The John Lennon Lyric He Used to Accuse Paul McCartney of Plagiarism

It’s often the closest relationships that can hurt us the most. Those that we let into our inner circle know just what buttons to press. That was the case when John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s relationship soured toward the end of the Beatles’ tenure. They went back and forth with each other for a while in the studio, but there is one lyric that might have taken things too far…Check out which Lennon lyric accused McCartney of plagiarism, below.

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[RELATED: Two Songs on Final Beatles Album That Highlighted the Deep Tensions Between John Lennon and Paul McCartney]

Behind John Lennon Accusing Paul McCartney of Plagiarism

So Sgt. Pepper took you by surprise
You better see right through that mother’s eyes
Those freaks was right when they said you was dead
The one mistake you made was in your head

Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep?” is famously an attack on McCartney. It’s a scathing cut-down to their time together as songwriting partners. While the lines that made it are damning enough, there were several lyrics cut from the final product that would’ve been the nail in the coffin for their failing friendship.

In one scrapped line, Lennon accused McCartney of stealing one of his most famous compositions, “Yesterday”. Though McCartney had many songs that contributed to building his reputation, “Yesterday” is readily considered one of his best. Needless to say, a line like this would’ve been a slap in the face.

“You probably pinched that b**ch anyway,” the line, apparently, used to read. Also scrapped from the lyrics was “How do you sleep, you cu**.”

[RELATED: The Paul McCartney Lyric That Engaged in Some Playful Wordplay]

McCartney Responds

With an accusation like this, you’d think McCartney would hurl some choice words back at his former bandmate. While he certainly said his peace in other ways, McCartney decided not to respond to Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep?”

“I didn’t want to get into a slanging match,” McCartney once said. “I had the option of going for equal time and doing all the interviews or deciding not to take up the gauntlet. And I remember consciously thinking, ‘No, I really mustn’t.’”

Revisit Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep?”, below.

You live with straights who tell you you was king
Jump when your momma tell you anything
The only thing you done was Yesterday
And since you’re gone you’re just another day

(Photo by Northcliffe Collection/ANL/Shutterstock)