How John Lennon Convinced Paul McCartney to Keep a Famous Line in ‘Hey Jude’

Paul McCartney opens up about how he and John Lennon took a sad song and made it better.

On Wednesday’s episode of The Beatles podcast with iHeartPodcasts and Pushkin, Paul McCartney: Life in Verse, the music legend, 81, talked about making the 1968 classic “Hey Jude.” In addition to reflecting on how the song was inspired by his close relationship with Lennon’s first-born son Julian and the time his bandmate left his first wife Cynthia and their son to pursue a relationship with Yoko Ono, he said Lennon inspired him to keep the lyric that considered a change.

“‘The movement you need is on your shoulder.’ Now I thought I was the only one blocking,” McCartney admitted on the podcast.

The rock star revealed that the late icon convinced him not to change the verse in the song when he first played it for him and Ono, 91.

Sam Mendes is making four separate Beatles films about John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr

“When I played it for John and Yoko in my music room on my psychedelic piano — I’m sitting facing this way and they’re standing behind me, almost on my shoulder, listening,” he continued. “I’m so pleased with myself playing this new song.”

McCartney explained that he quickly told his collaborator that the line that was supposed to be an addition would not be in the song for much longer – until Lennon intervened. “I turned to John, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll change it,'” he said. “And he looked at me and said, ‘You won’t, you know? That’s the best line, right?’

The line, of course, remained in the iconic song — which became the longest song to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100 at the time, clocking in at seven minutes and 12 seconds.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon of The Beatles perform on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ in August 1965.

CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

Looking back on the Beatles’ 60th anniversary star performance on Ed Sullivan

Although the song originally had one meaning, it remains one of the most beloved songs in The Beatles discography due to its uplifting message.

McCartney also spoke about the reverberations of the 1968 hit on Life in verses. “Because I know when I was going through bad times, I don’t know, like Linda’s illness and subsequent death and the breakup of the Beatles,” he said, referring to his wife Linda McCartney’s breast cancer diagnosis and death in 1998.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“All these kinds of things, these moments in your life, I know you feel really bad. You have a pit in your stomach all the time. For me, the idea behind the songs is sometimes to try to reach out to that person and say, ‘Look, what about this thought?’ ”

He continued, “I always try to do that. I notice. I always try to say, look, everything’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay. I’m trying to be a voice of encouragement.”

Paul McCartney performs at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida in May 2022.

Joe Marino/UPI/Shutterstock

Paul McCartney’s life in photos

With the song reputed to have been written with Julian in mind, the 60-year-old musician revealed his thoughts on it over the years.

In an interview with December 2020 EsquireMcCartney revealed that he was “backed up against the wall” by the song, which he described as being meant to “comfort mum and comfort me too”.

“It’s a wonderful feeling, there’s no doubt about it, and I’m very grateful – but I’ve also been pushed up against the wall by it,” he told the outlet. “I love the fact that he wrote a song about me and for my mom, but depending on which side of the bed someone wakes up on and where you listen to it, that can be a good thing or a bit frustrating. But in my Heart, there’s not a bad word to say could say about it.”

McCartney added: “The lyrics are relevant even now. They’re about making life better and taking a load off my shoulders, especially the path I’ve taken as a musician – following my dad.”

Julian also told PEOPLE in a September 2022 interview that he will learn to embrace “Hey Jude” and honor his father’s legacy by releasing his seventh studio album, titled Judas.

“It was a lot of thinking, looking deep in the mirror and trying to find that place of peace,” he said of the record’s creation. “I’ve found it once or twice before, but it got lost in the mess of life. Working on the album was about getting in touch with myself and who I am.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education