“Hey Jude” was released over 50 years ago, and it’s still one of The Beatles’ most revered songs. The tune carries a message that’s meant to be hopeful, with lines like “Take a sad song and make it better.” However, the story behind “Hey Jude” is actually a little depressing. Here’s the tale of how Paul McCartney became inspired to write “Hey Jude”. Spoiler, it’s a tearjerker.
In 1968, McCartney was on his way to visit Cynthia Lennon and her son, Julian. At the time, Cynthia was going through a divorce from his fellow Beatle John Lennon. Lennon had been having an affair with Yoko Ono, his later second wife. Apparently, the separation from Cynthia ended up being quite nasty.
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According to The Beatles Anthology, it was on the drive there that McCartney came up with what he describes as “a hopeful message” for Lennon’s son, Julian. Julian was around 5 years old at the time.
McCartney said of the drive, “I would always turn the radio off and try and make up songs, just in case… I started singing, ‘Hey Jules – don’t make it bad, take a sad song, and make it better…’”
Little did he know that gesture of positivity would go on to become an international hit. “Hey Jude” would spend 9 weeks at No. 1 in the U.S. and would also sell 8 million copies worldwide.
“Hey Jude” Is a Song for When You “Feel Lousy”
Interestingly enough, Julian Lennon, who’s much older now, has mixed feelings about “Hey Jude”.
“Well, you know, I have a love-hate with it, I have to say,” he admitted to Men’s Journal. Although he’s thankful for the song, it’s also a “stark and dark” reminder of what went down at that time in his life.
However, McCartney obviously sees the song quite differently. On his podcast, “A Life In Lyrics”, he spoke about the feeling that inspired “Hey Jude”.
“I know when I’ve been going through bad times,” he shared. “Like Linda’s illness, and consequent death, and you know, the breakup of The Beatles, all these sort of things, these sort of moments in your life. I know you really feel lousy. You’ve got a pit in your stomach all the time.”
He continued, “So to me, the idea sometimes behind songs is to try and reach that person and say, ‘Look, you know, how about this thought?’”
Photo by: CBS via Getty Images
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