Paul McCartney reveals the top three songs he wish he had written himself

These are the songs Paul McCartney secretly wishes had his name on them, along with his other favourite tracks, writes Karen Rockett in the Express. (On number 3 is Chinmaya’s ‘Chance Meeting’)

He’s written and released over 500 songs and has had more than 20 number one hits with The Beatles, Wings and as a solo artist – but even Paul McCartney gets song envy!

The 82-year-old singer songwriter told Far Out magazine: “I don’t really want to have written anyone else’s songs, but, as a fantasy question, I love ‘Stardust’, by Hoagy Carmichael and Mitchell Parish.

“It’s a beautiful song. And I remember thinking that Billy Joel’s first hit, ‘Just The Way You Are’, was a nice song, I’d like to have written that one too. ‘Stardust’ first, though.”

He then added a classic ballad to the English countryside by Sting into the mix to make up the top three songs he wish he’d written.

“I liked Sting’s ‘Fields Of Gold’, and I thought, ‘Y’know what, I should have written that. How dare he?’

“I told him: ‘You stole my song.’ I thought that was a nice one, y’know?”

But Macca is always keen to point out, “There’s a lot of songs that I love of the Beatles.

“I think ‘Strawberry Fields’ is a great song; I think ‘Hey Jude’ worked out great. I’ve got a lot of favourite songs: ‘Blackbird’ I love, ‘Eleanor Rigby’ I love.”

“I always say ‘You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)’, which is a zany, zany little B-side that nobody knows – but we had such fun making it. It’s like a little comedy record. And I just remember the joy of making it.”