3 Songs Paul McCartney Wrote About John Lennon

Paul McCartney wrote quite a few songs about John Lennon and vice-versa. It makes sense why. The famed Beatles songwriters had a complicated relationship that teetered between brotherly and contentious all the way until Lennon’s death in 1980. McCartney wrote more than three songs about Lennon, but we think these three specific tracks are worth revisiting.

1. “Here Today”

Out of all the songs that Paul McCartney wrote about John Lennon, “Here Today” has to be the most painfully obvious. Luckily, this one isn’t a negative song or a diss track; McCartney actually puts his admiration for Lennon front and center on “Here Today”. 

McCartney penned this track after the death of Lennon as a tribute. It’s a pretty heartbreaking song when you really listen to it. McCartney poses a number of questions and answers them as if Lennon were the one speaking. This has got to be one of McCartney’s most painful songs, but one can’t deny that it’s a beautiful tribute.

2. “Man We Was Lonely”

The Beatles’ ultimate breakup wasn’t exactly a friendly one. By the time the band called it quits, each member of the Fab Four had their share of issues with one another. McCartney had quite famously become a bit controlling after the death of the band’s manager in order to keep the band functioning, and that control caused some serious riffs with the other band members.

McCartney wrote “Man We Was Lonely” while still with The Beatles but didn’t release it until his solo career took off with McCartney. This track sounds like McCartney’s personal diary as he revisits the tension and stress of being in The Beatles and the difficulties he had with Lennon, in particular.

3. “Too Many People”

Where “Here Today” and “Man We Was Lonely” were heartfelt and objective, “Too Many People” was clearly a diss track about Lennon. McCartney is at his most direct on this song as he discreetly calls his former bandmate out. He even goes as far as to attack Lennon for his musical tastes, habit of chasing women, and his overall lifestyle. The resentment is thick on this track. 

Lennon even responded to it with a diss track of his own called “How Do You Sleep?” Even though the two songs were quite angry, it’s fascinating how obsessed these two musicians were with each other, even after The Beatles broke up.

Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

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