"Take It Away" is a single by the English musician Paul McCartney from his third solo studio album Tug of War (1982). The single spent sixteen weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, reaching #10 and spending five consecutive weeks at that position. It reached #15 in the UK. The music video, directed by John Mackenzie, features former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, long-time producer George Martin, and songwriting collaborator Eric Stewart, all of whom played on the track, as well as actor John Hurt, Linda McCartney and Barbara Bach. Although there is a segue from "Tug of War" into this song on the album, the single version instead starts cleanly but fades out earlier at the end.

Track listings

7" single 12" single (black vinyl everywhere else; clear yellow vinyl in Japan)

Personnel

"Take It Away" "I'll Give You a Ring" "Dress Me Up As A Robber"

Critical reception

Billboard called it "a superior single that fuses a driving rhythm with a sleek, polished production" and said it was McCartney's "most assured, seamless, irresistible" single since the mid-1970s. Cash Box said that it's a "dense, multi-layered pop confection" that "keeps the listener on his/her toes throughout the song, going from a lazy tropical-type rhythm to a galloping brass section." Ultimate Classic Rock critic Nick DeRiso rated it as the best song on Tug of War, stating that it starts "with an off-kilter rhythm courtesy of Ringo Starr and all of the tasteful hallmarks of a George Martin production" and becomes "one of McCartney's patented pop confections, featuring a feverish horn counterpoint, deceptively intricate bass, and an utterly indecipherable narrative." DeRiso also praised Eric Stewart's backing vocals.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts