Every iconic Beatles song is a testament to the collaborative genius of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the primary driving force behind the Fab Four’s musical powerhouse. While George Harrison made notable contributions, it’s the Lennon-McCartney partnership that produced the majority of timeless tracks, crafting melodies that remain relevant even after 50 years. However, within this musical partnership, there was a song that left John Lennon feeling somewhat disillusioned.
Transitioning from their early ‘mop-top’ phase, The Beatles ventured into more ambitious territories with albums like Rubber Soul. Departing from traditional love songs, they delved into adult themes, exploring the complexities of life in tracks such as ‘Girl’ and ‘Drive My Car.’ The pivotal shift came with Revolver, where avant-garde songwriting styles pioneered the psychedelic movement, notably in songs like ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ and ‘Taxman.’
Among the experimental tracks, Paul McCartney’s ‘Eleanor Rigby’ marked a significant departure. Unlike the usual rock instrumentation, the song painted a poignant picture of a lonely woman in a church. Lennon, while acknowledging his involvement in structuring the song, felt uneasy about the collaborative process. He recalled McCartney offering the song to the room, with roadies Mal Evans and Neil Aspinall contributing a few words. To Lennon, this felt like a violation of the sacred songwriting process, but he still participated in crafting the song at the table.
McCartney, however, contributed some critical phrases independently. Ringo Starr, according to Lennon, added the lines about Father McKenzie donning his socks in the night when there’s nobody there. Lennon found this communal approach to songwriting too public for the usually private act of creating music. Despite the tension, they completed the song together in the studio, with Lennon reflecting on McCartney’s casual introduction of the idea and his own reaction to it.
As time went on, Lennon began writing songs independently, influenced by his relationship with Yoko Ono and his exploration of the artsy side of rock. This marked a turning point, leading to a creative split that eventually contributed to the dissolution of the Lennon-McCartney partnership. Despite the beautiful music created together, Lennon and McCartney, as individuals, were on different musical wavelengths. McCartney’s offer of ‘Eleanor Rigby may have been an early indication that their collaborative songwriting journey had an expiration date.
2 comments
After letting Yoko collaborate with his writing, he should have been told to STFU.
“Darning” his socks (not “donning”).