Is this really  just about a little lamb or is it about John Paul Ringo and George..... ?

Is John the lamb or the Dragonfly...........?

A very gorgeous sounding song nonetheless....

Ok I have Macca records but may be guilty of not actually listening to them for years......oops sorry Paul. I have the greatest hits you know but the hidden gems on side 2... I missed or forgot.

This ballad was originally written and recorded during the Ram sessions  (November 1970 to April 1971- so close to the Beatles breakup) , prior to the formation of Wings. However, it had never been released until it was included on Red Rose Speedway released in 1973.McCartney penned this song at a Scottish farmhouse after a local farmer gave Paul and his family a dying lamb to nurse.

From   Lennon vs Mccartney  by Adam Thomas      

It employs another beautiful, wistful melody, but is lyrically vague, probably deliberately so ....

At face value Little Lamb Dragonfly offers consolation to a lamb, presumably because its fate is to end in a slaughterhouse. But other lyrics suggest that Paul was pining for his former band mates at this time; stating how much he missed them, was concerned about never seeing them again, and accepting that there had been right and wrong on all sides. It's perhaps this vulnerable tone that led to the delay in its release.

Note: Thomas goes on to explain that the possible origin of the title of the song, comes from a Beatles in-joke in which John (particularly) liked to imitate a bleating lamb when the Beatles were jamming together. He says that John probably recognised that reference, and then, years later, borrowed part of its melody and used it in his song Woman, as a nod to Paul, "suggesting that he saw the song as a positive part of their conversation"

The Lyrics

I Have No Answer For You Little Lamb
I Can Help You Out
But I Cannot Help You In
Sometimes You Think That Life Is Hard
And This Is Only One Of Them
My Heart Is Breaking For You Little Lamb
I Can Help You Out
But We May Never Meet Again

La La La La La La La La ... Etc.

Dragonfly Fly By My Window
You And I Still Have A Way To Go
Don't Know Why You Hang Around My Door
I Don't Live Here Any More
Since You Ve Gone I Never Know
I Go On, But I Miss You So

Dragonfly Don't Keep Me Waiting
I'm Waiting Can't You See Me I'm Waiting
When We Try We'll Have A Way To Go
Dragonfly You've Been Away Too Long
How Did Two Rights Make A Wrong
Since You've Gone I Never Know I Go On
But I Miss You So In My Heart
I Feel The Pain
Keeps Coming Back Again

Dragonfly Fly By My Window
I'm Flying Can't You See Me I'm Flying
You And I Can Find A Way To See
Dragonfly The Years Ahead Will Show
How Little We Really Know
Since You've Gone Its Never Right They Go On
The Lonely Nights, Come On Home
And Make It Right

My Heart Is Aching For You Little Lamb
I Can Help You Out
But I Cannot Help You In

La La La La La La La La ... Etc.

Another Theory about "Little Lamb Dragonfly" from   http://thesonginmyheadtoday.blogspot.com/2010/01/little-lamb-dragonfly-paul-mccartney.html   (great reply comments here too)   --    

Another theory Is.... that this was yet another of the many coded messages that the former Beatles sent back and forth to each other? After that Paul Is Dead hoax, I always scrutinized Beatle lyrics for secret messages, and really, who could ignore the message John sent Paul in his song "How Do You Sleep?" I have to say, I never felt the same about John after that.

So my theory --- which sprang full-blown into my head the very first time I listened to Red Rose Speedway -- is that this is really two songs, "Little Lamb" and "Dragonfly." (Red Rose Speedway is full of such medleys, or collage songs, Paul falling back on his old tricks from the second side of Abbey Road.) And while "Little Lamb" is addressed to George Harrison, "Dragonfly" is written to John Lennon.

Listen to that opening guitar riff on "Little Lamb," lacy and loopy and sitar-like; listen to Paul's vocal, which sounds uncannily like George. The melody, too, is dominated by downward swoops, another George trademark. He calls him "little lamb" because a lamb is such a gentle, peaceful animal, and wistfully reflects "I have no answer for you, little lamb / I can help you out / But I cannot help you in" -- a reference, surely, to Harrison's continuing inward spiritual quests.

Lennon, however, is a "dragonfly" -- Paul may have been thinking "gadfly," but wanted to make it fiercer and yet more noble. And his message to the dragonfly is even more touching: "Dragonfly, fly by my window / You and I still have a way to go / Don't know why you hang around my door / I don't live here any more." That complicated, intense relationship between Lennon and McCartney is not so easily put to rest, and Paul no doubt resented John criticizing him for songs he'd written years earlier. My heart almost breaks to hear Paul yearn "since you've gone / I never know / I go on, but I / Miss you so." (As he sings this, however, his voice soars upward, sounding like early Bee Gees -- who knows why.) Later on, he puts it even more ruefully: "How did two rights make a wrong." Indeed, how could the conjunction of two such amazing talents be a source of regret?

Macca certainly spends more time on the Dragonfly part of the song -- defending himself ("I'm flying / Can't you see me I'm flying"), hoping for the future ("You and I can find a way to see . . . the years ahead will show / How little we really know." Oddly enough, although Red Rose Speedway didn't come out until 1973, this song was originally recorded in 1970 when Paul was working on Ram, so it wasn't a response to "How Do You Sleep?" (which John put on his 1971 Imagine album). When I first heard this song, though, I couldn't help but see it as Paul's rebuttal. And being a confirmed McCartneyite, you know which side I was on.

It's a lovely track, though. Even though it runs to over six minutes, I never feel it's too long (maybe because it still feels like two songs for the price of one). It starts simply and then builds; being a 70s record, of course, it overdoes the synths, and I can't ignore those cheesy Linda-and-Denny echoes ("I'm waiting, can't you see me, I'm waiting"). But if you want fluid, gorgeous melodies, Paul McCartney is always your man, and here they are. There's a reason why this song, once in my head, won't leave. And any day when I've got Paul McCartney in my head is a good day for me.

In appreciation of...Little Lamb Dragonfly sourced from 'I cant remember where!)

This song is very well respected in McCartney circles but it still deserves to be much greater known and respected in the public domain.

It appears to be two songs made into one with cute lyrics about little lambs and dragonfly's. However, somehow it does not seem to be lightweight in its narrative. There is something much more meaningful buzzing around the surface fluff. There are many conspiracies that this could be about John or John and George and somehow I think we'll never know.

Paul is very reluctant to tell the public what his songs are really about. Sometimes this is because he has no idea himself, sometimes that his songs just working off a couplet of lines that go somewhere or nowhere in particular, sometimes he will tell a version of what the song is about that is not quite the truth just to keep us entertained or to promote the record and sometimes because it is none of our business or that it is up to us for the song to mean what we want.

This has been a double edged sword for Paul as it makes him seem more superficial in his lyric writing than his actually is. That is the public and critics perception. In my opinion it adds to the mystery and I like it that way. Keep us guessing and keep the real meaning personal.

Back to the song. This is a beautiful acoustic driven number with lovely chord changes, melodies and harmonies. The vocal is soulful and sad and it feels like the weight of the world is on Paul's shoulders.

The quality of the song is wonderful and is one of the best his has ever produced.

Perhaps, it is just about a fluffy little lamb though....

I Have No Answer For You Little Lamb
I Can Help You Out
But I Cannot Help You In
Sometimes You Think That Life Is Hard
And This Is Only One Of Them
My Heart Is Breaking For You Little Lamb
I Can Help You Out
But We May Never Meet Again

La La La La La La La La ... Etc.

Dragonfly Fly By My Window
You And I Still Have A Way To Go
Don't Know Why You Hang Around My Door
I Don't Live Here Any More
Since You Ve Gone I Never Know
I Go On, But I Miss You So

Dragonfly Don't Keep Me Waiting
I'm Waiting Can't You See Me I'm Waiting
When We Try We'll Have A Way To Go
Dragonfly You've Been Away Too Long
How Did Two Rights Make A Wrong
Since You've Gone I Never Know I Go On
But I Miss You So In My Heart
I Feel The Pain
Keeps Coming Back Again

Dragonfly Fly By My Window
I'm Flying Can't You See Me I'm Flying
You And I Can Find A Way To See
Dragonfly The Years Ahead Will Show
How Little We Really Know
Since You've Gone Its Never Right They Go On
The Lonely Nights, Come On Home
And Make It Right

My Heart Is Aching For You Little Lamb
I Can Help You Out
But I Cannot Help You In

La La La La La La La La ... Etc.