Once Upon a Long Ago: Paul McCartney’s Fairytale in Song

There are songs that feel like diaries, capturing a single moment of personal reflection. Then there are songs that feel like dreams, pulling us into a world that is half-memory, half-imagination, where the line between reality and fantasy blurs. Paul McCartney’s “Once Upon a Long Ago” belongs to the latter. Released in the late 1980s, it remains one of his most romantic and dreamlike creations—an ode to lost time, lingering memories, and the eternal magic of love.

The title itself sets the tone: “Once upon a long ago.” It sounds like the opening to a fairytale, but unlike the familiar “once upon a time,” McCartney’s phrasing suggests not just a distant past but an emotional one. It is a longing for moments that are forever out of reach, yet alive within the heart. The song becomes a journey into memory, where the listener is invited to step into Paul’s dreamscape of love, longing, and wonder.

A Storybook Opening

The Magic of Memory

A Romantic Fairytale

Paul in the 1980s: A New Chapter

Universality and Legacy

A Song That Lives On