5 Songs That Paul McCartney Never Plays Live Anymore

At 82 years young, former Beatle Paul McCartney is still going strong and performing live. While his setlists are usually delightfully diverse and full of solo, Beatles, and Wings tunes, there are some songs that don’t really make it to his live performances nowadays. It’s impossible to fit his whole discography into a regular live rotation, but there are a few gems out there that I wish he would whip out again in the 2020s. Let’s look at a few Paul McCartney songs that the legend never plays live anymore (and possibly why).

“I’m Down” by The Beatles

According to the ever-reliable setlist.fm, Paul McCartney has only performed the Fab Four classic “I’m Down” during his post-Beatles career about 10 times total. The last time he whipped this one out was back in 2009. I’m a little surprised, considering that back in 1965, this one was a standout tune for McCartney to show off his vocal chops. However, it is a bit of a deep cut, so I get why he doesn’t perform it much anymore.

“Get Out Of My Way” by Paul McCartney

Remember the 1993 tune “Get Out Of My Way” from Paul McCartney’s solo record Off The Ground? While touring in promotion of this album, he played “Get Out Of My Way” quite a bit. However, after playing the song a total of 20 times during that tour, he hasn’t touched it since. This one’s another deep cut, so the lack of live attention makes sense.

“Jenny Wren” by Paul McCartney

I’m quite surprised that Paul McCartney doesn’t perform “Jenny Wren” anymore. This is one of the most memorable songs from his 2005 record Chaos And Creation In The Backyard. McCartney has only performed “Jenny Wren” about 40 times in his career, the last time being nearly 20 years ago. He doesn’t perform the bulk of the tracks from that particular album nowadays, so I suppose it makes sense that “Jenny Wren” would get retired once he wrapped touring in promotion of Chaos And Creation In The Backyard.

“Fixing A Hole” by The Beatles

Ah, “Fixing A Hole”. This is somewhat of a deep cut, but it is a favorite among diehard Beatles fans. Released back in 1967, this song is an underrated gem from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Sadly, McCartney has only revisited this one about 60 times as a solo artist, the last time being back in late 2005.

“Ebony And Ivory” by Paul McCartney feat. Stevie Wonder

Paul McCartney never plays his hit collaboration with Stevie Wonder, “Ebony And Ivory”, anymore. In fact, compared to his other hits that get way more setlist love, this song has only been performed by McCartney about 92 times. The last time he performed it live was in 2012. Maybe McCartney prefers the duet version over his solo live version, and prefers to omit it entirely from his solo tours. Who knows?

Photo by Laurent VU/SIPA/Shutterstock

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