3 Paul McCartney Songs That Were Written About John Lennon
The four members of The Beatles remained close, even after the band split up in 1970. Tensions between a few members were high, leading to some public feuds, but they all made amends at some point. A few of Paul McCartney’s songs are directed at John Lennon, even if the lyrics don’t directly reference him.
Here are 5 Paul McCartney songs that are about John Lennon
‘Dear Friend’
“Dear Friend” is the closing track of Wings’ 1971 album Wild Life. Paul McCartney wrote the song in response to John Lennon, who had previously called him out in songs and other public messages. This was McCartney’s attempt to call a truce and return to being friends. In an interview with his website, the “Let it Be” singer says the song makes him emotional since it was his way of speaking with Lennon.
“And then with ‘Dear Friend,’ that’s sort of me talking to John after we’d had all the sort of disputes about The Beatles break up,” McCartney said. “I find it very emotional when I listen to it now. I have to sort of choke it back.”
‘Too Many People’
“Too Many People” was the first song directed at Lennon since the ban had broken up. While “Dear Friend” was a call for a ceasefire, this was more of a direct shot. The song was featured on McCartney’s second solo album, Ram, and was a response to Lennon’s “God”, which featured jabs at McCartney and The Beatles. In an interview with BBC, McCartney said “Too Many People” was his attempt at a diss track.
“At a time when John was firing missiles at me with his songs, and one or two of them were quite cruel. I don’t know what he hoped to gain, other than punching me in the face,” he explained. “The whole thing really annoyed me. I decided to turn my missiles on him too, but I’m not really that kind of writer so it was quite veiled. It was the 1970s equivalent of what we might today call a diss track. The idea of too many people preaching practices. It was definitely aimed at John, telling everyone what to do.”
‘Here Today’
Fortunately, Paul McCartney and John Lennon were able to fix their relationship before Lennon’s assassination in 1980. “Here Today” was released in 1982 on Tug of War and was meant as a tribute to Lennon. McCartney wrote the song as an imaginary conversation between him and Lennon where he is telling his friend the things he never told him when he was alive.
In an interview with Esquire, McCartney said “Here Today” is the one song that can make him emotional while performing it. If he catches someone in the audience having an emotional reaction to the song, then it catches him off guard.
“If I ever spot anyone crying during ‘Here Today’, that can set me off,” McCartney shared. “I mean, on one level, it’s only a song, and on another, it’s a very emotional thing for me. And when I see some girl totally reduced to tears and looking at me singing, it catches me by surprise. This really means something to her. I’m not just a singer. I’m doing something more here.”
