Paul McCartney once wrote a song with the memorable title “Lavatory Lil.” He explained why the song was a form of revenge against someone he disliked. Paul also said he felt like a mad scientist when he created the tune’s parent album.
During a 2020 interview with Uncut, Paul revealed the origin of his tune “Lavatory Lil” from his album McCartney III. “To tell you the truth, she was someone we rubbed up against,” he said. “You get a few of ’em in life, these people who screw you over. I thought, ‘I’ll have you. I’ll write a song. You’ll never know it’s about you, because I won’t tell anyone. But I’ll know. And people who know who I’m talking about will know.’
“So I drew on my dislike of this individual and made her into a song character,” he added. “It’s a simple little song, and I love playing it. The vocal was the first take. It’s like I say, if you think you’re doing a posh, important album, you might go over the vocal and think you can improve it. But this was: ‘It’ll do.’ My missus gave me this beautiful little 1954 Telecaster which I haven’t played too much until this album, so it gave me a great chance on the lead part of ‘Lil.’”
In the same interview, Paul discussed his mindset while recording McCartney III. He said he felt like a mad scientist doing experiments when he crafted his albums McCartney, McCartney II, and McCartney III. He didn’t feel like he was making commercial albums when he recorded that trilogy, which took some of the pressure off of him.
Notably, McCartney came out in 1970, McCartney II came out in 1980, and McCartney III came out in 2020. Each of those albums was experimental in its own way. Each time Paul released a self-titled record, it felt like he was telling the world he was a fiercely independent artist who was not interested in conforming to expectations — even the expectations of his own audience. While Paul’s independent streak definitely yielded numerous duds, it’s also part of the reason he has a loyal following to this day. Love or hate his solo career, it’s not quite like anything else before or since.
“Lavatory Lil” was not a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The track’s parent album McCartney III, reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for four weeks.
According to The Official Charts Company, “Lavatory Lil” did not chart in the United Kingdom either. There, McCartney III topped the chart for a single week and lasted on the chart for three weeks altogether.
“Lavatory Lil” wasn’t a single or a hit but it has an interesting backstory.