The Beatles‘ “Love Me Do” is one of those bubblegum pop songs like The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer” or The Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar” that is perfect in its simplicity. Paul McCartney said he and John Lennon had no idea what they were doing when they wrote the song. John said the tune was markedly different from later Beatles tunes like “Penny Lane.”
Paul McCartney need help from ‘grown-ups’ during The Beatles’ ‘Love Me Do’ era
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During a 2012 interview with The Independent, Paul recalled what it was like writing songs with John during the “Love Me Do” era. “Writing songs we’d never done, except that when John and I first met, one of our conversations was: ‘What do you do?’ ‘Oh, you’ve written a couple of songs.’ ‘Oh, I’ve written a couple too,’” he recalled. “So we showed our songs to each other and agreed they weren’t very good and maybe we could do better. And that was the start of our thing.
“We didn’t know how to do this,” Paul added. “We didn’t know how to make a record. We had to rely on grown-ups, so it did give us this lovely innocence that now seems really very sweet. I’m so glad we had an innocent period.” The innocence of The Beatles’ early tunes was probably part of their appeal during the early 1960s, particularly in the repressive culture of post-war England.
John Lennon wasn’t sure if he co-wrote The Beatles’ ‘Love Me Do’
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The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features a 1980 interview. During the interview, John discussed “Love Me Do.” He felt it was fundamentally Paul’s song and that Paul started writing it before they became songwriting partners. The “Imagine” singer said he may have helped write the song’s bridge, but he wasn’t sure that was the case.
John was then asked if the Fab Four’s early love songs were inspired by their girlfriends. The former Beatle said that those tunes were works of fiction. In his opinion, the band’s songwriting became more personal with the release of later songs such as “In My Life,” “Penny Lane,” and “Strawberry Fields Forever.” It’s a testament to The Beatles’ talents that they were able to imbue early tunes like “Love Me Do,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” and “She Loves You” with so much passion even though they weren’t rooted in reality.
What Paul McCartney thought of John Lennon during the early years
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During his interview with The Independent, the “Silly Love Songs” star discussed what John was like as a person before he became famous. “There is this period of John which is all pre-Beatles, pre-huge fame, pre-drugs — and it is another John completely — that was always there right until the end,” Paul said. “John was a sweet guy who regained some of his sweetness when he moved to New York City with Yoko Ono.
Paul feels that John’s tragic death cemented his image as a man with an acidic wit. “The acerbic side was there but it was only part of him,” Paul said. “He was also such a sweet, lovely man — a really sweet guy.”
“Love Me Do” is a great pop song, and it represents a lovely period in Paul and John’s friendship.
