The breakup of the Beatles was not done in the most friendly way with John Lennon channeling his indignation at songwriter, musician and collaborator Paul McCartney to some very “wild” songs.
Paul McCartney’s new book “Lyrics: 1956 to the Present” published in People magazine includes unknown aspects of the author’s difficult relationship with John Lennon during the period after the band disbanded.
“John became a villain. I do not really understand why. “Maybe because we grew up in Liverpool, where it was always good to give the first punch to a fight,” writes McCartney.
“John fired rockets at me with his songs and one or two of them were very hard. I do not know what he hoped to win, other than punching me in the face. “The whole thing really bothered me,” recalls Paul McCartney.
“John said things like, ‘I do not believe in the Beatles, I do not believe in Jesus, I do not believe in God.’ “These were nails that hurt and I was the person they turned to and they hurt,” said the former member of the legendary rock band. .
The song “How Do You Sleep?” (How do you sleep?) From Lennon’s solo debut “John Lennon / Plastic Ono Band”, was undoubtedly a musical insult to McCartney.
Paul McCartney retaliated, but his musical responses were much more subtle. “I’m not really that kind of lyricist, so it was quite covered,” he explains.
One such song was McCartney’s “Too Many People” from his “Ram” album.
Songs like this, in which you criticize someone for their behavior, are quite common now, but then it was a fairly new “genre”, says Paul McCartney.
“It simply came to our notice then. We’ve had a lot in the Beatles, and what really separated us is the professional stuff and that’s really pathetic, so let’s try to calm down. “Maybe we should give peace a chance.”
Over the years, however, McCartney began to feel Lennon soften. “In the beginning, after the disbandment of the Beatles, we had no contact, but there were various things we had to talk about,” he writes in the book. “Our relationship was a bit strained sometimes because we were talking about work and sometimes we insulted each other on the phone. But we gradually got over it and when I was in New York I would call him and say: “Do you want a cup of tea?”
According to McCartney, the influence of John Lennon continues to exist when he composes his songs. “As I continue to write my own songs, I still realize that I do not have him with me, but I still have him whispering in my ear after so many years,” he explains.
Their relationship improved when Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono had their son Sean in 1975. “We had even more in common and often talked as parents,” McCartney reveals.
When Lennon was brutally murdered by Mark David Chapman in 1980, the two former band members were on the verge of rekindling their friendship.
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