The old and new blend together in a haze of nostalgia and reflection
In the lead-up to The Boys of Dungeon Lane dropping this week, Paul McCartney and Paul Mescal gave us some Paul on Paul action with an 11-minute interview on Amazon Music.
The short film covers the songwriting behind tracks off McCartney’s 27th album, alongside memories associated with the early days of his career and his past Beatles members.
With an opening shot of coffee being poured into a mug, viewers are led into a dreamy and nostalgic snapshot of dining in 1950s England.
The two Pauls are seated like old friends who regularly catch up and reminisce on the past, and the way it bleeds into the present.
Mescal, who is set to portray McCartney in the upcoming Beatles films, leads the interview with a simple “How do you feel about being interviewed?” The two then engage in friendly banter as McCartney replies, “It depends if I like the person, which is where we’re running into a problem already.”
Paul 1 and Paul 2 dive into the writing process and the meanings behind ‘Down South’, ‘Home to Us’, ‘Lost Horizon’, ‘Salesman Saint’, and ‘Days We Left Behind’. McCartney shares that ‘Down South’ is a revisit to his memories of hitchhiking with George Harrison, and when writing ‘Days We Left Behind’, Paul would collaborate and talk to John in his head.
“It’s nice because you kind of revisit them…it’s like revisiting old snapshots”.
The bittersweet veil that surrounds the conversation is enhanced by intercuts of old Beatles photos and shots of young 1950s boys chatting and laughing in the same diner where the interview takes place.
Each cutaway to a specific diner character acts as a symbolic representation of whoever is mentioned in the interview, whether it’s a middle-aged working-class couple ordering food (McCartney’s Parents) or it’s a teenage boy tapping spoons on a table (Ringo Starr).
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The two remaining Beatles even teamed up on the album’s second single, ‘Home To Us’, where they explore their collective upbringing in Liverpool.
The new album will be released on the 29th of May and is said to be his most introspective album yet.
“Looking back on your life, you go, ‘Wow, did we really do that?’. All of that comes flooding back… It’s like a dream.”
