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TL;DR:

  • John Lennon said The Beatles’ “Hello Little Girl” was inspired by an old song his mother used to sing.
  • John said the song was “all very Freudian.”
  • Paul McCartney did not think the lyrics of the song were very good.
The Beatles standing
The Beatles | John Pratt/Keystone/Getty Images

John Lennon said The Beatles‘ “Hello Little Girl” was inspired by his mother, Julia Lennon. Subsequently, he described the tune as “very Freudian.” Notably, Paul McCartney revealed his attitude toward a 1960s group that covered the track.

John Lennon said The Beatles’ ‘Hello Little Girl’ was inspired by an old song that fascinated him for a long time

During a 1980 interview in the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, John was asked about the song “Hello Little Girl.” “That was me,” he said. 

“That was actually my first song,” he added. “‘When I see you every day I say mmm hmm, hello little girl.’ I remembered some ’30s or ’40s song which was [singing] ‘You’re delightful, you’re delicious and da da da. Isn’t it a pity that you are such a scatterbrain.’ [Laughing] That always fascinated me for some reason or another.” 

John said the song was also personal. “It’s also connected to my mother.” he added. “It’s all very Freudian. She used to sing that one. So I made ‘Hello Little Girl’ out of it.”

Paul McCartney discussed a comedy group who covered The Beatles’ ‘Hello Little Girl’

A band called The Fourmost recorded “Hello Little Girl” and another Lennon-McCartney song called “I’m in Love.” In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the two tracks. “Unfortunately the words aren’t too wonderful,” he opined. 

“They’re a bit average, but The Fourmost were eager to have a hit and they were very good friends of ours,” Paul recalled. “They were more of a comedy group, a really very funny cabaret act, and when it came to making a record and being serious on a TV show, they always laughed and giggled.”

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Paul McCartney discussed why he thought The Fourmost never became a hugely successful band

Paul said he didn’t think The Fourmost were the sort of band who were destined for major commercial success. He felt they were too jocular. Notably, when The Fourmost stopped having hits, they used their notoriety to become a cabaret act. 

The Beatles recorded their own version of “Hello Little Girl” It was eventually released on the 1995 compilation album Anthology 1. The song did not receive as much attention as other songs from the Anthology albums, such as “Free as a Bird” or “Real Love.”

“Hello Little Girl” was not a hit but it has an interesting connection to John’s mother.

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