The Paul McCartney Diss Track John Lennon Recruited George Harrison To Play On

A one-on-one fight between friends is always hard to watch, but add another person to one side, and it turns even more vindictive—something perfectly encapsulated by the Paul McCartney diss track John Lennon recruited George Harrison to play on. To be fair to Lennon and Harrison, McCartney had technically thrown the first musical punch.

Nevertheless, watching the former Beatles (sans Ringo) blow off steam was a somewhat saddening development in their artistic legacies.

The Paul McCartney Diss Track John Lennon and George Harrison Recorded

John Lennon put “How Do You Sleep” on his 1971 record, Imagine, one year after the first unofficial breakup rumors and messages began popping up around the Beatles. The song features George Harrison on slide guitar and seems to directly refer to their former bandmate, Paul McCartney, which Lennon would later say was a direct response to McCartney’s track “Too Many People,” released the same year.

“Too Many People,” from the 1971 album Ram, doesn’t name anyone specifically. However, it’s hard not to pick up on the subtext in McCartney’s lyrics post-Beatles breakup. Too many people going underground, too many reaching for a piece of cake, he begins. That was your first mistake, you took your lucky break and broke it in two. Now what can be done for you? You broke it in two.

“I heard Paul’s message in Ram,” Lennon told Crawdaddy (via BeatlesBible). “Too many people going where? Missed our lucky what? What was our first mistake? Can’t be wrong? Huh! I mean, Yoko Ono, me, and other friends can’t all be hearing things. So, to have some fun, I must thank Allen Klein publicly for the line ‘just another day.’ A real poet! Some people don’t see the funny side of it. Too bad. What am I supposed to do, make you laugh? It’s what you might call an ‘angry letter’ sung. Get it?”

The Beatle Tried To Retract His Meaning, But It’s Hard to Deny

In the early 1970s, the lyrical jabs between the former dynamic duo, Paul McCartney and John Lennon, seemed all but undeniable. George Harrison’s part in Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep” felt like salt in the wound, especially when Lennon—who had previously been rather critical of Harrison’s musicianship and writing skills—said things like, “That’s the best he’s ever f***ing played in his life! He’d go on forever if you’d let him” (via Far Out Magazine). Indeed, it’s hard not to pick up on some subtle passive aggression, implying Harrison shone when speaking out against Macca.

In a clip from the Imagine film, released eight years after Lennon’s death, the ex-Beatle tried to reframe the subject matter of his scathing 1971 track. “It’s not about Paul; it’s about me. I’m really attacking myself. But I regret the association. Well, what’s to regret? He lived through it. The only thing that matters is how he and I feel about these things and not what the writer or commentator thinks about it. Him and me are okay.”

While the ex-bandmates certainly might have been able to find common ground in their hard feelings, there are pretty irrefutable references to McCartney in Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep.” So, Sgt. Pepper took you by surprise. You better see right through that mother’s eye. Those freaks was right when they said you was dead—the one mistake you made was in your head, Lennon began, not only responding to McCartney’s lyrics but referencing the “Paul is dead” conspiracy theory.

Lennon even added a jab about a Beatles tune, saying, The only thing you done was yesterday, and since you’re gone, you’re just another day. Ouch.

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