Musically, this song is an homage to Buddy Holly, one of McCartney's heroes. His wife, Linda, shares vocals and songwriting credit on the track. It's a fun little number that shakes out Paul's domestic side - he'd rather be eating at home with his little lady than out on the town.
This is the kind of enjoyable but hardly groundbreaking songs from McCartney's early '70s discography that got him a lashing from critics who expected more Beatle-worthy material from him. His first solo album, McCartney, was a home recording on which he played every instrument himself. Ram, which includes "Eat At Home," had a full band, but yielded just one hit: "Uncle Albert - Admiral Halsey." McCartney, having been through extreme scrutiny with The Beatles, was not going to sink under the weight of expectations. He released a number of hits over the years but often made music with little commercial appeal for his own enjoyment.
McCartney recorded a reggae-style instrumental version under the pseudonym Percy "Thrills" Thrillington for the 1977 album Thrillington. He hoped to fool the public into thinking Percy was a real guy, a socialite trying to make it in the music business, and even placed ads in the UK music magazines about Percy's activities. The album garnered little attention, but when critics noticed the liner notes mentioned McCartney as a friend, they started to put two and two together. In 1989, he finally fessed up to the ruse at a Los Angeles press conference: "The world needs to know! But seriously it was me and Linda – and we kept it a secret for a long time but now the world knows! – you blew it!"
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