He has suffered tremendous loss in his life, losses I’m sure he couldn’t have imagined at 29, and how he has worked through each of those tragedies, how he has continued to be a father, an artist, a business man, an activist, all contributes to the chapters that have been written since that early success.

One of the things I’ve always loved about this song is how it suggests that Paul had an understanding of the continuity of one’s life even when he was in the relatively early stages of it. The fact that he doesn’t have his Linda to need and feed him makes me sad every time I hear it. Still, I doubt he has ever thought of his life having reached a pinnacle at 29.