Paul McCartney breaks down the making of “Ripples in a Pond”
This preview is based only on the episode’s published notes. Song Exploder features Paul McCartney discussing how he wrote and recorded “Ripples in a Pond,” a song from his 2026 solo album The Boys of Dungeon Lane, co-produced with Andrew Watt.
This episode looks like a strong pick if you want a focused, song-by-song window into Paul McCartney’s current creative process rather than a broad career retrospective. Based on the show notes, the conversation centers specifically on how he wrote and recorded **“Ripples in a Pond,”** from his twentieth solo album, **_The Boys of Dungeon Lane_**. The notes frame McCartney as the legendary figure most listeners already know: a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer whose work spans The Beatles, Wings, and a long solo career. But the main draw here seems to be the close-up look at one track and how it came together. Another point of interest is the album’s collaboration with **Andrew Watt**, who co-produced the record and is noted here for winning the 2021 Grammy for Producer of the Year. His broad production résumé, including work with Lady Gaga, The Rolling Stones, Justin Bieber, and Elton John, suggests an episode that may appeal not just to Beatles or McCartney fans, but also to listeners curious about how a veteran artist approaches new work in a contemporary studio context. If you like episodes that zoom in on craft—writing, recording, and the decisions behind a single song—this preview suggests that’s exactly what this installment offers. Just note: this is a preview based on the published show notes, not a recap of the full audio.
About this episode
<p>Paul McCartney is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer whose career spans more than six decades. As a member of The Beatles and later Wings and then with his own solo albums, he’s simply one of the most influential artists of all time. He has more accolades than I have time to list in this intro. But if you’re listening to this, you already know all that. In May 2026, he released his twentieth solo album, <em>The Boys of Dungeon Lane</em>. He co-produced it with Andrew Watt, who won the 2021 Grammy for Producer of the Year, and whose credits include working with Lady Gaga, The Rolling Stones, Justin Bieber, and Elton John. For this episode, I spoke to Paul McCartney about how he wrote and recorded his song "Ripples in a Pond." </p><p>For more info, visit <a href="https://songexploder.net/paul-mccartney"><strong>songexploder.net/paul-mccartney</strong></a>.</p>