Many years ago one of the mobile phone companies had a series of ads were famous-ish people said who they would like to have a one-to-one with and why. Inevitably their choices veered to the pretentious (no prizes for guessing Martin Luther King was one of them).
Well, I'd like a one-to-one with Sir Paul McCartney. And what I'd like to ask is what was going through his mind when he allowed the phrase 'this world in which we live in,' into the theme song to the Bond movie Live and Let Die.
I mean, world in which we live in???
Every time I hear this, I want to cringe and simultaneously throw my shoes at the source of this illiterate guff. The really silly thing is that he could have left out either of those offending 'in's without spoiling the scansion, just by extending a word to a second note. So either 'wor-ld which we live in' or 'world in which we li-ive.' But no.
So come, on Sir Paul. What's your excuse?
Well, I'd like a one-to-one with Sir Paul McCartney. And what I'd like to ask is what was going through his mind when he allowed the phrase 'this world in which we live in,' into the theme song to the Bond movie Live and Let Die.
I mean, world in which we live in???
Every time I hear this, I want to cringe and simultaneously throw my shoes at the source of this illiterate guff. The really silly thing is that he could have left out either of those offending 'in's without spoiling the scansion, just by extending a word to a second note. So either 'wor-ld which we live in' or 'world in which we li-ive.' But no.
So come, on Sir Paul. What's your excuse?
I'm so pleased you mentioned it, Brian, because I hate it too. Every time I hear it, I feel like I have an itch that wants scratching.
ReplyDeleteIt's like you say, Brian. He's an illiterate guff. But, oh, how he made my heart quiver when I was a kid. He was my favorite Beatle, so he could have mixed metaphors and sung with a plethora of adverbs, and this young kid would have forgiven him for every one of those literary travesties. Swoooon...
ReplyDeleteI was a Beatles fan in my youth too - though purely because of the music, I hasten to add. But it's not enough to forgive the irritation this causes every time I hear it.
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