John Lennon’s son revealed he had somewhat mixed feelings about the song created by Paul McCartney to comfort him as a child
Who wouldn’t love to be the subject of a song made by a band like Beatles? Julian Lennon is one of the few people on the planet to have this privilege, after all, he was the one who inspired the creation of “Hey Jude”.
Released as a single on August 26, 1968, the song became one of the biggest hits in the world. Fab Four from Liverpool. It was created by Paul McCartney to comfort the then boy, sad about the separation of his parents, John Lennon and Cynthia Powell. As a result, it reached the top of the charts in several countries and was the best-selling compact of the year in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
However, interestingly, Julian has mixed feelings about the song. In an interview with Esquirehe recalled that the composition was called “Hey Jules” initially and recognized the good intention of Paul behind, but also admitted to having gone “crazy” because of it.
“It’s a beautiful feeling, without a doubt, and I’m very grateful. But I also went crazy about it. I love the fact that he wrote a song about me and my mom, but depending on which side of the bed the person woke up on and where you hear it, it could be a good thing or a little frustrating.”
Despite this, the son of John avoids any criticism of the music.
“From the bottom of my heart, there isn’t a bad word I can say about it.”
Relevant letter
Still during the interview, Julian Lennon classified the lyrics as “relevant” “Hey Jude” and reflected on following in his father’s footsteps by becoming a musician. Active since the 1980s, he has released seven albums — the most recent, Jude, came out in September 2022.
“The lyrics of ‘Hey Jude’ It is still relevant today. The goal is to make life better and take the weight off my shoulders, especially on the path I followed as a musician — following my father. It’s like, ‘What are you, crazy? Why would you do that?’. I chose the most difficult path possible in humanity.”
Finally, Julian commented on how the long and winding journey in music led him to follow other dreams. Now 60 years old, the musician is also happy working with photography.
“That’s why, after thirty years of making music, I felt it was time to follow some other dreams I had. Photography and a series of other things. Music will always be in my blood and that is partly due to my father and partly to Beatlesespecially after having watched Get Back.”
Love and hate relationship
In another interview, with SiriusXM (via Igor Miranda website), the son of John Lennon defined its relationship with “Hey Jude” as being “of love and hate”.
“It’s love and hate at the same time. I am grateful to Paul for creating it and putting some hope behind what was to come. The downside is that it is a dark reminder of what really happened at that time, in this case, the separation. I had no idea what was going on, except that I started to notice the presence of Yoko (Ono). Obviously, it made a big impact on me. He had moments of fury, he screamed in anger. I’m glad that’s in the past.”
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
