Paul McCartney Was ‘Too Embarrassed’ to Ask John Lennon to Collaborate on ‘Come Together’
Paul McCartney and John Lennon helped make The Beatles what they were. They never got to the bottom of each other’s souls, as Macca once said, but they wrote many of the Fab Four’s biggest hits. But not all good things last. Their working relationship was so fractured that Paul said he was too embarrassed to ask John about singing together on “Come Together.”
Paul McCartney and John Lennon were at odds as The Beatles broke up
Paul and John guided The Beatles to international stardom. Their songwriting talents gave the world hit songs and all-time great albums. But all good things come to an end.
As George Harrison came into his own as a songwriter, he felt stifled when his songs rarely made it on Fab Four albums. That was by design, as John wanted to limit George’s songwriting, according to Macca. That was just one chink in The Beatles’ armor.
As the 1960s closed, the band members had opposing artistic visions, desires to explore solo careers, and fought about money and who should manage the band. Paul found himself at odds with his bandmates on many levels, and he and John drifted apart as The Beatles disintegrated.
The band slogged through the contentious Get Back sessions of early 1969. Despite the fighting, they regrouped to create one more classic later that year — Abbey Road. Yet in an example of how much their relationship had deteriorated, Paul was too embarrassed to ask John about sharing singing duties on “Come Together.”
Paul was too embarrassed to ask John to sing on ‘Come Together’: ‘I think it’s sad’
“Come Together” might be one of the most recognizable Beatles songs of all time. It’s certainly a highlight on Abbey Road. John’s esoteric lyrics and Ringo Starr’s standout drumming drive the album-opening song.
John wrote the song virtually on his own, which wasn’t unusual during that Beatles’ era. The three songwriters operated more or less independently at that point. But an isolated Paul was too embarrassed to ask John about singing harmonies as they did earlier in their career, according to You Never Give Me Your Money author Peter Doggett:
“We don’t do harmonies like we used to. I think it’s sad. On ‘Come Together,’ I would have liked to have sung harmony with John, and I think he would have liked me to, but I was too embarrassed to ask him.”
Paul McCartney
“Come Together” features moments where John and Paul (ahem) come together on vocals. Still, it’s a far cry from the exuberant shared singing they did at the height of Beatlemania. Paul’s harmonies are mostly limited to a few limited phrases that are situated beneath John’s lead vocals in the mix.
Macca pushed the Fab Four through the Get Back sessions in early 1969. He wanted them to be a wistful return to their roots, but they ended up being arduous and stressful. The bassist hoped for a chance to return to the good old days on Abbey Road’s “Come Together,” but Paul was too embarrassed to ask John about harmonizing as they did in the old days.
Several Paul songs topped the charts for The Beatles
The relationships within The Beatles were so fractured at the end that Paul was too embarrassed to ask John a simple question. But nothing can take away what they built together. The Fab Four sold millions of records and wrote several songs that became No. 1 hits.
Ten Paul McCartney songs ended up as chart-topping hits for The Beatles. John placed six songs at No. 1. “Can’t Buy Me Love” and “Love Me Do” were two early Macca hits, and once he nailed down “Yesterday,” Paul had one of the most famous songs in history to his name. But his great run continued through the end of the decade.
Before the Beatles’ breakup, he wrote enduring classics like “Hey Jude, “Let It Be,” and “The Long and Winding Road.”
Paul McCartney’s fractured relationship with John Lennon left him too embarrassed to ask him about sharing vocal duties on “Come Together.” Yet nothing will erase the beautiful music they made together with The Beatles.
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