Paul McCartney is in the middle of sharing some incredible insights and backstories behind some of the biggest songs of his career. The singer-songwriter is deep into season two of his podcast Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics (via iHeartPodcasts and Pushkin), which sees the rocker and his friend Paul Muldoon digging into how some of his greatest works were created and what they mean. In the latest episode, he opened up about “Hey Jude,” which is both an uplifting and very sad tune.
The former Beatle stated that he once drove to see Julian Lennon, son of his bandmate John, and the boy’s mother, Cynthia. During the 45-minute trip, he began writing the song that would be “Hey Jude” for the boy, as John Lennon had just left the family.
McCartney detailed how the words came together in a seemingly very simple fashion, stating, “In my mind… ‘Hey, Jules, don’t make it bad. I know this is tough for you, but take a sad song and make it better. Your dad’s just left you.’” It seems so matter-of-fact when the songwriter puts it like that, but of course, anyone who has ever tried to create something as memorable and beautiful as “Hey Jude” knows it’s not that simple.
While Julian–whom McCartney says he always called Jules–was going through a hard time with the breakup of his family, the Beatle wanted him to cheer up. “It was an encouraging song,” he claimed about the smash hit.
McCartney also used the latest episode of his podcast to quell some longstanding rumors about that time of his life. “People had sort of suggested…I fancied Cynthia and we were going out,” he commented, before quickly making clear what was going on—and specifically what was not. “Well, people can suggest anything they like, but I didn’t. I was just going out just as a friend to sort of see them.” The Beatle recognized that mother and son were probably facing a tough time, and he was lending a hand and a shoulder–and writing what would be a Beatles favorite.
“Hey Jude” was originally “Hey Jules,” but was changed before being released to the public. The song is credited to both McCartney and Lennon, as most Beatles compositions are. At the time, Lennon had left Cynthia and Jules for Yoko Ono, with whom he is most commonly associated. He would have a child with Ono as well, Sean, and would later make more of an effort to be a better father figure to Julian.
The Beatles released “Hey Jude” in 1968, and it was another huge hit for the band. The track bolted to No. 1 on charts all around the world, including in both the U.S. and the U.K. It was a massive seller and showed another, softer, meaningful side of the group.
