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TL;DR:

  • Paul McCartney wrote The Beatles’ “All My Loving” in a way different from his earlier songs.
  • John Lennon had a strong reaction to The Beatles’ “All My Loving.”
  • Paul didn’t think most people loved the song as much as he did.
Paul McCartney with a phone during The Beatles' "All My Loving" era
Paul McCartney | Evening Standard / Stringer

Paul McCartney and John Lennon were both fans of The Beatles‘ “All My Loving.” Despite this, Paul felt others would not consider the song to be one of his best. Notably, a number of important 21st-century artists performed covers of “All My Loving.”

Paul McCartney wrote the lyrics of The Beatles’ ‘All My Loving’ with no help from John Lennon

According to the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, John Lennon and Paul McCartney generally wrote The Beatles’ early songs together. Despite this, the lyrics of “All My Loving” were all Paul’s.

Paul wrote the lyrics for “All My Loving” before he wrote the tune. He’d never done that for a song before and he’s rarely done so since. John thought “All My Loving” was great and Paul felt it worked well during live shows.

‘All My Loving’ was 1 of Paul McCartney’s personal favorites even though he didn’t like it as much as ‘Penny Lane’ or ‘Hey Jude’

During a 1989 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Paul was asked to name his favorite of his own songs. In chronological order, the first song Paul mentioned was “All My Loving.”

“Most people probably wouldn’t put this one on a list of 10, but it is special for me,” Paul said. “I remember writing the words on a tour bus and when we got to the gig, I found a piano and put a bit of a tune to it. When we got to the studio, one of the guys — John or George — had a great idea to do that danga-da-danga thing on the guitar and it worked great.”

Subsequently, Paul named “Penny Lane,” “The Fool on the Hill,” and “Hey Jude” as some personal favorites. While discussing “Hey Jude,” Paul went back to talking about “All My Loving.” “Of the songs so far, ‘All My Loving’ is probably not as good a song as the later ones, but it still means a lot to me,” he said.

“The thing is, you never know at the time you are writing a song just how much it will mean, either to you or other people,” Paul continued. “The songs have a strange way of taking on a life of their own — and it’s amazing to watch how they grow.”

‘All My Loving’ was covered by Maroon 5, Amy Winehouse, and Arctic Monkeys

“All My Loving” had an impact on popular culture. Maroon 5, Amy Winehouse, and Arctic Monkeys each put their own spin on the ballad. “All My Loving” appeared in an early scene of the Fab Four jukebox musical Across the Universe, where it represents the sound and style of the early 1960s.

Paul is a fan of “All My Loving” no matter what other listeners think.

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