RICO’s Q — I heard Paul McCartney’s new song “First Star Of The Night” for the first time last night, and I couldn’t stop thinking about one thing: the rain. Specifically, the rain from Costa Rica — and yes, that’s exactly as magical as it sounds.
The former Beatle found inspiration in the country, particularly in the sound of rain, as part of the creative process for his new song.
According to the Paul McCartney Project, it was written during a day off from the Got Back Tour while he was in Costa Rica in November 2024 — and it literally “pissed down rain,” totally ruining whatever sunny plans he had. So he channeled that into the song instead.
“It rained like tropical rain, so I had my guitar and thought I could write a song,”
Paul McCartney – from The Mirror, May 5, 2026.
In “First Star of the Night,” the musician incorporates a direct reference to the country and evokes how rain and emotions influence his composition.
The track actually opens with the spoken words “Raining in Costa Rica” before going into the verse, which is a nice little nod to where it came from. And thematically it fits — the lyrics are about finding optimism even when things aren’t going your way, which makes sense given the circumstances.
The song is part of his album “The Boys of Dungeon Lane” and is now available on his official YouTube channel and music platforms.
The work reinforces the connection between landscape, emotion, and artistic creation, a recurring theme in the former Beatle’s career.
Paul McCartney’s first-ever concert in Costa Rica took place on April 17, 2012. As part of his ‘On the Run’ tour, he performed an unforgettable, nearly three-hour show in front of 40,000 enthusiastic fans at the newly built Estadio Nacional in La Sabana, San José.
You can listen to it on Spotify or check out the official audio on YouTube. Fans seem to be pretty into it too — people on Reddit are calling it an “absolute banger.” Not a bad thing to get out of a rained-out day in Central America.