The Beatles’ John Lennon was never one for mincing his words in speech or music, and the Let It Be track that many speculate was a “dig” at Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger is certainly no exception. The song came on the heels of a longstanding relationship between the bands that oscillated between friendly and contentious, depending on the day (and band member).
As two of the hottest bands coming out of the U.K. in the 1960s, the Fab Four and the Stones became fodder for stories about a rivalry between the two bands. Lennon’s comments in a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone gave these stories even more weight.
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John Lennon Criticized Mick Jagger For Copying The Beatles
During his 1971 Rolling Stone interview, John Lennon described his early relationship with the Rolling Stones as incredibly positive. “We were very close to the Stones. I don’t know how close the others were, but I spent a lot of time with Brian and Mick. I admire them, you know.” Still, relationships are wont to change, and Lennon’s relationship with Stones frontman Mick Jagger did, too.
A few questions later in the interview, Lennon said he hardly saw Jagger anymore. “I think Mick got jealous,” the ex-Beatle mused. “I was always very respectful about Mick and the Stones. But he said a lot of tarty things about the Beatles, which I am hurt by. I can knock the Beatles, but don’t let Mick Jagger knock them.”
Lennon then pointed out specific albums and songs he felt like the Stones lifted from the Beatles. He argued that Their Satanic Majesties Request was a ripoff of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which the bands released within six months of each other. “We Love You” by the Stones, Lennon said, was basically the Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love,” and so on.
The ‘Let It Be’ Track That Might Have Been A “Dig”
One year before John Lennon shared his not-so-subtle critique of fellow rockstar Mick Jagger with Rolling Stone, the Beatles released their final album as a band, Let It Be. The second track off the album, “Dig a Pony,” is a bouncy track that switches between a plodding riff and backbeat groove. Most of the lyrics are nonsensical, with a few exceptions. All I want is you, for example, is pretty standard rock song fare. But in the middle of the song is a verse that some speculate was about Jagger.
I, I, I, I, I roll a stoney. Well, you can imitate everyone you know. Yes, you can imitate everyone you know. Sound familiar? Not only does the line seemingly play on the Rolling Stones’ actual name. But the following lines also appear to hammer home Lennon’s point about the Stones imitating the Beatles.
“I resent the implication that the Stones are like revolutionaries and the Beatles weren’t,” Lennon said in his 1971 Rolling Stone interview. “If the Stones were or are, the Beatles really were, too. But they’re not in the same class, music-wise or power-wise, never were. [Mick is] obviously upset by how big the Beatles are compared with him. He never got over it.”
Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
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