Deliver Your Children
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- Record Plant Mobile Studio, Fair Carol Yacht, Virgin Islands
- Abbey Road Studios, London
| "Deliver Your Children" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover in the Netherlands, where it charted | ||||
| Single by Wings | ||||
| from the album London Town | ||||
| A-side | "I've Had Enough" | |||
| Released | 16 June 1978 | |||
| Recorded | May – November 1977[1] | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Parlophone/EMI (UK) Capitol (US) | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Paul McCartney | |||
| Wings singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Deliver Your Children" is a song written by Denny Laine and Paul McCartney that was first issued on Wings' 1978 album London Town. It was also released as the B-side of Wings' single "I've Had Enough". In the Netherlands, it received enough airplay to be ranked on the national charts along with its A-side, and joint single reached No. 13.[2] On some charts within the Netherlands "Deliver Your Children" was ranked alone on the single charts, and it reached No. 9 on the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40 chart.[3] Laine also released solo recordings of the song.[4]
Laine wrote most of the song himself and McCartney helped him complete it.[5][6] It was originally written during the Venus and Mars sessions in 1975.[6][7] Laine's original title for the song was "Feel the Love," despite the fact that the song lyrics do not contain the phrase, but McCartney suggested the revised title.[8][9] It was recorded on the yacht Fair Carol in the Virgin Islands in May 1977; at the time Linda McCartney was pregnant with her and Paul's fourth child, James.[7] Laine sings the lead vocal and both Laine and McCartney play acoustic guitar.[10] Laine also plays the Spanish guitar solos.[11] McCartney also plays bass guitar, and both he and Linda McCartney provide backing vocals.[6]
Lyrics and music
"Deliver Your Children" is an uptempo song.[6] Music professor Vincent Benitez and Beatles biographer Robert Rodriguez describe it as being "folksy."[8][10] It is one of two songs on London Town primarily written by Laine with children as its theme.[8] The verses describe a variety of unlucky experiences the singer has had, including getting caught in a rain storm, dealing with an unfaithful lover, and dealing with an unscrupulous repairman who can't fix his truck.[8][10] Both Benitez and McCartney biographer John Blaney describe the verses as "rambling."[6][10] The refrain contrasts by exhorting the listener to deliver the children to the good life and make things right for them.[8][10]
According to Benitez, the song sounds as if it is in the key of A minor but the guitars are actually played in the key of D minor with a capo on the seventh fret.[10] Actually, the verses are neither in a major or a minor key, but in a Dorian mode, which emphasizes their harsh imagery.[10] The first two verses, the guitar solo near the end and the outro are in D-Dorian, while the last verses are in G-Dorian.[10] The refrain is in C major, contrasting the verses and emphasizing its more hopeful lyrics.[10]
Reception
Rolling Stone Magazine critic Janet Maslin described "Deliver Your Children" as "wonderful" and one of the best songs on London Town.[12] Rodriguez regards it as the best of McCartney's and Laine's collaborations.[8] Beatle biographers Roy Carr and Tony Tyler described it as "minor key Nashville chunkachuck" displaying "superior craftmanship."[13] Music critic Joel McNally regards it as a "good" song, describing it as "an upbeat number that dares to use some acoustic guitars in an electronic age.[14] Author Giuseppe Rausa regards "Deliver Your Children" as one of the few memorable songs on London Town, describing it as a pleasant, quick, country music-like song.[15]
