Wandering around the glass cased exhibits at the British Library you can see original drawings and designs by Da Vinci, scores and manuscripts from Beethoven and even drafts of the magna carta. Mere feet away can be found another piece of equal cultural importance, the handwritten lyrics for Yesterday.

Now that sounds like a bold claim but the real beauty of the curation in the Library is that it places just as much value on the impact of the words as to the ends. That Paul McCartney’s lyrics are for such frivolity as popular music, is not considered. This latest exhibition is displayed loud and proud alongside much older treasures and rightfully so.

Approaching the library from King’s Cross Station, you can see Paul’s face peaking out from the railings. Once inside the terraced courtyard there he is again. You can tell that this is a real coup for them, after all some of these artefacts have been locked in the McCartney vault for so long not even Paul himself knew they still existed.

The exhibition itself is nestled on the second level, placed in front of case upon case of red leather bound books. Consisting of over 30 feet of display panels and glass cases, this small but worthy collection takes us on a journey from Paul’s first attempts at songwriting through Yesterday all the way to Mull of Kintyre.

Immediately my eye was caught by a postcard size image of the Beatles showing Paul with John, George, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best, taken at the Indra Club in Hamburg around 1960. It was displayed along with the set list above, a reminder of how much American rock and roll had influenced the young Beatles, especially Paul. Also present on the set list from that time was the cheesy ‘Thinking of Linking’, which cropped up on the Anthology. The big takeaway from this is that there are a lot of songs, even on this little snippet, that didn’t stay in the Beatles repertoire by the time they did their BBC sessions. It shows that they had a huge capacity for trying different songs and by the time they were famous, had refined that list of covers down to the their own personal ‘Best of’ selection and ones we as Beatle fans are more familiar with.

Other highlights, as mentioned at the top of this post, include the original handwritten lyrics to Yesterday, which like so many Beatle songs was written by Paul here in London, this one famously as a result of some kind of fever dream, where the melody emerged fully formed, such was Paul’s genius at the time that he was even composing in his sleep.

Each glass cabinet reveals another treasure, the lyrics to Hey Jude and some background on how the song came about, familiar to so many Beatle fans I am sure, but still rewarding to read again. Outside of his Beatle work, there are solo stories too, with songs such as The Kiss of Venus and Jenny Wren, a song Paul is clearly proud of and one he deliberately compares to Blackbird, perhaps proud that he can still write songs worthy of the Fab Four era.

I will stop here so I don’t reveal too much, but I will say that the exhibition is worth a visit. It is small and you will get through it all in 30 mins, even stopping to read every panel. But for Beatle fans there is a joy is seeing close up these important artefacts, casting your eyes over every hand written line and every carefully chosen picture, many of which were taken by Linda. What I would say if you get the chance to visit before it closes is to take that time, read every bit and study each detail, grab yourself a coffee and then head in the Library archives themselves where you can see some other Beatle treasures.

Manuscripts of the lyrics to The Beatles hit songs “Strawberry Fields Forever”, “She Said She Said” and “In My Life”, handwritten by John Lennon, were donated to the British Library by Beatle biographer Hunter Davies, so you can get to see some Lennon compositions up close too. There is also an opportunity to buy Paul’s Lyrics book as well if you have not already done so. It is a weighty tome, with two volumes of insight from Paul into his songs and his songwriting. I am yet to get through it myself, but this exhibition serves as the perfect prologue and motivator to dive in.

So get yourself down to the British Library, there is lots to explore and a splendid time is guaranteed for all.

The Paul McCartney Lyrics exhibition runs until the 13th March 2022. It is free to attend and there is no need to book in advance. The nearest station is Kings Cross, with just a 100 yard walk to the British Library.