Paul McCartney long ago made himself a household name through his songs. On Thursday he came to Yale to talk about where they came from.
In a wide-ranging and informal conversation about his bestselling book “The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present,” the former Beatle — who received an honorary degree from Yale in 2008 — explored the craft of songwriting and some of the history behind his music with the book’s editor, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon. Langdon Hammer of Yale’s English department served as moderator.