The Long and Winding Road

By John T. Marck

The second of two of McCartney's great ballads during these sessions, it describes Paul's feelings of loss without indicating any specific situation. His use of images of the wind and rain suggest his feelings of abandonment, while his image of the "long and winding road leading to your door" shows signs of hope. The idea for this road came from an actual long and winding road in Scotland. It is called the B842, and is a sixteen mile road of twists and turns that runs from the east coast of Kintyre into Campbeltown, which is the closest area to his Scotland farm.

The long and winding road, That leads to your door, will never disappear

I've seen that road before, It always leads me here, lead me to you door

The wild and windy night, That the rain, washed away,

Has left a pool of tears, crying for the day

Why leave me standing here, Let me know the way

Many times I've been alone, and many times I've cried

Any way you'll never know, the many ways I've tried

But still they lead me back, to the long winding road

You left me standing here, Don't leave me waiting here, lead me to your door

But still they lead me back, to the long winding road

You left me standing here, a long long time ago

Don't keep me waiting here, lead me to your door

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

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