Within the unity of The Beatles, Paul McCartney and George Harrison operated under a consistent unspoken rule that ideas could flow freely. While working on a song, anyone could suggest approaches they thought might improve it, fostering a collaborative environment where every member had a voice. However, outside the group, their relationship was notably more distant, with personal dynamics often differing from their creative synergy.
In fact, McCartney and Harrison were the more estranged members of the band, and their relationship only worsened as McCartney gained more creative control over The Beatles. Harrison often grew frustrated with McCartney’s creative dominance, feeling sidelined and distanced from the decision-making process. This frustration led Harrison to retreat further, sitting in quiet resentment over his limited influence on the band’s final musical output.
Amid rising tensions, Harrison nearly left the group for good after expressing frustration about his creative input being overshadowed by McCartney and John Lennon’s partnership. This deepened the rift within the band, requiring significant effort from all sides to overcome. Often, disagreements were set aside in moments of levity, with the group discarding tensions in favor of a more lighthearted approach, allowing them to move forward despite the underlying issues.
Other times, however, Harrison likely remembered that his qualms weren’t necessarily personal, especially given the fact that the band often upheld a certain rule when it came to who wrote each composition. For instance, while they tried to maintain an open and honest environment to enable creative flow, whoever the song belonged to—whoever had written it in the first place or came up with the idea—had the ultimate decision privilege.
Now, the complications of such a notion are anyone’s guess, but if we were to look at ‘Hey Jude’ as an example of this rule in action, there are several things to consider first. One strenuous thread that came to the fore was the context from which the song spawned. In the crux of tensions with Yoko Ono, Lennon’s angst projected onto McCartney, who nonetheless decided to support his friend in any way possible.
McCartney also had a specific vision for the song and, in his exacerbated emotional state, wanted to execute it with little inefficient input from the others. He was open to ideas, as always, but this time, he called the shots, which meant if he thought an idea wasn’t good or didn’t serve the song in any way, he would tap into the broader rule of The Beatles and shun distractions.
This occurred when Harrison attempted to suggest an idea about his guitar echoing McCartney’s lines, which would appear between his lyrics and almost mirror the same melody. While this would have undoubtedly added an innovative layer to the song in a broader sense, showcasing the band’s ability to utilise additional instrumental arrangements beyond their usual purpose, McCartney strongly disliked the idea.
“It didn’t seem like a good idea,” McCartney told Howard Stern. “The rule in The Beatles was if it was your song, you were allowed to call it. You were the boss of the song,” he added. Though this may come across as assertive, McCartney assured he was “as nice” as possible and explained to Harrison that he didn’t want to hear his additions because it just wasn’t going to work.
Although Harrison had many disagreements, internally or otherwise, the case of ‘Hey Jude’ seems relatively unique, considering it was compounded by many additional frictions external to him and, to an extent, McCartney. Harrison likely collected the rejection for his growing list of reasons not to enjoy being in the group anymore, but it also reflects a longstanding rule that brought them to the calibre of excellence that attracted their success in the first place.
