Paul McCartney is one of the world’s most revered musicians. His prestige is rarely rivaled–to some it can’t be rivaled at all. Nevertheless, McCartney does falter when it comes to one musician. There’s only one contemporary of his that makes McCartney nervous. Find out who that is, below.
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[RELATED: Behind the Album: ‘Back to the Egg,’ the Last Album Paul McCartney Recorded With Wings]
The One Musician Paul McCartney is Jealous Of
I was alone, I took a ride
I didn’t know what I would find there
Another road where maybe I
Could see another kind of mind there
McCartney met Bob Dylan on a fateful night in 1964. Their meeting was documented in “Got to Get You Into My Life.” The Bard introduced the Beatles to marijuana, broadening their horizons forever. Despite that bonding moment, McCartney remains a little in awe of Dylan.
“There’s one or two people who I would be quite nervous about,” McCartney once said. “Bob Dylan would make me go, ‘Oh my God, what am I gonna say?” I did see him, we did Coachella…I got to talk to Bob there and he was really nice.”
“I don’t know why I would’ve been nervous, but you get that with some people,” he continued. “It is a funny thing actually when you think about it — ‘what do you have to do to get secure in yourself.’ I would have thought that I would have done enough now to just go, ‘I’m cool, I don’t need to be nervous about anyone.’ It’s a human condition, I think.”
Ooh, then I suddenly see you
Ooh, did I tell you I need you
Every single day of my life?
McCartney went further in his praise of Dylan, admitting that he wishes he could be more like him. He once called him “legendary”–which means that much more when coming from a fellow legend like McCartney. The former Beatle admired Dylan’s ability to not “give a sh**.” It’s a trait McCartney doesn’t think he exhibits.
“I always like what he does,” he added elsewhere. “Sometimes I wish I was a bit more like Bob. He’s legendary…and doesn’t give a sh**! But I’m not like that.”
We think McCartney can rest easy despite not operating exactly like Dylan. He is beloved enough. But, we see where he is coming from in his love for Dylan. The folk icon is a multi-generational talent that won’t soon be usurped. His throne in that genre remains in tact.
You didn’t run, you didn’t lie
You knew I wanted just to hold you
And had you gone, you knew in time
We’d meet again, for I had told you
(Photo by David Harris/Keystone/Getty Images)
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