Paul McCartney Was Crestfallen When His Parents Forbade Him a Childhood Staple: ‘Totally Crushed’
Paul McCartney was crushed when his parents forbade him and his brother, Michael, a childhood staple when they were kids. However, the former Beatle eventually got over it.
Paul McCartney with his father | Keystone/Getty Images
Paul McCartney had a good childhood
Compared to his fellow Beatles, Paul had a relatively happy childhood. His mother, Mary, was a midwife and would bike to her patients, similarly to the nurses in Call the Midwife. She brought in enough money for the family to move to a better neighborhood on 20 Forthlin Road.
Paul’s father, Jim, had been in a jazz band in the 1920s, so music was heavily steeped into the family’s ethos. He was a cotton salesman. Mary and Jim taught Paul and his brother Michael to be upstanding citizens. Paul did chores for several old women in the neighborhood, including one woman who later inspired “Eleanor Rigby.”
Besides doing his chores and looking after his fellow neighbors, Paul was dedicated to his studies. He learned many things from his English teacher, including things that later helped him write several Beatles songs. However, Paul’s childhood had one thing missing: a dog.
Paul McCartney wasn’t allowed a dog during his childhood
In his book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul explained that because his parents worked all day, and he and Michael were at school, there was no one to look after a dog.
One time, Paul and Michael heard someone’s dog had puppies, and they were giving them away. The “Let Me Roll It” singer and Michael ran over and took one of the little puppies home. When Mary saw what her sons had done, she told them they couldn’t keep it.
“We were crestfallen,” Paul wrote. “Totally crushed.”
The former Beatle finally got a dog when he became famous
Years later, Paul got the one thing his parents wouldn’t let him have in his childhood. Once The Beatles became famous, Paul had his own home and a housekeeper. He wrote that the time was “ripe” to get a dog.
He’d always liked the look of Old English sheepdogs. He’d seen some in television ads. So, he went to a place in Milton Keynes, an hour north of London, and selected a dog. He named her Martha. “I got Martha and she was a lovely little dog. I just adored her,” Paul wrote.
Paul explained that an interesting thing happened when John Lennon saw him with Martha. John, a very guarded person, saw Paul with his guard down around the dog. Paul seems to think that also allowed John to lower his wise guy persona. They both became unguarded around Martha.
Later, Paul wrote a song called “Martha My Dear.” Everyone thought he was singing about a person, not a dog. However, Paul wrote that it’s as unimportant as him naming his and Wings’ song “Jet” after his family’s Shetland pony.
So, although Paul’s childhood was great, a dog would’ve taken his younger years to the next level. All children want a dog when they’re small. Paul and Michael were no different. However, Paul finally got a dog, the dog. Martha has been immortalized in one of the best classic rock songs.
