When Paul McCartney released “When Winter Comes” in 2020 as part of the McCartney III album, the world heard something extraordinary: a song recorded decades earlier, left untouched, and carried forward into a new era with all its original warmth intact. The track was born in 1992 during the Flaming Pie sessions with producer George Martin, yet it feels timeless — a piece of musical simplicity that reveals McCartney at his most human, most tender, and most wise.
Unlike many of Paul’s great ballads, “When Winter Comes” is not about romance, heartbreak, or memory. It is about care — the quiet, daily care that sustains a home, a relationship, a life. With just an acoustic guitar and his voice, McCartney paints small scenes of responsibility: mending fences, tending soil, protecting animals, preparing for the harshness of cold seasons.
It begins almost like a conversation, soft and unhurried:
“When winter comes and food is scarce…”
There is no drama, no metaphor disguised in poetry. Paul sings plainly, as if guiding someone through a day on a farm — but beneath the simplicity lies something profound. Winter, in the McCartney universe, is more than a season. It is a symbol for hard times, vulnerability, the periods of life when comfort becomes fragile and love becomes essential.
The beauty of the song lies in its humility.
Paul doesn’t present himself as the hero — he presents himself as the caretaker.
The one who fixes the roof, protects the animals, works the land, keeps the family warm. It is a portrait of love expressed not through grand gestures, but through steady hands and simple acts.
The lyric unfolds with a gentle rhythm, each task a small meditation:
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patch the fence
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dig the ground
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feed the chickens
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mend the clothes
These are not chores; they are expressions of devotion. The work of someone who understands that real love is often quiet. Sustaining. Repetitive. And profoundly meaningful.
The emotional heart of the song arrives quietly:
💬 “I’ll find a way to make it all right.”
It is the promise at the core of McCartney’s worldview — a belief in perseverance, effort, and the idea that care is a form of love stronger than fear or hardship.
Musically, the song is bare, which is precisely why it feels so intimate.
Just Paul’s voice and acoustic guitar — no strings, no production tricks, no layered harmonies. The simplicity gives the track a living-room warmth, as though he is playing it right beside you. His voice, recorded decades earlier, is youthful yet thoughtful, carrying a softness that later years made more fragile.
When the song resurfaced in McCartney III, it became more than a rediscovered track — it became a bridge across time. The younger Paul sings about responsibility and resilience; the older Paul releases the song into a world that suddenly needed those values more than ever.
In the context of his life story, “When Winter Comes” feels like a message about legacy. Paul has always carried the ethos of family, land, nature, and gentle stewardship — values he shared with Linda. The song feels like a continuation of that life, preserved in melody.
Today, “When Winter Comes” stands as one of McCartney’s most quietly profound songs. Not grand, not flashy, not elaborate — but deeply true. It is a reminder that love is not only a feeling, but a practice. That care is not only work, but a gift. And that even in the harshest seasons, with wind rising and food scarce, there is comfort in the hands that promise:
I’ll keep us safe.
I’ll keep us warm.
I’ll make it right —
when winter comes.