Maybe I'm Amazed

Paul McCartney wrote this song about his wife Linda, who died of breast cancer in 1998. McCartney never wavered in his love for Linda, and even made her part of his band so she could tour with him.

"Maybe I'm Amazed" was written in 1969 just after The Beatles broke up. McCartney credits Linda with helping him get through this difficult time.

The studio version of this song was never released as a single (no tracks on the album were), but it is one of the most enduring songs on McCartney's first solo album. A concert version was released as a single in 1977 to promote the Wings Over America live album. Credited to Paul McCartney & Wings, it went to #10 in the US in April, 1977.

McCartney, an animal rights activist, appeared on The Simpsons episode 3F03, "Lisa The Vegetarian." McCartney helps Lisa become a vegetarian and tells her that if you play this song backwards, you hear a recipe for lentil soup. Over the closing credits of that episode, if you listen carefully, you can hear the backwards message. As an extra feature on The Simpsons DVD, you can hear McCartney read the recipe and say, "There you have it Simpsons lovers, oh and by the way, I'm alive."

The lentil soup recipe Paul speaks backwards is:

- one medium onion, chopped

- two tablespoons of vegetable oil

- one clove of garlic, crushed

- one cup of carrots, chopped

- two sticks of celery, chopped

- half a cup of lentils

- one bay leaf

- one tablespoon of freshly chopped parsley

- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

- two and a quarter cups of vegetable stock or water

With the exception of John Lennon, each Beatle has been on at least one episode of The Simpsons. George Harrison was on the episode "The B- Sharps" and Ringo was on the "The Letter."

This was the standout track from McCartney's first solo album. Unlike George Harrison, who had 3-discs worth great songs (mostly rejected by The Beatles) for his first solo effort, Paul had little in the way of leftovers to work with. He worked up the album in his kitchen, and played all of the instruments himself. The only other performer on the album was his wife Linda, who lent backing vocals (she also took the cover photo).

Critics derided the album as an unfinished work, usually citing "Maybe I'm Amazed" as the exception. The review in Melody Maker called the other tracks "sheer banality." McCartney was annoyed that he wrote a rebuttal to the paper defending the album.

Artists who covered this song include The Faces, Petula Clark, Elkie Brooks, Black Oak Arkansas, Jem, Joe Cocker, and Gov't Mule. The cover by Jem was used in the season finale of the first season in the show The O.C.