You Gave Me the Answer

McCartney has occasionally paid tribute to his father, James, who led his own band in his youth, by writing "Music Hall numbers."[1] Other such songs from McCartney's catalogue include "When I'm Sixty-Four" and "Honey Pie".[2] To enhance the realism of this period pastiche, McCartney recorded his lead vocals through a filter that removed much of the lower-end frequencies to help emulate the sound of singing through a megaphone, the signature sound of Rudy Vallee, which was a common recording technique during the 1920s, where singers like Vallee and Al Jolson had to compensate for the poor reception of primitive recording equipment at that time.

In concert, McCartney often dedicated this song to Fred Astaire.[1]

The song was recorded on a piano tuned to A427.

• Paul McCartney - vocals, bass, piano, string arrangement
• Jimmy McCulloch – electric guitar
• Joe English – drums, backing vocals
• Linda McCartney – backing vocals
• Tony Dorsey – string arrangement
• Michael J. Pierce – clarinet
• Vito Platomone – clarinet
• Carlos Klejman – violin
• Russell Joseph Bobrowski – violin
• Ronald B. Benko – trumpet
• John K. Branch – viola
• Harold Joseph Ballam – bassoon
• Bernard S. Richterman – cello