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Paul McCartney reveals John Lennon worried about how people would remember him

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Nikka Avegail Sabio

<div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">Paul McCartney revealed that his late <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">The Beatles </span>bandmate John Lennon shared with him the latter’s concerns on how people would remember him after his death.</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><p style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">In an  iHeart Radio podcast, </span><em>McCartney: A Life in Lyrics</em>, the 81-year-old music legend shared how his close friend and musical collaborator was nervous about how he would be remembered postmortem.</p><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">“I remember him saying to me, ‘Paul, I worry about how people are going to remember me when I die,’ and it kind of shocked me,” Paul recalled in the episode.</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"> </div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-4" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn3C80etpMj/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3qFasuhdS3qFtZbxqWiFPSYuCbnScvtOJBaIp3K-xGAmotEId1XXiRzJE#%7B%22ci%22%3A4%2C%22os%22%3A162209.59999999963%2C%22ls%22%3A86107.40000000037%2C%22le%22%3A87079.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="746" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-4" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">“I said ‘OK, hold on, just hold it right there. People are going to think you were great, you’ve already done enough work to demonstrate that.’”</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">He continued, “I was like his priest. Often I’d have to say, ‘My son, you’re great, don’t worry about it,’ and he would take it. It would make him feel better.”</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">In December 1980, Lennon was tragically shot in front of his Upper West Side apartment building, hours after he had autographed an album for a fan who was later identified as the culprit. John was only 40 years old when he died.</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">Paul shared how he first met and saw John as a “cool guy who seems older than him”. </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">He also talked about how he worked well with him when the latter was still alive. </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">“If anyone asks me, ‘What was it like to work with John?’ The fact was it was easier, much easier, because there were two minds at work. And that interplay was nothing short of miraculous,” he expressed.</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">The singer also shared how the way he works changed after John&#x27;s death.</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"> </div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq-3mX7uKOQ/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3qFasuhdS3qFtZbxqWiFPSYuCbnScvtOJBaIp3K-xGAmotEId1XXiRzJE#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A128006.09999999963%2C%22ls%22%3A86107.40000000037%2C%22le%22%3A87079.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="746" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">“Now I’m conscious that I don’t have him, very much. And you know, often we’ll sort of refer to, ‘What would John say to this? Is this too soppy? He would’ve said da da da, so I’ll change it.&#x27; But my songs have to reflect me, and you don’t have this opposing element so much. I have to do that myself these days.”</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">The episode for Paul McCartney’s podcast referred to the 1982 solo track that he released titled &quot;Here Today.&quot;</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">The singer described the single as “a memory song that is a love song to John” as he wrote the it a year after Lennon’s death.</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">He also noted that it was a way for him to remember and reminisce about the fond memories and moments with his friend.</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">“I was remembering things about our relationship and things about the million things we’d done together. From just being in each other&#x27;s front parlors or bedrooms, or walking on the street together, or hitchhiking,” he shared. </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">He also described their relationship as a ‘yin and yang’ which complimented the two singers&#x27; personalities.</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">“That was one of the good things about writing with John,” he said, “He would often come in from another angle.”</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">Last November 2, The Beatles dropped their final song, &quot;Now and Then,&quot; five decades after the group broke up.</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><strong> </strong></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzHX16yLDYU/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fent-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3qFasuhdS3qFtZbxqWiFPSYuCbnScvtOJBaIp3K-xGAmotEId1XXiRzJE#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A87083.79999999981%2C%22ls%22%3A86107.40000000037%2C%22le%22%3A87079.5%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white">The song was based on a 1970s demo recording where the first bars were written and performed on piano by John Lennon, on guitar by the late George Harrison in 1995 during the Anthology sessions, and was finally completed in 2022 by surviving members, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.</span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><span style="color:black;background:white"> </span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%;margin:0in;background:white"><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2023/11/3/documentary-on-last-the-beatles-song-now-and-then-released-924" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><span style="color:black;background:white"><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2023/11/3/documentary-on-last-the-beatles-song-now-and-then-released-924" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><u>READ: Documentary on ‘last’ The Beatles song ‘Now and Then’ released </u></strong></a></span></div><div style="margin-right:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-top:0in;margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:107%"><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2023/11/3/documentary-on-last-the-beatles-song-now-and-then-released-924" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><span style="line-height:107%"><a href="https://push.abs-cbn.com/2023/11/3/documentary-on-last-the-beatles-song-now-and-then-released-924" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong></strong></a></span><br/></div>

<p>Paul McCartney recalls telling John Lennon that 'people are going to think you were great.'</p>

Paul McCartney recalls telling John Lennon that 'people are going to think you were great.'

Paul McCartney reveals John Lennon worried about how people would remember him

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Paul McCartney reveals John Lennon worried about how people would remember him

Nikka Sabio

Published Nov 19, 2023 10:15 AM PHT

Read More:

John Lennon

Paul McCartney

George Harrison

Here Today

That Would Be Something

Ringo Starr

McCartney: A Life in Lyrics

Now and Then

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