When I'm 64

It's too tedious to list all Sir Paul (age 71) has done in the past five years, but let's pick some highlights: two trips to the White House for prizes (Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, Kennedy Center Honor), off to Paris to get the Légion d'Honneur from François Hollande, in 2008 for Outstanding Contribution to Music and, last year, the MusiCares Person of the Year award.

It's noticeable, though, that his recent accolades have tended to come from outside Britain. Abroad he is revered: one recent Italian review described going to a McCartney concert as being on a cultural par with visiting the Louvre.

New is his first LP of original songs since 2007's Memory Almost Full and is a sparky, upbeat piece of work. Several tracks have a Beatles feel, including the single, also called "New". The big news – for music buffs, though I'm not sure how much most listeners will care – is that there are four producers.

They are Paul Epworth, who produced Adele's 21; Mark Ronson, known for his work with Amy Winehouse; Ethan Johns, an acoustic, folky musician who is Laura Marling's producer; and Giles Martin, who worked on the Beatles's awful Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas (still running; a naff-a-mungo cash pumper).

Johns and Martin have an intergenerational connection to McCartney: Johns is the son of Glyn Johns, who was hired to do production work with Wings but walked out, and Martin's father is Sir George Martin, the Beatles producer.

Starting in 1960, the Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over a three-year period. Manager Brian Epstein molded them into a professional act and producer George Martin enhanced their musical potential.

They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first modest hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. They acquired the nickname the "Fab Four" as Beatlemania grew in Britain over the following year, and by early 1964 they had become international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market.

From 1965 on, the Beatles produced what many critics consider their finest material, including the innovative and widely influential albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), The Beatles (1968), and Abbey Road (1969).

After their break-up in 1970, they each enjoyed successful musical careers. Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001.

When I’m 64 Lyrics

When I get older losing my hair,

Many years from now,

Will you still be sending me a valentine

Birthday greetings bottle of wine?

If I'd been out till quarter to three

Would you lock the door,

Will you still need me, will you still feed me,

When I'm sixty-four?

oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oooo

You'll be older too, (ah ah ah ah ah)

And if you say the word,

I could stay with you.

I could be handy mending a fuse

When your lights have gone.

You can knit a sweater by the fireside

Sunday mornings go for a ride.

Doing the garden, digging the weeds,

Who could ask for more?

Will you still need me, will you still feed me,

When I'm sixty-four?

Every summer we can rent a cottage

In the Isle of Wight, if it's not too dear

We shall scrimp and save

Grandchildren on your knee

Vera, Chuck, and Dave

Send me a postcard, drop me a line,

Stating point of view.

Indicate precisely what you mean to say

Yours sincerely, Wasting Away.

Give me your answer, fill in a form

Mine for evermore

Will you still need me, will you still feed me,

When I'm sixty-four?

Whoo!

Duck Dynasty Deliberations

Even though Si appears to be someone who could never run out of anecdotal stories – regardless of how exaggerated they might be...

"I was in the military, so I told my wife that I was never there for the kids when they were growing up. And she said, 'oh yeah you were. Let me go get a photo album.' And she was showing me dressed as a bunny rabbit, rooster, and Santa Claus during Christmas time. Personally, I didn't feel that I was there enough," Si commented.

In his book, Si shares a spattering of stories about his childhood – skipping school to go fishing with his older brothers – and how he managed to earn A's at Louisiana Tech after he skipped most of his classes during an entire semester.

Si's mastery of storytelling runs throughout his descriptions of the Vietnam War and how he met his wife, Christine. The always-jovial Uncle Si also speaks candidly about the difficulties he and Christine have faced, and how God has blessed and sustained them throughout their 43 years of marriage. 

He also shares their unexpected blessing of having two children, Trasa and Scott, and eight grandchildren.

"I was at an event in Arkansas, and a woman walked up and was standing there, and I was waiting for her to hand me something to sign – a T-shirt, a hat or whatever. And she said, 'well, I'm ready.' And I looked up and I said, ready for what? 'Ready to marry you. I drove 450 miles here just to marry you.' I told her we've got a slight problem here, lady. 

And she said, 'what's that?' I'm already married and my wife probably wouldn't like me marrying you. 'You mean I drove 450 miles for nothing?' I said, no. Isn't that a T-shirt you've got hanging over your shoulder. 'Yeah.' Well, I'll sign it for you darlin' that's the best I can do for you," he said.

According to Si, marriage is a union between two imperfect people who are destined to make mistakes. But at the end of the day, their love for each other and faith in Jesus Christ will bring them through every hardship and enrich the most joyous times of their lives.

"People have got to understand that you've got to learn to laugh at yourself when you make a mistake," Si advised. "Don't get mad and fly off the handle, OK. We're all human, and we make mistakes."

"What I tell young couples that are getting married is: you're going to have quarrels, and on some things, you're just going to have to agree to disagree. And when you go to bed at night, kiss each other and tell each other that you love each other. Don't go to bed mad. Life is too short. Keep it simple."

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