When The Beatles disbanded in 1970, Paul McCartney was worried about his career without his longtime songwriting partner, John Lennon. After Lennon died in 1980, McCartney knew there was a creative part of him he would never get back. While McCartney is an excellent songwriter solo, he often imagines what Lennon would think while writing a song.
Paul McCartney wonders what John Lennon would think when he’s writing new songs
Even before The Beatles formed, John Lennon and Paul McCartney started writing songs together while growing up in Liverpool. Some of their earliest hits made it into the band, like “I Saw Her Standing There”, while others didn’t make the cut. The Lennon-McCartney duo is the most successful songwriting duo ever, even if the credit creates debate over who wrote what.
The pair did write several songs solo for The Beatles, like “Yesterday” and “Across the Universe”, and they also wrote alone during their solo careers. While they were plenty successful by themselves, Paul McCartney acknowledged that it was easier when the pair worked together.
“When I’m writing on my own, and when he was writing on his own, we obviously missed each other,” McCartney told the This Cultural Life podcast. “But, I wrote ‘Yesterday’ on my own. He wrote ‘Imagine’ on his own. So, it’s not impossible, but as you just said, it’s easier. If you’re stuck with a line, he’ll provide it. If he’s stuck with a bit of a melody, I’ll provide it. You know, we just helped each other.”
McCartney added that if he’s doubting if his work is good or not, he’ll often imagine what Lennon would think of it. It’s a habit that shows how strong their partnership was.
“Occasionally, I will refer to him and just sort of think, ‘Wait a minute. Is this any good?’” McCartney continued. “Everyone who’s writing always stops and goes, ‘Oh, God. This is terrible. Oh my God.’ It’s just part of the creative process. So if I’m at that moment, ‘This is terrible,’ I’ll go, ‘What would John think of this?’ And I’ll sort of, you know, imagine I’m playing it to him. And he’ll say, ‘It’s great. Carry on.’ Or he’ll say, ‘It’s rubbish. Fix it.’”
McCartney compares writing alone to ‘writing a novel’
Working solo is not only more challenging, but it’s lonelier. In an interview with his website, Paulmccartney.com, Paul McCartney discussed working alone vs. working with John Lennon. He said it’s a much lonelier experience and compared it to “writing a novel” where one can be alone with their own thoughts. It can create something better, but it’s tougher because there’s no one else to rely on.
“Working on your own isn’t quite as easy, but it’s something different altogether. It’s more like writing a novel,” he shared. “You do the opposite of sitting in a room with someone; you go off as far as you can, into the quietest part of the house when no one can hear you and no one can see you, hiding away under the staircase or something, until you’re very much in your own thoughts. It can make something that turns out better, really. But yes, it’s not as easy.”
