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7.59pm
17 January 2013
Offline
I just noticed this a couple months ago :
Paul’s Lyrics:
“Don’t go jumping waterfalls,
Please, keep to the lake.
People who jump waterfalls,
Sometimes can make mistakes.”
TLC’s Lyrics:
“Don’t go chasing waterfalls.
Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to.
I know that you’re gonna have it your way or nothing at all,
but I think you’re moving too fast.”
All I could find on this was a little snippet on Wikipedia that says:
In a 2007 interview, while discussing some songs of his he felt were underrated, Paul McCartney commented that he felt TLC had ripped off some aspects of his song “Waterfalls”.
I’ve seen worse rip-offs for sure, but it is kinda the same. 
"Please don't bring your banjo back, I know where it's been.. I wasn't hardly gone a day, when it became the scene.. Banjos! Banjos! All the time, I can't forget that tune.. and if I ever see another banjo, I'm going out and buy a big balloon!"
8.16pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline
The worst rip-off I ever saw like that was a song called “Forever Young” by Rod Stewart. The songwriting credit originally read “R. Stewart/J.Cregan/K.Savigar” but was later changed to include because it was basically a rewrite of Dylan’s song, and I still don’t get how those three managed to keep any composer credit on it it’s so close.
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
12.41am
Reviewers
Moderators
1 May 2011
Offline 
I hated TLC’s Waterfalls, one reason being it had similarities to Pauls in the chorus but it was so overplayed.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
2.59am
17 January 2013
Offline There’s also “What I Got” by Sublime, who took the tune from “Lady Madonna “.
"Please don't bring your banjo back, I know where it's been.. I wasn't hardly gone a day, when it became the scene.. Banjos! Banjos! All the time, I can't forget that tune.. and if I ever see another banjo, I'm going out and buy a big balloon!"
7.48pm
1 November 2012
Offline Incidentally, slightly off topic: Did the generic “you” know that in the general realm of popular art (whether books, stories, poems, movies, TV shows, or songs) the title cannot be copyrighted?
I.e., a musician right now could put out a song called “Lady Madonna ” or “Let It Be ” or whatever, and make money off it perfectly legally — as long as the song itself is different.
Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...
9.48pm
17 January 2013
Offline 
That’s interesting, I didn’t know that!
"Please don't bring your banjo back, I know where it's been.. I wasn't hardly gone a day, when it became the scene.. Banjos! Banjos! All the time, I can't forget that tune.. and if I ever see another banjo, I'm going out and buy a big balloon!"
10.22pm
1 November 2012
Offline I don’t know why musicians don’t take advantage of that — I guess they’d rather be original. But think of the buzz a new musician could make, coming out with a song called “Let It Be ” that had nothing to do with the Beatles original!
Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...
11.35pm
27 December 2012
Offline That’s why there’s lots of songs with the name “Rain ” and “Lies!”. Lots more I can think of at the top of my head.
12.00am
8 November 2012
Offline I liked the song before I stumbled upon Paul’s, and I can’t believe that didn’t lead to a lawsuit.
parlance
12.32am
17 January 2013
Offline parlance said
I liked the song before I stumbled upon Paul’s, and I can’t believe that didn’t lead to a lawsuit.
I did like it when I was a kid in the 90’s. I didn’t hear Paul’s song until last year, and right away I went “wait a minute, those lyrics sound mighty familiar..”
"Please don't bring your banjo back, I know where it's been.. I wasn't hardly gone a day, when it became the scene.. Banjos! Banjos! All the time, I can't forget that tune.. and if I ever see another banjo, I'm going out and buy a big balloon!"
6.47pm
1 December 2009
Offline
Man, that is some awful lyric quoted there – even worse than Paul’s original! Probably should be glad I’ve never heard the song. (I DO own a TLC album, believe it or not! It’s got a couple of tracks on it I like. Not “Waterfalls”, though.) I’m assuming that the TLC song’s melody sounds nothing like Paul’s, otherwise they probably would’ve gotten sued. I don’t think that the brief bit of lyric similarity alone is actionable, any more than “Run For Your Life “, for example.
Funny Paper, evidently you’re not familiar with this fine 1984 album by The Replacements:
http://www.albumoftheyear.org/…..-it-be.jpg
(No song called “Let It Be ” is included on this album – although their previous album did include a song called “Mr. Whirly” that managed to steal from both “Strawberry Fields Forever ” and “Oh! Darling “. Although I suppose you could call it more of an homage than a steal. Either way, I doubt Paul McCartney has ever heard it.)
GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty.
10.46pm
1 November 2012
Offline Thanks, I only dimly remember The Replacements; didn’t know they’d delved into such homages.
I like that Lennon quote you have at the bottom of your posts. It’s almost like evidence of a crime. If Lennon had lived to our time, people could use that against him: “We have actual evidence that you liked disco once…”
Faded flowers, wait in a jar, till the evening is complete... complete... complete... complete...
7.36pm
Reviewers
29 November 2012
Offline To be fair to Paul’s lyrics in Waterfalls, he’s stated multiple times that those were the words he’d used to block the song out while he was writing the music, but he just ended up keeping them in because he liked them. And I agree with him…it’s one of my favorite songs by him. Anyone else noticed, too, how GD *young* he looks in the video? It’s crazy!
"I know you, you know me; one thing I can tell you is you got to be free!"
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1.49am
14 January 2013
Offline I like both versions, but I think I’m going to stone to death because I like the TLC one a bit better. 
3.22am
Reviewers
29 November 2012
Offline sky090909 said
I like both versions, but I think I’m going to stone to death because I like the TLC one a bit better.
*throws stones*
"I know you, you know me; one thing I can tell you is you got to be free!"
Please Visit My Website, The Rock and Roll Chemist
Twitter: @rocknrollchem
Facebook: rnrchemist
3.29am
8 November 2012
Offline sky090909 said
I like both versions, but I think I’m going to stone to death because I like the TLC one a bit better.
*picks up stone, realizes she agrees, saunters away whistling*
4.45am
14 January 2013
Offline DrBeatle said
sky090909 said
I like both versions, but I think I’m going to stone to death because I like the TLC one a bit better.*throws stones*
*Ouch* lol
parlance said
sky090909 said
I like both versions, but I think I’m going to stone to death because I like the TLC one a bit better.
*picks up stone, realizes she agrees, saunters away whistling*
haha 
2.32pm
2 September 2019
Offline Most people don’t point out that TLC changed “jumping” to “chasing” which “chasing waterfalls” makes no logical sense. It all makes sense when you realize that the second verse of Paul’s “Waterfalls” includes a line about “chasing” polar bears. So the TLC producers made it really obvious who they got the lyrics from. If it was not stealing then the lyric would have been something else like “don’t go swimming waterfalls” or similar.
In my opinion Waterfalls is actually a comedy song. If you really pay attention to the lyrics he’s saying he doesn’t need love. A second doesn’t need an hour and a raindrop doesn’t need a shower, it’s actually the opposite, an hour needs a second and a shower needs a raindrop.
And I need love, yeah I need love
Like a second needs an hour
Like a raindrop needs a shower
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ThatWeirdBeatlesGirl6.57pm
14 June 2016
Offline I always noticed the similarities between the Paul and TLC version of Waterfalls, but I never thought too much about it.
Here | There | Everywhere
It's ya boi! The one and only Billy Shears (AKA Paul's Replacement)
"Sometimes I wish I was just George Harrison" - John Lennon
10.18am
14 June 2016
Offline I apologize for the double post, but I did some research today and I wanted to share it.
Here’s an article about TLCs Waterfalls. It mentions the similarity to Paul’s song.
https://medium.com/micro-chop/…..e0916a3617
It references an interview where Paul talks about it.
This similarity was not lost on McCartney. When asked in an A.V. Club interview if there were any songs from his catalog that he felt should have been bigger he said, “One called ‘Waterfalls,’ I think is nice. In fact, somebody had a hit, a few years ago, using the first line, ‘Don’t go jumping waterfalls / Please stick to the lake…’And then they go off into another song. It’s like, “Excuse me?”
The article says Paul was offended by their using of his line, but I can see him saying that in a joking fashion. I looked up the interview to see if there was a video so I could hear his tone, but it’s just a written interview.
Here it is if you’re curious
The following people thank William Shears Campbell for this post:
BeatlebugHere | There | Everywhere
It's ya boi! The one and only Billy Shears (AKA Paul's Replacement)
"Sometimes I wish I was just George Harrison" - John Lennon
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