"Hi, Hi, Hi"
Label of the UK 7-inch single
Single by Wings
A-side"C Moon"
Released1 December 1972
Recorded20 September 1972
StudioAbbey Road, London
GenreGlam rock[1]
Length3:07
LabelApple
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Paul McCartney
Wings singles chronology
"Mary Had a Little Lamb"
(1972) 		"Hi, Hi, Hi"
(1972) 		"My Love"
(1973)
Alternative cover art
Front cover of the German vinyl release
Official audio
"Hi, Hi, Hi" on YouTube

"Hi, Hi, Hi" is a song written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. It was released as a double A-side single with "C Moon" in 1972. The song was recorded around the same time as "C Moon", in September 1972.[2]

Release

The single peaked at number one in Spain, number five in the United Kingdom[3] and at number 10 in the United States in January 1973.[4] The song also peaked at number 18 in Ireland.[5] The song became a staple of Wings' live shows in the 1970s.

The song was included on the Paul McCartney compilation albums 2001's Wingspan: Hits and History, 2016's deluxe edition Pure McCartney and as a bonus track on the 1993 and 2018 reissues of Red Rose Speedway.

It was also included on The 7" Singles Box in 2022.[6]

Reception

Cash Box described it as "good old rock 'n roll as only the McCartney's can perform it, but with lyrics that more than suggest."[7] Record World called it "a steady rocker with an infectious chorus and terrific instrumental breaks" and said that the "suggestive lyrics can only help this one go high."[8]

Ban

In the UK, the song was banned by the BBC for its sexually suggestive lyrical content.[9] The BBC also assumed that the title phrase, "We're gonna get hi, hi, hi" was a drug reference.[10] The specific lyrics objected to is the apparent phrase "get you ready for my body gun"; McCartney has said that the correct lyrics are "get you ready for my polygon", an abstract image, and later said, "The BBC got some of the words wrong. But I suppose it is a bit of a dirty song if sex is dirty and naughty. I was in a sensuous mood in Spain when I wrote it."[9] Furthermore, Paul refers back to the song when it's played for a live audience—"Yeah, well, the great laugh is when we go live, it makes a great announcement. You can say "This one was banned!" and everyone goes "Hooray!" The audience love it, you know. "This next one was banned," and then you get raving, because everyone likes to. Everyone’s a bit anti-all-that-banning, all that censorship. Our crew, our generation, really doesn't dig that stuff, as I'm sure you know."

Personnel

The musicians who played on the song are as follows:[11][12]

References

  1. ^ "Paul McCartney - biografia, recensioni, streaming, discografia, foto".
  2. ^ "Hi, Hi, Hi / C Moon (Album)".
  3. ^ "Paul McCartney – The Official Charts Company". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  4. ^ "Paul McCartney singles". allmusic. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  5. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  6. ^ "'The 7" Singles Box' – Out 2 December 2022". PaulMcCartney.com. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  7. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 16 December 1972. p. 18. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 16 December 1972. p. 1. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  9. ^ a b Badman, Keith (2003). The Beatles: Off the Record. Omnibus Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-7119-9199-6.
  10. ^ "The seven ages of Paul McCartney". BBC News. 17 June 2006.
  11. ^ "Hi, Hi, Hi". 29 October 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Hi, Hi, Hi (song)". The Paul McCartney project. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  13. ^ 'Henry McCullough'. The Paul McCartney Project, undated, retrieved 18 June 2022
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