Paul McCartney says that when it came to collaborating with John Lennon on songs for The Beatles, the two rarely argued about changes one or the other suggested making to a tune. In an interview clip McCartney recently posted on his YouTube channel, he reflected on these generally cordial songwriting sessions.
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“There was never that much battling, because if someone said, ‘I like this better,’ it was generally a better idea,” McCartney explained. “So, you’d give in to each other… as long as it was a better idea.”
One case McCartney recalled on which he stood his ground was when he was working on “Eleanor Rigby,” and he initially had a verse about a character named “Father McCartney.” Sir Paul didn’t want to keep the name because he felt it made the song too personal, but he said Lennon initially disagreed with him. Eventually, McCartney said, Lennon relented, and they settled on the name “McKenzie” by looking in the phone book.
Lennon Was “a Good Collaborator”
McCartney also noted that there was a friendly intimacy about how he and Lennon would sit facing each other with acoustic guitars while working on tunes.
“We’re writing like [that] … and, you know, I’m coming up with a bit of a line, and then he’s following it on, just ping-ponging ideas,” he recalled. “You know, I look back on it and think, ‘Yeah, you were a good collaborator’ … At the time, it just felt good, and we respected each other, you know?”
Regarding that mutual respect, McCartney pointed out that he felt a sense of pride when Lennon would like a song he’d written as is.
“Sometimes I’d bring something in and he’d go, ‘Well, there you are. That’s it,’” he explained. “And it was nice… ‘I just got the stamp of approval.’”
Liking Each Other’s Songs
He remembered that one example was “Paperback Writer.”
“I’d pretty much worked it all out, like a letter. I’d written it all … and played it for him,” McCartney recalled. “And he says, ‘Great,’ you know.”
He added, “And I’d do that sometimes with his songs. ‘Nowhere Man’ [was one of them]. … He’d play it through [and] I’d go, ‘Great, lovely.’ And then that was that one done.”
McCartney’s Book The Lyrics
The video clip was from an event featuring McCartney interviewed British comedian and television presenter Bob Mortimer that promoted Sir Paul’s award-winning 2021 book The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present.
A paperback version of the book was released last month. The tome features profiles of more than 150 songs written or co-written by McCartney throughout his long music career.
New Vinyl Release
As previously reported, Paul McCartney is celebrating the third anniversary of his 2020 solo album, McCartney III, by releasing limited-edition colored-vinyl versions of the record. The McCartney III — 3×3 Edition arrived today, December 15, and is available in three different multiple-color variants.
You can purchase the LPs at McCartney’s online store.
Tour Plans
Meanwhile, McCartney will wrap up his 2023 Got Back Tour with a show this Saturday, December 16, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Beatles legend has yet to announce any tour plans for 2024.
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