'We All Stand Together' was a single released by '
Paul McCartney and the Frog Chorus' in the UK only, in November
1984, eventually reaching number 3 in the first week of December. It was actually written in 1979 for a
Rupert the Bear film which never materialised; eventually, it became the musical accompaniment to a five-minute short animated film, in which capacity it won Paul an
Ivor Norvello. The animated film was shown in cinemas to accompany McCartney's '
Give My Regards to Broad Street', and appeared frequently on
children's TV in the run-up to Christmas. Musically, it is a waltz.
At the time the song seemed to be quite well received, although subsequently it has come to be seen as something of a nadir for McCartney's post-Beatles recording career. One can only speculate what John Lennon would have thought of his erstwhile partner creating a jolly singalong song for a film about a cartoon bear, albeit a much-loved cartoon bear.
It was performed by Paul McCartney and the Frog Chorus, who were in fact The King's Singers. The song eventually appeared on McCartney's 1987 compilation 'All the Best' (but only the UK version), and is also available as a bonus track on 'Pipes of Peace'.
Two years later Ronald Reagan sent planes to bomb Libya, and it was quite the thing in playgrounds to sing the song's rhythmic vocal backing as 'bomb, bomb-bomb (lib-ya)'. Along with Sigue Sigue Sputnik's 'Love Missile F1-11', this is the only other cultural artifact of that incident.
'We All Stand Together'
by
Paul McCartney and the Frog Chorus
-
Win or lose, sink or swim,
one thing is certain we'll never give in,
side by side, hand in hand,
we all stand together
Play the game, fight the fight,
but what's the point on a beautiful night?
Arm in arm, hand in hand,
we all stand together
La, la la, la la la la la,
Keeping us warm in the night
La, la la, la la la la la,
Walk in the light,
you'll get it right
(there is a vocal solo in the middle eight)
La, la la, la la la la la,
Keeping us warm in the night
La, la la, la la la la la,
Walk in the light,
you'll get it right
Win or lose, sink or swim,
one thing is certain we'll never give in,
side by side, hand in hand,
we all stand together