"Teddy Boy" is a song by Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...

 and was first released on his first solo album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 McCartney

McCartney (album)

McCartney is the debut solo album by Paul McCartney. Apart from Linda McCartney's vocal contributions, McCartney performed the entire album solo...

, released in April 1970 after The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 disbanded. It was written by McCartney and originally recorded during the sessions for what became the Beatles' Let It Be album (1970). Several versions exist, all of which are acoustic, some of them including electric guitar or improvised harmony vocals.

According to Paul McCartney in the documentary Wingspan, he wrote this song for the Beatles' Let It Be sessions, but due to tension in the group at the time nobody had the patience to work with it. Still, The Beatles recorded the song a number of times in January 1969, at their Apple Studios in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. A composite version made of two of these recordings was released in 1996 on the Anthology 3

Anthology 3

Anthology 3 is a compilation album by The Beatles released in October 1996 by Apple Records as part of The Beatles Anthology series. The album includes rarities and alternative tracks from the final two years of the band's career, ranging from the initial sessions for The Beatles to the last...

album.

Song summary

"Teddy Boy" tells the story of a good and obedient young boy named Ted who lives alone with his mother. His mother would often tell Ted stories about his father, who was off to war, but she would always cry. The chorus of the song is Ted stating that he will always be there, taking care of his mother. Soon, his mother finds a new husband. Ted is very upset and he runs away. He finds a place to settle down, but he eventually returns to his loving mother.