The song includes interpolations of "Jet" and "Mrs. Vandebilt," the second and fourth tracks on the album, respectively.
In an interview on British TV channel ITV1 for the program Wings: Band on the Run, to promote the November 2010 2×CD/2×DVD rerelease of the original album, McCartney says he was on vacation in Montego Bay, Jamaica where he "snuck" onto the set of the film Papillon where he met Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen.
McCartney created a demo of the song and lyrics on the spot, prompting Hoffman to exclaim to his wife: "look, he's doing it … he's doing it!
"[3] While recording Band on the Run in Lagos, Nigeria, Wings were invited to former Cream drummer Ginger Baker's ARC Studios in the nearby suburb of Ikeja.
"Picasso's Last Words" was recorded during that time and Baker contributed by playing a tin can full of gravel.