Paul McCartney: The Songs He Was Singing [Paperback]

[7a] Give Ireland Back To The Irish (McCartney and McCartney)
Personnel: Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, Henry McCullough and Denny Seiwell. Recording Studio: Abbey Road Studios and Island or Apple Studios, London.
Producer: The McCartneys.
UK release: 25 February 1972.
US release: 28 February 1972.

Wings' début single, the first by the mark two line-up, was written by Paul in response to the Bloody Sunday Massacre that occurred in Northern Ireland on 30 January 1972. The political situation in the province, made all the worse by the actions of British troops on that fateful Sunday, repoliticised both nations involved in the conflict. Although John Lennon was several thousand miles away in New York, he also felt the need to comment on the situation. However, whereas Lennon used the old trick of turning a cliché on its head to make a satirical comment, Paul's appraisal of the situation was less successful but no less politically motivated. Speaking to Sounds about his decision to write the song, Paul said: 'Our government happened to be shooting Irish people, and I thought that was real bad news and I felt I had to say something about it. I'm glad I did because looking back, I could have just sat through it and not have said anything. But it was just that it got so near home on that particular day I felt I had to say something.'
Written, recorded and released at lightning speed, Give Ireland Back To The Irish saw Paul reintegrate himself, in spirit at least, with the political counter-culture.24 However, this was more a one-off statement of disgust than an attempt to align himself with the radical left as Lennon was doing in New York. Commenting on his decision to release this statement of critical intervention, and the political pressure Lennon was experiencing for expressing similar beliefs, Paul said: 'I always used to think, God, John's crackers, doing all those political songs. I always used to think it's still cool not to say anything about it, because it's not going to sell anyway and no one's going to be interested. So I tried it, it went to number 1 in Ireland and, funnily enough, it was number 1 in Spain, of all places. I don't think Franco could have understood.' On its release, the song was immediately banned from British airwaves, which didn't help the record's sales, but added to its credibility.
When performed during Wings' British and European tours, Give Ireland Back To The Irish went down surprisingly well with audiences. As McCartney noted, it was a highlight of his live performances: 'The great laugh is when we go live, it makes a great announcement. You can say, "This one was banned!" and everyone goes "Hooray!" The audience loves it. Everyone is a bit anti-all-that-banning, all that censorship.' McCartney's decision to play the song in concert may have been politically motivated, but he was also forced into performing it through lack of more suitable material. Wings' repertoire was limited and the band often had to perform songs twice to pad out their live sets. No matter how politically motivated he was, Paul had little choice other than to perform the song in concert.
Give Ireland Back To The Irish was still causing problems almost thirty years after its original release. When Paul wanted to include it on Wingspan – Hits and History, EMI asked for it to be removed. 'I support the idea of Ireland being free and being handed back,' explained Paul. 'I feel that, like a lot of people, but I don't support their (the IRA's) methods. I certainly don't want to be in support when a bomb goes off in London and people are killed.  I would have a hard time supporting that.  So when EMI rang me up and said, "Look, you know, we're pretty nervous and you don't have much time on the album. We should pull that one," that was really why it got pulled.'

[7b] Give Ireland Back To The Irish (Version) (McCartney and McCartney)
Personnel: Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, Henry McCullough and Denny Seiwell. Recording Studio: Abbey Road Studios and Island or Apple Studios, London.
Producer: The McCartneys.
UK release: 25 February 1972.
US release: 28 February 1972.

The b-side was an instrumental version, an old trick favoured by reggae bands. Give Ireland Back To The Irish was released with custom labels featuring five shamrocks (symbolic of the new five piece line-up?) and generic yellow Wings sleeve.