Paul McCartney Admits He ‘Couldn’t Talk’ About John Lennon After His Assassination

While The Beatles broke up in 1970, the friendship between Paul McCartney and John Lennon endured for years after Lennon’s assassination in 1980. In a recent interview, McCartney admitted that he “couldn’t talk” about Lennon following his death as the subject was “too deep.”

Paul McCartney and John Lennon fixed their relationship before his death

Following The Beatles’ break up, McCartney and Lennon had a slight public feud. Tensions between the two had been brewing before the band split, which may have spilled over into some of their music as the two exchanged jabs at each other in their lyrics. In his book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, McCartney said he and Lennon eventually reconciled before his death, something he is grateful for. 

“I was very glad of how we got along in those last few years, that I had some really good times with him before he was murdered,” McCartney stated. “Without question, it would have been the worst thing in the world for me, had he been killed, when we still had a bad relationship. I would’ve thought, ‘Oh, I should’ve, I should’ve, I should’ve…’ It would have been a big guilt trip for me. But luckily, our last meeting was very friendly.”

McCartney had difficulty talking about Lennon after his assassination

In a recent interview with Sirius XM’s The Beatles Channel, Paul McCartney admitted that John Lennon’s death “hit me so much that I couldn’t really talk about it.” He recalled seeing people talking about Lennon on the news and said he wouldn’t be able to do that as the topic would be too emotional for him. Lennon and McCartney weren’t just a dynamic songwriting duo but had been friends for many decades after meeting in Liverpool. 

“I remember getting home from the studio on the day that we’d heard the news he died. Turning the TV on and seeing people say, ‘Well, John Lennon was this,’ and ‘What he was, was this,’ and, ‘I remember meeting him,’” he continued. “I was like, ‘I can’t be one of those people. I can’t go on TV and say what John meant to me.’ It was too deep. I couldn’t put it into words.”

McCartney was able to express his emotions in ‘Here Today’

Two years after John Lennon’s death, Paul McCartney released “Here Today” on his 1982 album Tug of War, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The song was an imaginary conversation between Lennon and McCartney, with the former Beatle expressing many of the feelings he never told Lennon while he was alive. One of the lyrics McCartney sings is “I love you,” something he never told Lennon while he was here. 

“I was in a building that would become my recording studio, and there were just a couple of little empty rooms upstairs,” McCartney told Sirius XM. “So I found a room and just sat on the wooden floor in a corner with my guitar and just started to play the opening chords to ‘Here Today.’”