Paul McCartney Put a Line in ‘Here Today’ That He ‘Never Would Have Said’ in Person to John Lennon
Paul McCartney and John Lennon were close friends who knew each other before forming The Beatles in the 1960s. While the two had a complicated relationship following the band’s breakup, they were able to reconcile before Lennon’s death in 1980. McCartney wrote the song “Here Today” as a way of paying tribute to Lennon and put in a line he would never have said in person to Lennon.
Paul McCartney dedicated ‘Here Today’ to John Lennon
John Lennon was assassinated in New York City in 1980. Less than a year after his death, McCartney began to write “Here today,” a song dedicated to his friend and former bandmate. The singer-songwriter the song was an imaginary conversation between himself and Lennon. In a 1982 interview with the Los Angeles Times, McCartney said it was an emotional experience writing the song.
“I was kind of crying when I wrote it,” McCartney said. “I’m sure you understand why without me going into it all. His death is something that the three of us find very difficult to talk about even to each other.”
Paul McCartney would never have told Lennon he loved him
In “Here Today,” Paul McCartney says “I really loved you” as a way of expressing the feelings he felt for John Lennon while he was alive. In an interview with BBC, McCartney explained why he would never have said this to Lennon in person.
“Why can’t men say I love you to each other? I don’t think it’s as true now as it was back in the 1950s and 60s, but certainly when we were growing up, you’d have to be gay to say that to another man. So, that blanket attitude bred a little bit of cynicism. If you were talking about anything soppy, someone would have to make a joke of it, just to ease the embarrassment in the room. “
“But there’s a longing in the lines if you were here today, and I’m holding back the tears no more because it was very emotional writing this song. I was just sitting there in this little bare room thinking of John and realizing I’d lost him. And it was a powerful loss. So, to have a conversation with him in a song was some form of solace. Somehow, I was with him again. And if I say, I really loved you…which I never would have said to him. “
McCartney said it was emotional performing the song live and can still be emotional today.
McCartney wishes he could tell Lennon how he felt
While speaking at an event to launch his book The Lyrics at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, McCartney said he would love to tell Lennon how he felt if he were still here. However, he is grateful to finally realize what his friend meant to him.
“It’s true. You say that I loved him, but as 16-year-old and 17-year-old Liverpool kids, you couldn’t say that – it just wasn’t done,” McCartney shared. “So I never did. I never really said, ‘You know, I love you man’. I never really got round to it. So now, it is great to just realize how much I love this man.”
