Paul McCartney: 'Surprisingly OK' After Separation
In an exclusive interview, Sir Paul talks about his divorce and new album.
June 7, 2007 — -- Despite a public divorce from former model Heather Mills, ex-Beatle and music legend Paul McCartney is doing "surprisingly OK," he told "Good Morning America" in an exclusive interview.
"It's very tough, you know, going through a separation," McCartney told ABC News' Nick Watt, "but I'm just trying to keep my dignity, trying to just move forward and not talk about it in interviews really."
This week, McCartney released his latest album, "Memory Almost Full," which is being hailed by critics as a masterpiece. One standout track on the album, "The End of the End," describes what McCartney says he'd like his funeral to be like.
"It deals with death, which is quite a serious subject," McCartney said, "but it deals with it in a sort of light way."
The release marks his 21st solo album, but surely this isn't his last? "I hope not," he said.
McCartney penned the album's opening track, "Dance Tonight," while learning how to play mandolin during one Christmas.
"It became very catchy and a foot stomper in the kitchen," he said. "A load of people came round and my little 3-year-old daughter particularly came running in and danced."
The video for the song features Natalie Portman, an acquaintance of his fashion designer daughter, Stella McCartney.
"So I rang up Natalie and said, 'Hey, it's Stell's dad.' And I said, 'There's a video. Would you mind being in it?'" McCartney said. "She had the time and the inclination so we did it."
The song "Gratitude" sounds like it's written for one particular woman.
"It's written for women, you know, but I have a lot of women," he said. "Well, I mean, it doesn't sound as, you know, as exciting as it is. … But I think everyone expects you to have written it for one specific person."
McCartney can't remember how many songs he's written, and now that he is 64, he regrets writing the Beatles classic "When I'm 64."
Related Stories
ABC News Live