For the most part, it’s easy to know which Beatles songs were written and intended for a specific member. You know a John Lennon song when you hear it. A McCartney one too. They had such distinctive personalities, especially towards the end, that no amount of collaboration could remove the personal touches each brought to their songs.
But then, there were songs that broke the mold. One of those songs was the sweet, simple, and touching “Good Night”. Performed by Ringo Starr, this track has all the makings of a McCartney write. Only he would dare to be so tender. In actuality, though, this song was a Lennon effort, one that rewrites the pre-conceived notions of his relationship to fatherhood.
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The Beatles Song John Lennon Should’ve Sung, According to Paul McCartney
Starr often got stuck with The Beatles’ more childlike songs. If there was an air of humor or playfulness about them, Starr was the go-to. So, naturally, he shouldered this lullaby-esque track.
“Now it’s time to say good night / Good night sleep tight / Now the sun turns out his light / Good night sleep tight,” the lyrics read. Starr delivers them perfectly well, but McCartney thought the song’s writer might’ve done a superb job instead.
“Good Night” was written for Julian Lennon, the subject of another iconic Beatles song, “Hey Jude”. Because of that McCartney song and Lennon’s ode to his other child, “Beautiful Boy”, the pre-conceived notion about Lennon is that he had little care for Julian. “Good Night” rewrites that history, shining a softer light on the late Beatle.
In the end, though, Lennon didn’t deliver this song personally. He let Starr say what he couldn’t. McCartney felt that Lennon would’ve done well to show his vulnerability.
“I think John felt it might not be good for his image for him to sing it, but it was fabulous to hear him do it; he sang it great,” McCartney once said. “We heard him sing it in order to teach it to Ringo, and he sang it very tenderly. John rarely showed his tender side, but my key memories of John are when he was tender; that’s what has remained with me: those moments where he showed himself to be a very generous, loving person.”
That is a side of Lennon that his fans didn’t often see. He did let his guard down on “Beautiful Boy”, which feels in stark contrast to his approach to “Good Night”. However, knowing that Lennon penned these touchy-feely lyrics gives us new insight into the icon.
(Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)