John Lennon and Paul McCartney had one of the most prolific and influential songwriting partnerships of modern musical history, but it didn’t come without its pitfalls. As the duo—along with George Harrison and Ringo Starr—progressed further in their tenure as the Beatles, differences in approach, style, and preference began to arise. By Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, virtually everyone had some sort of grievance about another, whether on a musical or personal level.
Videos by American Songwriter
Although there are many ways to illustrate the differences between Lennon and McCartney, one of the most succinct examples is “Lovely Rita,” the third track on the B-side of Sgt. Pepper’s.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Musical Differences, Put Plainly
Even before learning who wrote the Sgt. Pepper’s B-side, anyone vaguely familiar with the Beatles’ repertoire could likely guess that Paul McCartney was the man behind “Lovely Rita.” From its character-driven narrative to its fantastical expansion of reality, everything about the song screams “McCartney.” Lovely Rita, meter maid, nothing can come between us, McCartney croons in his love song to a parking meter attendant.
According to McCartney in The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, he came up with the idea for “Lovely Rita” paradoxically. “Nobody liked parking attendants or meter maids, as they were known in that benighted era. So, to write a song about being in love with a meter maid—someone nobody else liked—was amusing in itself,” McCartney recalled. “I was thinking it should be a hate song. But then I thought it would be better to love her.”
Lennon might have preferred the anti-authority hate version better. In his final interview with David Sheff in 1980, Lennon described “Lovely Rita” as “Paul writing a pop song.” He said that McCartney’s focus on character building in his songs had begun seeping into other artists’ work playing on the radio. “These stories about boring people doing boring things: being postmen and secretaries and writing home,” Lennon said. “I’m not interested in writing third-party songs. I like to write about me because I know me.”
The former Beatle shared similar sentiments in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, citing “Help” and “Strawberry Fields” as his favorite and truest songs he ever wrote for the Beatles. “They were the ones I really wrote from experience and not projecting myself into a situation and writing a nice story about it. I always found that phony.”
Was There Actually a Lovely Meter Maid Named Rita?
In his 1980 interview with David Sheff, John Lennon said Paul McCartney came up with characters like a “novelist,” which is a fair assessment. Macca, however, might say he conjures these images of people like a painter. “There was one particular meter maid in Portland Place on whom I based Rita,” McCartney said in The Lyrics. “She was slightly military-looking. I caught a glimpse of Rita opposite the Chinese embassy. She was filling in a ticket in her little white book, the cap, the bag across her shoulder. It’s sheer observation, like painting en plein air. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the secret to successful songwriting is the ability to paint a picture.”
After the Beatles released “Lovely Rita,” a woman named Meta Davies claimed to be the inspiration behind the song. She alleged that she gave McCartney a ticket and signed her full name, as another M. Davies was working the same shift. McCartney asked her if her name was actually Meta, and when she said yes, he asked if she would mind if he used her name in a song. Meta then turned into Rita, and the rest is Fab Four history.
McCartney later disagreed with this version of events. “I think it was more a question of coincidence,” he said in Many Years From Now. “Anyone called Rita [or Meta, we suppose] who gave me a ticket would naturally think, ‘It’s me!’ I didn’t think, ‘Wow, that woman gave me a ticket. I’ll write a song about her—never happened like that.”
Photo by Val Wilmer/Redferns
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.