Paul McCartney fans point to one underrated song as his ‘moving masterpiece’

Fans of the legendary songwriter Paul McCartney believe one of his underrated songs is also his “moving masterpiece”.

While The Beatles and Wings member may have no shortage of heartbreaking classics, fans believe one song in particular is better than the rest, and it’s hardly a well-known track. McCartney’s listeners took to the r/PaulMcCartney subreddit and shared their thoughts on what is the most moving song in his discography. While fans shared their thoughts on the underrated classics littered throughout McCartney’s sixty-year career, one song stood out to some as a “stunning” example of McCartney’s songwriting strengths. A McCartney fan asked others: “Most underrated Paul songs?”

While they gave their own list (Love in Song, Secret Friend, Rinse the Raindrops, Mr. Bellamy, and Save Us), it’s a Tug of War track that stands out most to listeners. A reply to the thread reads: “Wanderlust from Tug of War is a moving masterpiece that is one of Paul’s most beautiful compositions.” Another agreed, adding: “Stunning.”

The song could have been very different had the pieces come together in the studio, McCartney claims. The Let it Be hitmaker says that George Harrison was initially drafted in to play guitar on the song, though such a collaboration never came to be.

Harrison had said: “First, I’ve got this track that I’d like you to sing harmonies on.” McCartney had later said that “he never got to do the guitar overdub in Wanderlust.”

McCartney would reunite with The Beatles’ drummer, Ringo Starr, for a reimagined version of the song just two years after Tug of War was released. Starr and McCartney provided a cover of the song on Give My Regards to Broad Street, though Harrison was absent for this rendition, too.

On writing the song, McCartney said that the captain of a boat he had been on with Wings in the Virgin Islands had been upset by the happenings on board. McCartney said: “[He] was a little sort of heavier than the other captains,” and “he sort of took it a little more seriously.

“And at some stage we had an argument with him, and I said, ‘You know, we don’t need all this aggro stuff,’ and we wanted to get off onto this other boat that happened to be in the harbour. These people had said we could come on this boat, and this boat happened to be called Wanderlust, so it became a symbol of freedom to me, this catamaran called Wanderlust.”

Other McCartney fans credited Wanderlust as one of the most underrated songs in his discography. One wrote: “Here are five that just start with W: Wanderlust, Winedark Open Sea, Wild Life, When The Night and Winter Bird/When Winter Comes.”

Another added: “Too Much Rain, Ballroom Dancing, Wanderlust, Winedark Open Sea, Deliver Your Children.”