Deliver Your Children

"Deliver Your Children"
Cover in the Netherlands, where it charted
Single by Wings
from the album London Town
A-side"I've Had Enough"
Released16 June 1978
RecordedMay – November 1977[1]
Studio
GenreRock
LabelParlophone/EMI (UK)
Capitol (US)
Songwriters
ProducerPaul McCartney
Wings singles chronology
"With a Little Luck"
(1978)		 "I've Had Enough" / "Deliver Your Children"
(1978)		 "London Town"
(1978)

"Deliver Your Children" is a song written by Denny Laine and Paul McCartney that was first issued on Wings' 1978 album London Town. It was also released as the B-side of Wings' single "I've Had Enough". In the Netherlands, it received enough airplay to be ranked on the national charts along with its A-side, and joint single reached No. 13.[2] On some charts within the Netherlands "Deliver Your Children" was ranked alone on the single charts, and it reached No. 9 on the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40 chart.[3] Laine also released solo recordings of the song.[4]

Writing and recording

Laine wrote most of the song himself and McCartney helped him complete it.[5][6] It was originally written during the Venus and Mars sessions in 1975.[6][7] Laine's original title for the song was "Feel the Love," despite the fact that the song lyrics do not contain the phrase, but McCartney suggested the revised title.[8][9] It was recorded on the yacht Fair Carol in the Virgin Islands in May 1977; at the time Linda McCartney was pregnant with her and Paul's fourth child, James.[7] Laine sings the lead vocal and both Laine and McCartney play acoustic guitar.[10] Laine also plays the Spanish guitar solos.[11] McCartney also plays bass guitar, and both he and Linda McCartney provide backing vocals.[6]

Lyrics and music

"Deliver Your Children" is an uptempo song.[6] Music professor Vincent Benitez and Beatles biographer Robert Rodriguez describe it as being "folksy."[8][10] It is one of two songs on London Town primarily written by Laine with children as its theme.[8] The verses describe a variety of unlucky experiences the singer has had, including getting caught in a rain storm, dealing with an unfaithful lover, and dealing with an unscrupulous repairman who can't fix his truck.[8][10] Both Benitez and McCartney biographer John Blaney describe the verses as "rambling."[6][10] The refrain contrasts by exhorting the listener to deliver the children to the good life and make things right for them.[8][10]

According to Benitez, the song sounds as if it is in the key of A minor but the guitars are actually played in the key of D minor with a capo on the seventh fret.[10] Actually, the verses are neither in a major or a minor key, but in a Dorian mode, which emphasizes their harsh imagery.[10] The first two verses, the guitar solo near the end and the outro are in D-Dorian, while the last verses are in G-Dorian.[10] The refrain is in C major, contrasting the verses and emphasizing its more hopeful lyrics.[10]

Reception

Rolling Stone Magazine critic Janet Maslin described "Deliver Your Children" as "wonderful" and one of the best songs on London Town.[12] Rodriguez regards it as the best of McCartney's and Laine's collaborations.[8] Beatle biographers Roy Carr and Tony Tyler described it as "minor key Nashville chunkachuck" displaying "superior craftmanship."[13] Music critic Joel McNally regards it as a "good" song, describing it as "an upbeat number that dares to use some acoustic guitars in an electronic age.[14] Author Giuseppe Rausa regards "Deliver Your Children" as one of the few memorable songs on London Town, describing it as a pleasant, quick, country music-like song.[15]

The song was featured on The 7" Singles Box in 2022 and on the deluxe edition of Wings in 2025.[16][17]

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/song/deliver-your-children/
  2. ↑ "I've Had Enough/Deliver Your Children". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Billboard Hits of the World". Billboard Magazine. 12 August 1978. p. 78. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Masters". Allmusic. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Philipp, J. (1991). Listen to what the man said: Paul McCartney und seine Songs : eine komplette Werkschau der Platten, Videos und Filme. Pendragon. pp. 84–85. ISBN 9783923306800.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Blaney, J. (2007). Lennon and McCartney: Together Alone. Jawbone. pp. 123–125. ISBN 9781906002022.
  7. 1 2 Madinger, C.; Easter, M. (2000). Eight Arms to Hold You. 44.1 Productions. p. 233. ISBN 0-615-11724-4.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rodriguez, R. (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years 1970–1980. Hal Leonard. pp. 223, 375. ISBN 978-0-87930-968-8.
  9. ↑ Sandford, C. (2012). McCartney. Random House. p. 255. ISBN 9781446455548.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Benitez, V.P. (2010). The Words and Music of Paul McCartney: The Solo Years. Praeger. pp. 84–85. ISBN 978-0-313-34969-0.
  11. ↑ Luca Perasi, Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013), L.I.L.Y. Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-88-909122-1-4, p.156
  12. ↑ Maslin, Janet (15 June 1978), "Music Reviews : London Town by Wings", Rolling Stone, archived from the original on 6 May 2016, retrieved 6 May 2016
  13. ↑ Carr, R.; Tyler, T. (1981). The Beatles: An Illustrated Record. Harmony Books. p. 124. ISBN 0517544938.
  14. ↑ McNally, J. (7 May 1978). "McCartney Blinks at Life". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. p. 95. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  15. ↑ Rausa, G. (5 November 2013). Dizionario della musica rock: Europa, USA, Canada e Australia. Bur. ISBN 9788858658239.
  16. ↑ "'The 7" Singles Box' – Out 2 December 2022". PaulMcCartney.com. 10 November 2022. Archived from the original on 25 May 2026. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  17. ↑ Skinner, Tom (9 September 2025). "Wings announce self-titled anthology collection". NME. Archived from the original on 9 September 2025. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
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