Wonderful Christmastime - Paul McCartney

> _**Simply having a wonderful Christmastime!**_

Wonderful Christmastime arrived in November 1979, cut during the sessions for _McCartney II_, and it couldnt have been more **Paul McCartney** if it tried. Written, performed, produced, and engineered entirely by McCartney, the track features only his voice and instruments. Though **Wings** appeared alongside him in the promotional video, the record itself is a true solo affairmarking McCartneys first single credited solely to his own name since 1971.

At the time of its release, the song didnt crack the Billboard Hot 100, and its holiday life took a few years to catch on. It wasnt until 1984 that Wonderful Christmastime began showing up on Billboards charts, where it would return season after season. The single peaked at #83 on the _Cash Box_ pop chart in January 1980. Never counted among McCartneys finest compositions, the song nevertheless stuck around, becoming one of those records that somehow keeps finding its way back every December.

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**Transpose by -1**
**Tempo: 95 BPM**

8 - 8 - 8 - 8 - [uoa] - [uoa] - [uoa] - [uoa] - 8 - 8 - 8 - 8 - [ups] - [ups] - [ups] - [ups] - 8 - 8 - 8 - 8 - [oad] - [oad] - [oad] - [oad] - 8 - 8 - 8 - 8 - [osf] - [osf] - [osf] - [osf] - [2ips] - [ips] - [5ioa] - [ioa] - [3oad] - [oad] - [6uoa] - [uoa] - [4psf] - [psf] - [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [2ips] - [ips] - [5ioa] - [ioa] - [3oad] - [oad] - [6uoa] - [uoa] - [4psf] - [psf] - [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] - 8 - 8 o [8s] d 8 f [uoa] - [uoa] - [uoa] - [uoa] - 8 - 8 o [8s] d 8 f [ups] - [ups] - [ups] - [ups] - 8 - 8 o [8s] - [8d] f [oad] - [oad] - [oad] - [oad] - 8 - 8 o [8s] - [8d] f [osf] - [osf] - [osf] - [osf] - [2ipsf] - [ips] - [5ioad] - [ioa] - [3oadg] - [oad] hg[6uoaf] - [uoa] s [4psfh] - [psfg] f [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [2ipsf] - [ips] - [5ioad] - [ioa] - [3oadg] - [oad] hg[6uoaf] - [uoa] s [4psfh] - [psfg] f [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] - 8 - 8 o [8s] d 8 f [uoa] - [uoa] - [uoa] - [uoa] - 8 - 8 o [8s] d 8 f [ups] - [ups] - [ups] - [ups] - 8 - 8 o [8s] - [8d] f [oad] - [oad] - [oad] - [oad] - 8 - 8 o [8s] - [8d] f [osf] - [osf] - [osf] - [osf] - [2ipsf] - [ips] - [5ioad] - [ioa] - [3oadg] - [oad] hg[6uoaf] - [uoa] s [4psfh] - [psfg] f [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [2ipsf] - [ips] - [5ioad] - [ioa] - [3oadg] - [oad] hg[6uoaf] - [uoa] s [4psfh] - [psfg] f [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] -- [of] -- [us] -- [tp] -- [ei] -- [qy] -- [ro] -- [ro] -- [80t] - 8 - [8of] -- [us] -- [tp] -- [ei] -- [qy] -- [9r] -- [7w] -- 8 - 8 - [yips] -- [tuo] -- [yips] -- [8tuo] - 8 - [yips] -- [tuo] -- [yips] -- [8tip] - 8 - [8ei] - [uo] - [ip] - [oa] - [ps] -- [8ipd] - 8 - [8ip] - [oa] - [ps] - [ad] - [psf] -- [8psg] - 8 - 8 ---- [8osf] - 8 f [8f] - f f - f f - s - 8 - 8 - 8 h8d [uoaf] s[uoa]d [uoaf] - [uoa] - 8 - 8 - 8 h8d [upsf] s[ups]d [upsf] - [ups] - 8 - 8 - 8 h8d [oadf] s[oad]d [oadf] - [oad] - 8 - 8 - 8 - 8 - [osf] - [osf] - [osf] - [osf] o [2ipsf] - [ips] - [5ioad] - [ioa] - [3oadg] - [oad] hg[6uoaf] - [uoa] s [4psfh] - [psfg] f [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [2ipsf] - [ips] - [5ioad] - [ioa] - [3oadg] - [oad] hg[6uoaf] - [uoa] s [4psfh] - [psfg] f [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [2ipsf] - [ips] - [5ioad] - [ioa] - [3oadg] - [oad] hg[6uoaf] - [uoa] s [4psfh] - [psfg] f [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] -- [of] -- [us] -- [tp] -- [ei] -- [qy] -- [ro] -- [ro] -- [80t] - 8 - [8of] -- [us] -- [tp] -- [ei] -- [qy] -- [9ro] -- [7w] -- 8 - 8 - [8tuof] - [8tuo] - [tyips] - [tyip] - [tuof] - [tuo] - [8d] - 8 - [8tuof] - [8tuo] - [tyipd] - [tyip] - [tuoh] - [tuo] - [8g] - 8 - [8tuof] - [8tuo] - [tyipd] - [tyip] - [tuof] - [tuo] - [5tyiog] - [5tyio] - [5tyipg] - [5tyip] - [5tyiod] - [5tyio] - [5tyipg] - [5tyip] - [8f] - 8 o [8s] - [8d] f [uoa] - [uoa] - [uoa] - [uoa] - 8 - 8 o [8s] d 8 f [ups] - [ups] - [ups] - [ups] - 8 - 8 o [8s] - [8d] f [oad] - [oad] - [oad] - [oad] - 8 - 8 o [8s] - [8d] f [osf] - [osf] - [osf] - [osf] o [2ipsf] - [ips] - [5ioad] - [ioa] - [3oadg] - [oad] hg[6uoaf] - [uoa] s [4psfh] - [psfg] f [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [2ipsf] - [ips] - [5ioad] - [ioa] - [3oadg] - [oad] hg[6uoaf] - [uoa] s [4psfh] - [psfg] f [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [8f] - 8 o [8s] - [8d] f [uoa] - [uoa] - [uoa] - [uoa] - 8 - 8 o [8s] d 8 f [ups] - [ups] - [ups] - [ups] - 8 - 8 o [8s] - [8d] f [oad] - [oad] - [oad] - [oad] - 8 - 8 o [8s] - [8d] f [osf] - [osf] - [osf] - [osf] o [2ipsf] - [ips] - [5ioad] - [ioa] - [3oadg] - [oad] hg[6uoaf] - [uoa] s [4psfh] - [psfg] f [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [2ipsf] - [ips] - [5ioad] - [ioa] - [3oadg] - [oad] hg[6uoaf] - [uoa] s [4psfh] - [psfg] f [^Oys] - [Oys] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [8tuoaf] - [8tuoa] - [tuoa] - [tuoa] - [8tyipd] - [8tyip] - [tyip] - [tyip] - [8tuoa] - [8tuoa] - [tuoa] - [tuoa] - [8tyipd] - [8tyip] - [tyip] - [tyip] - [8tuoaf] - [tuoa] - [tuoa] - [tuoa] - [8tyipd] - [8tyip] - [tyip] - [tyip] - [8tuoa] - [8tuoa] - [tuoa] - [tuoa] - [5yoa] - [5yoa] - [yoa] - [yoa] - [8uos] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [8uos] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [8uos] - [8uos] - [uos] - [uos] - [8ts] - [8t] - [8t] - [8t]

Piano tutorial by [**W Piano**](https://youtu.be/W0bgQVVDwAI "")

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Part of that staying power comes from how personal the recording is. Wonderful Christmastime was cut at McCartneys home studio, with microphones plugged straight into the back of a Studer 16-track tape machine, bypassing the console entirely. The result is a direct, raw soundthin in places, squelchy in othersthat feels closer to a late-night experiment than a polished holiday single.

That was the point. Like much of _McCartney II_, Wonderful Christmastime captures McCartney in a do-it-yourself mode, chasing ideas and textures rather than perfection. Its homemade feel, looping synth, and off-kilter cheer give it a personality all its own. Love it or not, the song wears its quirks proudlyand decades on, it still flickers to life each December, sounding exactly like the moment it came from.