Once Upon a Long Ago

1987 single by Paul McCartney

"Once Upon a Long Ago" is a song by English musician Paul McCartney, released as his fortieth single on 16 November 1987, from his compilation All the Best!, released two weeks before the single. The track was produced by Phil Ramone and mixed by George Martin, and features violin by Nigel Kennedy.[1]

The song was originally composed for the film The Princess Bride.[2]

Recording

Originally intended to be a duet with Freddie Mercury, Mercury turned it down due to conflicting commitments and the collaboration never materialized.[3]

Music video

Filming for the video commenced on 16 October 1987 in the Valley of Rocks, near Lynton in North Devon and concluded on 17 October. Appearing were McCartney (bass guitar), his wife Linda McCartney (synthesizer), Stan Sulzmann (saxophone), Nigel Kennedy (violin), and Chris Whitten (drums). Actor Fred Evans makes an appearance as Man with Broom. High winds and heavy rain precluded filming on the morning of the 16th so the crew filmed an indoor shot at Lynmouth town hall (this scene was not used in the final cut).

However, by late morning the weather had improved and although still windy, conditions were good enough to film at the Valley of Rocks. A local mountaineering instructor oversaw the rigging of a ladder so McCartney could safely access the top of Castle Rock for the guitar solo scene where a two way radio in McCartney`s coat was used to relay a taped recording of the song. McCartney declined the use of a safety rope but did have to ask the helicopter to not fly so close when shooting aerial footage. Nigel Kennedy was only available on the second day of filming so the video was shot out of sequence with the guitar solo and end scene shot on the first day and the band scenes shot on the second day. Castle Air of Treasure Hunt fame were tasked with carrying out the aerial filming.[4]

Release and chart performance

The song was released in four versions: two different tbody,.mw-parser-output .col-begin>tbody>tr,.mw-parser-output .col-begin>tbody>tr>td{display:block!important;width:100%!important}.mw-parser-output .col-break{padding-left:0!important}}

Track listings

7-inch single (R 6170)

1. "Once Upon a Long Ago" – 4:12
2. "Back on My Feet" – 4:20

12" single, version one (12R 6170)

1. "Once Upon a Long Ago" (Long Version) – 4:34
2. "Back on My Feet" – 4:21
3. "Midnight Special" – 3:56
4. "Don`t Get Around Much Anymore" – 2:51

12" single, version two (12RX 6170)

1. "Once Upon a Long Ago" (Extended Version) – 6:06
2. "Back on My Feet" – 4:21
3. "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" – 3:15
4. "Kansas City" – 4:00

CD single (CDR 6170)

1. "Once Upon a Long Ago" – 4:12
2. "Back on My Feet" – 4:21
3. "Don`t Get Around Much Anymore" – 2:51
4. "Kansas City" – 4:00

Once Upon a Video

Along with the single and the All the Best! album there was also released an 18-minute VHS for sale called Once Upon a Video,[14] consisting of four music videos:

1. "Once Upon a Long Ago"
2. "Stranglehold"
3. "Pretty Little Head"
4. "We All Stand Together" – the music video was an edit of the songpart from the movie Rupert and the Frog Song

"We All Stand Together" was included on the UK/Canada-release of All the Best! along with "Once Upon a Long Ago".

Personnel

• Paul McCartney – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, bass, synthesizers
• Linda McCartney – background vocals, tambourine
• Nick Glennie-Smith – keyboards
• Tim Renwick – electric guitar
• Henry Spinetti – drums
• George Martin – orchestration, mixing
• Stan Sulzmann – saxophone
• Nigel Kennedy – violin
• Adrian Brett – flute