Album:
The song is on Band on the Run which entered the Australian albums chart* on 17 December 1973, and sat on top at #1 for 7 weeks.
Songwriters:
Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney
Producer:
Paul McCartney
Record label of Australian release:
Apple
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
Live version performed on BBC Television’s Later… with Jools Holland in 2010:
From the Rockshow DVD, filmed in the USA during their Wings Over the World tour:
Triple J – Take 5 with Zan Rowe:
In a 2017 interview on Australia’s Triple J for the segment Take 5 with Zan Rowe, McCartney said Jet was actually about his experience meeting Linda’s father:
“There’s no telling where you’ll get ideas from and we happened to name this little black puppy Jet. Again I was noodling around, looking for an idea and thought that’s a good word ‘Jet’. So, I wrote the song about that. Not about the puppy, just using the name. And now it’s transformed into a sort of girl. It was kind of – a little bit about the experiences I’d had in marrying Linda. Her dad was a little old fashioned and I thought I was a little bit intimidated, as a lot of young guys can be meeting the father figure. And if the dad’s really easy-going, it makes it easy. It wasn’t bad but I was a bit intimidated, probably my fault as much as his. Anyway, the song starts to be about the sergeant major and it was basically my experience, roughly translated. I never do a song with the actual words that actually happen, because then that’s like a news story. Oh Linda, I was going to see your dad and he was intimidating. A bit boring. So, I mask it and mould it into a song, something you can sing reasonably.”
Read more: www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/mornings/paul-mccartney-takes-5-with-his-songbook
Songfacts:
Tony Visconti, who did a lot of production work for David Bowie and Thin Lizzy, did the orchestration on this song, giving it a lot of energy and drive.
Whereas most of the Band on the Run album was recorded in Lagos, Nigeria, Jet was recorded entirely at Abbey Road Studios in London after the group’s return (according to engineer Geoff Emerick in his book Here There and Everywhere).
The Australian rock band Jet got their name from this song. McCartney and The Beatles were a big influence on them.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/paul-mccartney-wings/jet
Lyrics:
Jet, I can almost remember their funny faces
That time you told ’em that you were gonna be marrying soon
And Jet, I thought the only lonely place was on the moon
Jet! (Ooh)
Jet! (Ooh)
Click for full lyrics
This song is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 70s
Also on Bang a Gong: Let Me Roll It, the B-side of Jet and another track on Band on the Run
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
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