04 - Paul McCartney - Waterfalls - McCartney II

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"Waterfalls" is a gentle, melancholic ballad that stands out on McCartney II for its simplicity and emotional depth. Stripped of the album’s usual electronic eccentricities, the song features just Paul’s voice, a soft keyboard line, and subtle ambient textures. Its lyrics are poetic and cautionary, urging listeners to avoid chasing illusions and to appreciate what’s real and present. The refrain “Don’t go jumping waterfalls, please keep to the lake” is both metaphorical and haunting, delivered with a sincerity that makes it one of McCartney’s most understated yet affecting compositions.

When "Waterfalls" was released as a single, it didn’t climb the charts as expected, but it quietly earned admiration for its vulnerability. Years later, fans began to notice similarities between its lyrical theme and TLC’s 1995 hit "Waterfalls", which also warns against chasing dangerous dreams. Though the songs are musically different, the shared metaphor sparked curiosity, and Paul himself once joked in an interview that he wished TLC had given him a writing credit. The track was recorded at his farm in Scotland, where Paul was experimenting with minimalism and introspection. He later said that the song came to him quickly, almost like a whisper, and he chose not to embellish it with elaborate production. That decision gave "Waterfalls" its timeless, meditative quality—like a quiet moment of clarity in an otherwise chaotic world.

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