1956 to the Present, announced on Wednesday, is billed as “a self-portrait in 154 songs,” and in essence serves as the autobiography “Macca” hasn’t been able to write as of yet. Per a news release:

‘More often than I can count, I’ve been asked if I would write an autobiography, but the time has never been right. The one thing I’ve always managed to do, whether at home or on the road, is to write new songs. I know that some people, when they get to a certain age, like to go to a diary to recall day-to-day events from the past, but I have no such notebooks. What I do have are my songs, hundreds of them, which I’ve learned serve much the same purpose. And these songs span my entire life’ Paul McCartney, The Lyrics

The collection brings together songs from throughout all stages of his life and career, from his early compositions as a boy to later work with the Beatles, Wings, and his impeccable solo career (which hit another high note in December thanks to his latest album, McCartney III).

The Lyrics 1956 to the Present features an introduction by Paul Muldoon, who also edited the book.

“I hope that what I’ve written will show people something about my songs and my life which they haven’t seen before. I’ve tried to say something about how the music happens and what it means to me and I hope what it may mean to others too.” — Paul McCartney

“Based on conversations I had with Paul McCartney over a five year period, these commentaries are as close to an autobiography as we may ever come. His insights into his own artistic process confirm a notion at which we had but guessed — that Paul McCartney is a major literary figure who draws upon, and extends, the long tradition of poetry in English.” — Paul Muldoon