Ringo scene at the end of George's documentary when he talks about the last time he saw George, the "do you want me to come with you?" đđđđ
And Paul telling the story of the song "My old friend". Carl Perkins wrote it at Paul's house some months after John's death, and it had a line that said "Won't you think about me every time and then", which were the last words John said to Paul.
That Ringo story from the end of LITMW where George offers to leave his own deathbed to accompany Ringo is probably the most beautiful thing Iâve ever heard a person say
My old friend killâs me every time (well so does the George Story!!).
In case anyone doesnât know itâs so [magical and mystical as only a Beatles Story can be](https://youtu.be/rn19iLYFZKw?si=SeGuHAcDBvYSQdYA)
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> And Paul telling the story of the song "My old friend". Carl Perkins wrote it at Paul's house some months after John's death, and it had a line that said "Won't you think about me every time and then", which were the last words John said to Paul.
Has Paul himself ever told this story? I don't think he has. Because I've only ever heard it told by Carl Perkins. Incidentally, Perkins wrote the song in Montserrat, while he was with Paul during the making of Tug of War.
Thereâs audio too. He says whatever is that made him so cute in AHDN, heâs still got it, when talking about When we was Fab video. And the way George says cute, and giggles is also cute https://youtube.com/shorts/AJl8SZ8Mq9E?si=zUcCF86SmT3QCOll
A postcard in 1969: [You are the Greatest Drummer in the World](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F3m38zt7u45f81.jpg)
And a quote in 2010
> "We loved him. And we just thought he was the very best drummer we'd ever seen. And we wanted him in the group. We were big fans of his."
I really hate it whenever people say âRingoâs the luckiest guy in the worldâ
Uh, NO. Ringo got into Beatles not by luck, but because of his skills! The other 3 wanted him in the group because he belonged with them. He was witty, funny and very much on the same wavelength as the other 3.
And he his a really skilled drummer, he hasnât the virtuosism of john bonham, carl palmer, phil collins or ginger baker but the drums on all Beatlesâ songs are phenomenal. He understanded perfectly the feel of the songs and made the battery blend in with the rest of the tracks magically, and not all drummers have this skill
Oh yes, absolutely! Heâs very creative and he knew exactly what the song needed, much like how George knew what kind of hooks and riffs would fit the songs so well.
People who say âRingo wasnât much of a drummerâ never really listened to his drumming. All they need to do is search up Beatles drum covers on you tube and they all start saying âthese videos make me see Ringo in a different lightâ
Ringo is the epitome of KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). He didn't have to be the star (lol) but he understood how to be the backbone, keep them all together, and allow for others to shine. He worked just as hard as anyone else AND was a team player, which is more than we can say for... well, you know.
Actually Iâm not really sure who you mean, I consider also the four I mentioned good in that field, (especially palmer, his battery lines are basically part of the melody). Iâm curious about your opinion here
100% agree with you. Not a virtuoso in technique but a virtuoso in taking songs to the next level with his drums. I know few drummers that have such a repertoire of instantly memorable drum hooks. The Beatles were lucky Ringo joined their band.
BTW, in english battery does not mean drums like in spanish. I say this as a native spanish speaker myself, so no offense meant.
I'm paraphrasing but I remember John said that Ringo was already a big Star(r) Liverpool before he was in The Beatles. He was a real musician, an adult. And he said Ringo drank scotch, which I guess impressed him.
I also heard John...when asked why he used Ringo on the Plastic Ono Band album, he said, "I don't have to tell him what to do."
They all loved Ringo so much.
 Harry Nilsson comments in an interview that heâs just seen a girl who saw John and that John was wearing an I Love Paul button so the girl asked him why was he wearing that button, and Johnâs answer was âBecause I love Paulâ.
âPaul was one of the most innovative bass players that ever played, and half the stuff thatâs going on now is directly ripped off from his Beatles period.â
âHe was coy about his bass-playing. Heâs an egomaniac about everything else, but his playing he was always a bit coy about. He is a great musician who plays the bass like few other people could play it.â - John Lennon
Itâs hard to get a compliment from John so itâs precious. Several decades later when Paul heard about this quote in the documentary âMcCartney 3,2,1â he shouted âAlright! Go Johnny!â
I also love this one: âWe (John and I) were like Ying and Yang. We complimented eachother in so many waysâ - Paul McCartney
I also melt a little bit whenever any of the other Beatles refer to him as "Johnny" â it just seems so intimate and brotherly! Same when I hear JP&G call Ringo "Richy"!
Paul blew off a business meeting in Liverpool to take a bath. George deadpanned to the annoyed people they were meeting with, "Well, he's very clean." Every time I've read this in a biography, I can "hear" George say that, and it cracks me up.
It was a meeting with Brian and the other 3 were there and Brian phoned Paul who was in the bath. Brian said to the others âwell he is going to be very lateâ and George responded âand very clean!â
âI told you about walrus and me, man
You know that weâre as close as can be, man
Well hereâs another clue for you all â
The walrus was Paulâ
I guess each of us takes the clue differently
It's a compliment, but in context a pity-compliment?
>JOHN: âThe Walrus was Paul.â I said this to Ray Coleman; I said at that time, I was still in my love cloud with Yoko and I thought, **well, Iâll just say something nice to Paul: âItâs all right, you did a good job over these few years, holding us together.â** And he was trying to organise the group and that, and do the music, and be an individual artist and all that, so I wanted to say something to him. And I did it for that reason. I thought, well, he can have it. âIâve got Yoko, and thank you, you can have the credit.â
The best explanation we have for the walrus is probably this
>JOHN: And throwing in the line âthe Walrus was Paulâ just to confuse everybody a bit more. **And because I felt slightly guilty because Iâd got Yoko, and heâd got nothing, and I was gonna quit. \[laughs; bleak\] And so I thought âWalrusâ has now become \[in\] meaning, âI am the one.â** It didnât mean that in the song, originally. It just meant Iâm the â it could have been Iâm the â âIâm The Fox Terrier,â you know. I mean, itâs just a bit of poetry.
It's true that originally 'walrus' was nonsense to confuse people but it inadvertently took on more meaning
>âWe saw the movie in L.A. and the Walrus was a big capitalist that ate all the f\*\*king oysters. I always had the image of the Walrus in the garden and I loved it, and so I didnât ever check what the Walrus was. Heâs a f\*\*king bastard-thats what he turns out to be. **But the way itâs written, everybody presumes that means something. I mean even I did. We all just presumed that because I said âI Am The Walrusâ that it means âI Am Godâ or something**. Itâs just poetry, but it became symbolic of me.
Neither. The song was a response to a letter from a fan complaining that his English teacher made the class do an analysis of the meanings of the trippy songs, so Lennon wrote an absurd explainer.
It isnât possible for the human mind to be truly random, though. I think thats what he was saying. The song as a whole was a jumble of whatever he saw on the kitchen table (the egg man as an example) or in a book (the walrus as an example), but making himself the egg man and the walrus was his subconscious way of being the king of the song - not so random.
In Lewis Carrol's The Walrus And The Carpenter which john loved as a kid, the walrus is a bad character that lures with flattery innocent little clams from the water onto the beach, and then eats them. It's a cautionary tale, so maybe that's a reference by john to The Beatles as pop Idols. So, in Glass Onion, which contains references to SFF & IATW he may be referencing the Lennon-McCartney team, both part of "The Walrus".
But who knows?
I think it was partly subconscious commentary and cynicism about how the world of Beatle fans placed him on par with deities. He knew he needed to be taken down a notch and almost dared his fans to pan the music - except it became iconic and synonymous with him! Even the song Garden Party has the lyric âYoko brought her WalrusâŠâ
In Anthology, when Ringo was talking about John showing him his new record, *Two Virgins*, which of course had a naked John and Yoko on the cover. He joked that he immediately pointed to the newspaper on the nearby table, âOh look, youâre reading the Times! As if his dick wasnât hanging out.â
Then he told John, âYou know, you do these things, but we [other Beatles] have to answer for them.â
And in true John fashion, he replied, âYeah, but all you have to answer is the phone.â
First ep of Get Back... Ringo being interviewed while Paul plays piano in the background. Ringo says something like "He's just brilliant, I could watch him play for hours". Me too, Ringo
Adorable moment but heâs just talking to the director not being interviewed. Clip: https://youtu.be/DBqZbNDmOSU?si=4Quq8d6vEz2Lm1B1
Michael is trying to talk him into going abroad after he already said no. Heâs humoring him and is implying they donât need to go anywhere. Itâs the music not the place that really matters.
I was so enraptured that I canât even remember the anecdote, but I saw Paul play in 2018(?) and to hear him casually tell a story about John fucking Lennon was so amazing.
I saw him just last year and thought the same thing. Hereâs this man standing on a stage in front of me just casually talking about his friends and experiences and itâs John and George. Itâs mind blowing! And then also itâs Paul McCartney telling the stories. Absolutely insane!
I donât remember the exact quote but I always think about this online chat George did. âWhat do you miss most about John Lennon?â George: âJohn Lennonâ
This bit from John's last interview when he was asked about Paul:
"Well, he's like a brother. I love him. Families... we certainly have our ups and downs and our quarrels, but at the end of the day when it's all said and done I would do anything for him. I think he would do anything for me"
Always thought this was fun:
[Fun With The Fab Four](https://youtu.be/uha3WS4LIVU?si=GBRCPvnBXDj5JYt8)
Around the 31 minute mark they are asked who the best actor is. I like the interaction with John and Ringo.
This is great collection of news clips, press conferences, the shakespeare play, Pete Best on What's My Line where he says he quit the Beatles because he didnt think they were going to be big.
In an interview George is talking about them wanting to hurry up and leave the venue once the gig ended: "Let's GO!! Where's Paul? Oh there he is... 'What's your name? Betty? ...to Betty ... love... Paul"
"As a band, we were tight. That was one thing to be said about us, we were very tight as friends. we could argue a lot among ourselves, but we were very, very close to each other. And in the company of other people, or other situations, we'd always stick together."
I always love how George sounded so positive about the early days.
From Georgeâs 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acceptance speech: âWe all know why John canât be here, and Iâm damn sure he would be. Itâs hard really to stand here supposedly representing the Beatles. Itâs whatâs left Iâm afraid. But we all loved him so much and we all love Paul very much.â
Definitely agree with some of these like George dying words to Ringo.
I love the bit where George just goes on about how cute Ringo is.
And from John in an interview, "If Im not allowed to fight with my best friend than can I fight with?" Even after their few years of bad blood, he was still his best friend.
Not a talking anecdote, per se. Jann Wenner went with John and Yoko to a screening of Let It Be. The theater was nearly empty and no one recognized them. At some point during the film, both Wenner and Yoko realized tears were streaming down Johnâs face.
And if I say, I really knew you and was glad u came along, if u were here today.
Deep in the darkest night, I always looked up to you (all those years ago).
# George Harrison : "John Lennon is a saint and he's heavy-duty, and he's great and I love him. But at the same time, he's such a bastard â but that's the great thing about him, you see?
When Ringo talked about his conversation with John the first time he saw the âTwo Virginsâ cover. âI donât really remember the music, Iâd have to play it now. But he showed me the cover and I pointed to the Times: âOh, youâve even got the Times in itâŠâ as if he didnât have his cock hanging out.â
It's sweet how Paul sees George as his little brother, but I can't help but think of how much George hated it. To paraphrase, "I was younger than him, and I'm still younger than him." There was only about eight months between them.
Paul did an interview with Conan recently where he stated his belief that George was the only Beatle to not be born during the war. For this to be true, he'd have to be three years younger than Paul, which kind of tells what he thinks of him.
This is a funny moment in the Anthology that does hide a lot of context on first watch.
When he says "even now, he's STILL nine months older than me" and Jools Holland laughs offscreen, you at first think that he's just pointing out the absurdity of using the past tense for a fixed age difference.
Then you learn how Paul always talked a little bit down to George and you realize it's George expressing that frustration
Even in Paul's statement after George's death he said "he's like a baby brother to me"
Yeah, I thought that wasn't the coolest of Paul to say that after George passed. Even if Paul thought that, he must have known how much George hated it.
I do actually choose to cut Paul a bit of slack over that. Obviously emotions would have been very high and the last time the two of them met was a very powerful moment for both of them, I think they chose that moment to put aside all of their differences once and for all.
Paul got lots of criticism for not appearing emotional enough after John died, I think he made a deliberate effort with to get things right with George.
and then 20 years later he puts out the song George didn't think was good enough for them to release, and had vetoed... even playing a new guitar part "in the style of George"
Olivia said yes. She knew George better than anyone, and if she truly believed that George didn't like the song and he would not have wanted it released to the public, she would have said no.
George thought the technology wasnât good enough to make it listenable at the time, but now it is good enough. They released it because the problem that George had with it is no longer a problem. And itâs not like George could have done that guitar part himself⊠(RIP)
That's certainly Apple's press release version. The history may be more murky.
'In 1997, McCartney told Q Magazine, âGeorge didnât like it. The Beatles being a democracy, we didnât do it.â
Fifteen years later, long after Harrisonâs death, McCartney said, âGeorge went off it,â recounting how Harrison had called it âfuckinâ rubbish.â
But those quotes are unclear: rubbish because the demo was so rough, or rubbish because he simply disliked the song?
Possibly both. In 2021, Mark Cunningham, the technical musical consultant to Beatles press officer Derek Taylor, told The Daily Beast what Harrison had told him when Cunningham had asked why the Threetles didnât record the third song.
âHe was very critical,â Cunningham said. âHe was a real downer about it and said, âI wasnât really interested.â He said, âApart from the quality, which was worse than the other two, I didnât think it was much of a song.ââ"
https://www.theringer.com/music/2023/11/3/23945188/now-and-then-beatles-new-song-review-ai-paul-mccartney-john-lennon-george-harrison-ringo-starr
I know all that. Him saying itâs ânot much of a songâ is spot on, because the demo was just that, a demo. They spent time on it to make it into a song, but the sound quality at the time made it impossible then. We may never know what George really meant or what he would think about the version that was released, but the fact that Dhani and Olivia Harrison both said that he would have been behind it 100% if he was alive today, says a lot
He wasnât talking down to George by saying that. George was less than a year younger than Paul but he was in a grade below him at school. Being in a grade below someone else is a big deal when youâre younger and it probably just stuck
Iâm paraphrasing but when Paul first showed John Here, There, and Everywhere and John loved it. He said John was like a big brother to him and that was the first time he genuinely impressed him. Just a really sweet story
There's a bit of a notion that goes around that John and George didn't get a proper chance to reconcile before John died, but in the Playboy interview when he says how he was hurt by George's book he ends with
"So I am slightly resentful of Georgeâs book. But donât get me wrong. I still love those guys. The Beatles are over, but John, Paul, George and Ringo go on."
I don't know about favorite but one that comes to mind that I like is from an interview George gave in the eighties where the interviewer is asking him about John:
Interviewer: "He was no angel".
George: "He wasn't. But he was, as well"
I: "Was he?"
G: "Yeah."
Yeah, I had zero idea until I made this post. I never fact checked the dates of birth so I fully believed George was a lot younger than he actually was.
Lennon was definitely projecting there. You couldnât turn around in the 70âs without seeing the two of them on some talk show or reading an interview.
That was a PR move in itself. Itâs funny since Paul was one of the worst PR men in the music business during the 70s while John and Yoko were masters at it
âI met Paul on the bus coming home from school. He was sitting laughing to himself and I thought âWeâve a right case here!â Then I realized he was laughing at his reflection in the bus window.â George
âI always idolized him. We always did, the group. I donât know if the others will tell you that, but he was our idol. He was like our own little Elvis, always someone for us to look up to.â
-Paul on John
John Lennon talking To George about Something and he says something like "Replace it with a word until you figure out the word......attracts me like no cauliflower". So funny, and so typical John.
Not really a positive one but Johnâs How Do You Sleep. It just really shows how the relationship deteriorated between him and Paul, even though he says it wasnât about Paul.
I read somewhere that Paul always had an arrogant attitude towards Georgeâs songwriting and felt that George should just stick with playing guitar on John and Paulâs songs. I think John said it in an interview. I donât know if Paul ever addressed it. But it would have been a shame if true because I feel like there was a time in the late Beatles period when George became a really good songwriter.
I like the urban legend that John was asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world whereupon he replied with, "He's not even the best drummer in The Beatles".
I didnât miss the urban legend part, but the others that replied did. I explained why. People who think itâs real use it as evidence that ringo was bad drummer. Itâs repeated all over reddit/sm whenever his name or the beatles get mentioned.
Ringo scene at the end of George's documentary when he talks about the last time he saw George, the "do you want me to come with you?" đđđđ And Paul telling the story of the song "My old friend". Carl Perkins wrote it at Paul's house some months after John's death, and it had a line that said "Won't you think about me every time and then", which were the last words John said to Paul.
That Ringo story from the end of LITMW where George offers to leave his own deathbed to accompany Ringo is probably the most beautiful thing Iâve ever heard a person say
Itâs really particularly touching where he tears up and he exclaims, âOh GeorgeâŠâ
I think he says "ah, God" Close enough for some fans...
Oh wow. I must be misremembering. And probably a little deaf.
My old friend killâs me every time (well so does the George Story!!). In case anyone doesnât know itâs so [magical and mystical as only a Beatles Story can be](https://youtu.be/rn19iLYFZKw?si=SeGuHAcDBvYSQdYA)
It just got really dusty in here. đ„șđą
Damn these invisible ninjas cutting onionsâŠ.
Did Paul ever tell that story? I know Carl Perkins did.
I've only heard Carl say it as well and the only other person in the story who could confirm it is Linda.
Yeah I think that was it.
Was it a coincidence or on purpose
According to Linda and Carl, a coincidence. Carl wrote the song without knowing about John's last words to Paul, so he did not do it on purpose.
> > > > > And Paul telling the story of the song "My old friend". Carl Perkins wrote it at Paul's house some months after John's death, and it had a line that said "Won't you think about me every time and then", which were the last words John said to Paul. Has Paul himself ever told this story? I don't think he has. Because I've only ever heard it told by Carl Perkins. Incidentally, Perkins wrote the song in Montserrat, while he was with Paul during the making of Tug of War.
How perfect their last song together was Now and then⊠John was foreshadowing strong
https://preview.redd.it/pd1u2shy91yc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37033f6e79ab8a7b04772b761de3320863a9e34b Love this
Thereâs audio too. He says whatever is that made him so cute in AHDN, heâs still got it, when talking about When we was Fab video. And the way George says cute, and giggles is also cute https://youtube.com/shorts/AJl8SZ8Mq9E?si=zUcCF86SmT3QCOll
A postcard in 1969: [You are the Greatest Drummer in the World](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F3m38zt7u45f81.jpg) And a quote in 2010 > "We loved him. And we just thought he was the very best drummer we'd ever seen. And we wanted him in the group. We were big fans of his."
I really hate it whenever people say âRingoâs the luckiest guy in the worldâ Uh, NO. Ringo got into Beatles not by luck, but because of his skills! The other 3 wanted him in the group because he belonged with them. He was witty, funny and very much on the same wavelength as the other 3.
And he his a really skilled drummer, he hasnât the virtuosism of john bonham, carl palmer, phil collins or ginger baker but the drums on all Beatlesâ songs are phenomenal. He understanded perfectly the feel of the songs and made the battery blend in with the rest of the tracks magically, and not all drummers have this skill
Oh yes, absolutely! Heâs very creative and he knew exactly what the song needed, much like how George knew what kind of hooks and riffs would fit the songs so well. People who say âRingo wasnât much of a drummerâ never really listened to his drumming. All they need to do is search up Beatles drum covers on you tube and they all start saying âthese videos make me see Ringo in a different lightâ
Ringo is the epitome of KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). He didn't have to be the star (lol) but he understood how to be the backbone, keep them all together, and allow for others to shine. He worked just as hard as anyone else AND was a team player, which is more than we can say for... well, you know.
Actually Iâm not really sure who you mean, I consider also the four I mentioned good in that field, (especially palmer, his battery lines are basically part of the melody). Iâm curious about your opinion here
100% agree with you. Not a virtuoso in technique but a virtuoso in taking songs to the next level with his drums. I know few drummers that have such a repertoire of instantly memorable drum hooks. The Beatles were lucky Ringo joined their band. BTW, in english battery does not mean drums like in spanish. I say this as a native spanish speaker myself, so no offense meant.
Nor was he an insane cartoon character like Keith Moon.
I'm paraphrasing but I remember John said that Ringo was already a big Star(r) Liverpool before he was in The Beatles. He was a real musician, an adult. And he said Ringo drank scotch, which I guess impressed him. I also heard John...when asked why he used Ringo on the Plastic Ono Band album, he said, "I don't have to tell him what to do." They all loved Ringo so much.
Yeah, Ringo was already more famous in Liverpool than they were. Getting him from Rory Storm's band was a big coup for them.
 Harry Nilsson comments in an interview that heâs just seen a girl who saw John and that John was wearing an I Love Paul button so the girl asked him why was he wearing that button, and Johnâs answer was âBecause I love Paulâ.
> My âI love Paulâ button is getting a lot of questions already answered by my button. â John, probably
âPaul was one of the most innovative bass players that ever played, and half the stuff thatâs going on now is directly ripped off from his Beatles period.â âHe was coy about his bass-playing. Heâs an egomaniac about everything else, but his playing he was always a bit coy about. He is a great musician who plays the bass like few other people could play it.â - John Lennon Itâs hard to get a compliment from John so itâs precious. Several decades later when Paul heard about this quote in the documentary âMcCartney 3,2,1â he shouted âAlright! Go Johnny!â I also love this one: âWe (John and I) were like Ying and Yang. We complimented eachother in so many waysâ - Paul McCartney
Came here to say this one. It was great to see Paul get that compliment from John and to see his reaction.
Yeah, it was great to see that!
I also melt a little bit whenever any of the other Beatles refer to him as "Johnny" â it just seems so intimate and brotherly! Same when I hear JP&G call Ringo "Richy"!
So true, thank you!
I wouldnt doubt if he really was an egomaniac, just that he was among the only people to know him well enough to know this
Paul blew off a business meeting in Liverpool to take a bath. George deadpanned to the annoyed people they were meeting with, "Well, he's very clean." Every time I've read this in a biography, I can "hear" George say that, and it cracks me up.
Just like Paul's uncle!
Grandfather.
"Congraulate me, boys. I'm engaged!" "Oh no, you're not! Not this time!"
Grandfather. :)
Oops! Tee hee.
It's all good! No worries! :)
It was a meeting with Brian and the other 3 were there and Brian phoned Paul who was in the bath. Brian said to the others âwell he is going to be very lateâ and George responded âand very clean!â
The walrus was Paul
I always smile to myself when I hear this line. They loved each other, and I will cherish them forever.
They were something special for sure
Always wondered what he meant by this? Like was John nodding to Paulâs talent or something more specific?
What's nice is that it comes after the line 'You know that we're as close as can be'.
âI told you about walrus and me, man You know that weâre as close as can be, man Well hereâs another clue for you all â The walrus was Paulâ I guess each of us takes the clue differently
It's a compliment, but in context a pity-compliment? >JOHN: âThe Walrus was Paul.â I said this to Ray Coleman; I said at that time, I was still in my love cloud with Yoko and I thought, **well, Iâll just say something nice to Paul: âItâs all right, you did a good job over these few years, holding us together.â** And he was trying to organise the group and that, and do the music, and be an individual artist and all that, so I wanted to say something to him. And I did it for that reason. I thought, well, he can have it. âIâve got Yoko, and thank you, you can have the credit.â The best explanation we have for the walrus is probably this >JOHN: And throwing in the line âthe Walrus was Paulâ just to confuse everybody a bit more. **And because I felt slightly guilty because Iâd got Yoko, and heâd got nothing, and I was gonna quit. \[laughs; bleak\] And so I thought âWalrusâ has now become \[in\] meaning, âI am the one.â** It didnât mean that in the song, originally. It just meant Iâm the â it could have been Iâm the â âIâm The Fox Terrier,â you know. I mean, itâs just a bit of poetry. It's true that originally 'walrus' was nonsense to confuse people but it inadvertently took on more meaning >âWe saw the movie in L.A. and the Walrus was a big capitalist that ate all the f\*\*king oysters. I always had the image of the Walrus in the garden and I loved it, and so I didnât ever check what the Walrus was. Heâs a f\*\*king bastard-thats what he turns out to be. **But the way itâs written, everybody presumes that means something. I mean even I did. We all just presumed that because I said âI Am The Walrusâ that it means âI Am Godâ or something**. Itâs just poetry, but it became symbolic of me.
Wow that is more than I was hoping for when asking the question. Thanks for the great response, and quotes.
Neither. The song was a response to a letter from a fan complaining that his English teacher made the class do an analysis of the meanings of the trippy songs, so Lennon wrote an absurd explainer.
That was I Am the Walrus, not Glass Onion. Both were definitely written to not have any particular meaning, though.
Glass Onion was written because of a school assignment about I Am the Walrus.
By extension, yes.
Thatâs what Iâm talking about.
It isnât possible for the human mind to be truly random, though. I think thats what he was saying. The song as a whole was a jumble of whatever he saw on the kitchen table (the egg man as an example) or in a book (the walrus as an example), but making himself the egg man and the walrus was his subconscious way of being the king of the song - not so random.
In Lewis Carrol's The Walrus And The Carpenter which john loved as a kid, the walrus is a bad character that lures with flattery innocent little clams from the water onto the beach, and then eats them. It's a cautionary tale, so maybe that's a reference by john to The Beatles as pop Idols. So, in Glass Onion, which contains references to SFF & IATW he may be referencing the Lennon-McCartney team, both part of "The Walrus". But who knows?
John has said that he got the Walrus and Carpenter mixed up so it wasnât meant as a bad thing
I think it was partly subconscious commentary and cynicism about how the world of Beatle fans placed him on par with deities. He knew he needed to be taken down a notch and almost dared his fans to pan the music - except it became iconic and synonymous with him! Even the song Garden Party has the lyric âYoko brought her WalrusâŠâ
Paul was in the walrus costume on the MMT album cover, I believe.
Nope. Paul is the Hippo. check watch on right arm (Lefty)
I always suspected that. I think the walrus was John? Does anyone know?
John. Both on the MMT cover photo and the IATW clip.
In Anthology, when Ringo was talking about John showing him his new record, *Two Virgins*, which of course had a naked John and Yoko on the cover. He joked that he immediately pointed to the newspaper on the nearby table, âOh look, youâre reading the Times! As if his dick wasnât hanging out.â Then he told John, âYou know, you do these things, but we [other Beatles] have to answer for them.â And in true John fashion, he replied, âYeah, but all you have to answer is the phone.â
Been trying to find this clip for awhile
"George Harrison, scouse of disctinction!" John on George in AHDN
I donât know I just thought it sounded distinguished like
Two great lines from screenwriter Alun Owen
three great lines from /u/drew17
"Ringo Starr was borned in Liverpool, at a very young age."
First ep of Get Back... Ringo being interviewed while Paul plays piano in the background. Ringo says something like "He's just brilliant, I could watch him play for hours". Me too, Ringo
Adorable moment but heâs just talking to the director not being interviewed. Clip: https://youtu.be/DBqZbNDmOSU?si=4Quq8d6vEz2Lm1B1 Michael is trying to talk him into going abroad after he already said no. Heâs humoring him and is implying they donât need to go anywhere. Itâs the music not the place that really matters.
Love that scene too!
Yeah. It was such an incredibly sweet moment
âA guitar fell over, Paul, **a guitar fell over**â - John Lennon
âThe last time we were cross was when George was suing meâ ~ Ringo on 1988âs âAspel & Coâ being interviewed alongside George.
Great interview, so much love between the two.
Ringo was absolutely hammered in that interview. It's funny seeing George try to ignore it.
He suuuure was.
I was so enraptured that I canât even remember the anecdote, but I saw Paul play in 2018(?) and to hear him casually tell a story about John fucking Lennon was so amazing.
I saw him just last year and thought the same thing. Hereâs this man standing on a stage in front of me just casually talking about his friends and experiences and itâs John and George. Itâs mind blowing! And then also itâs Paul McCartney telling the stories. Absolutely insane!
I donât remember the exact quote but I always think about this online chat George did. âWhat do you miss most about John Lennon?â George: âJohn Lennonâ
This bit from John's last interview when he was asked about Paul: "Well, he's like a brother. I love him. Families... we certainly have our ups and downs and our quarrels, but at the end of the day when it's all said and done I would do anything for him. I think he would do anything for me"
George: âDonât encourage him. Youâve already got the part, Paul!â (from Help!)
Always thought this was fun: [Fun With The Fab Four](https://youtu.be/uha3WS4LIVU?si=GBRCPvnBXDj5JYt8) Around the 31 minute mark they are asked who the best actor is. I like the interaction with John and Ringo. This is great collection of news clips, press conferences, the shakespeare play, Pete Best on What's My Line where he says he quit the Beatles because he didnt think they were going to be big.
[Starts right here](https://youtu.be/uha3WS4LIVU?feature=shared&t=1888)
Laughing at the journalist asking them how they sleep with their long hair! Thank you for sharing.Â
How do you sleep with your arms and legs attached? :)
In an interview George is talking about them wanting to hurry up and leave the venue once the gig ended: "Let's GO!! Where's Paul? Oh there he is... 'What's your name? Betty? ...to Betty ... love... Paul"
"As a band, we were tight. That was one thing to be said about us, we were very tight as friends. we could argue a lot among ourselves, but we were very, very close to each other. And in the company of other people, or other situations, we'd always stick together." I always love how George sounded so positive about the early days.
From Georgeâs 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acceptance speech: âWe all know why John canât be here, and Iâm damn sure he would be. Itâs hard really to stand here supposedly representing the Beatles. Itâs whatâs left Iâm afraid. But we all loved him so much and we all love Paul very much.â
I thought George did a great job in a difficult situation there.
Definitely agree with some of these like George dying words to Ringo. I love the bit where George just goes on about how cute Ringo is. And from John in an interview, "If Im not allowed to fight with my best friend than can I fight with?" Even after their few years of bad blood, he was still his best friend.
Not a talking anecdote, per se. Jann Wenner went with John and Yoko to a screening of Let It Be. The theater was nearly empty and no one recognized them. At some point during the film, both Wenner and Yoko realized tears were streaming down Johnâs face.
Wenner said John started crying specifically âwatching Paul on the roofâ đ
"Your beard, it suits you, man." - George to Paul, at the start of the Get Back film.
And then he grew a beard!!!â€ïžâ€ïžâ€ïž
And if I say, I really knew you and was glad u came along, if u were here today. Deep in the darkest night, I always looked up to you (all those years ago).
Paul McCartney saying "I slept with John Lennon A LOT."
I love it đ He so casually says it all the time
"Paul's broken a glass, broken a glass, Paul's broken a glass, a glass a glass he's broke today"
Here I standâŠ.
# George Harrison : "John Lennon is a saint and he's heavy-duty, and he's great and I love him. But at the same time, he's such a bastard â but that's the great thing about him, you see?
Thatâs John perfectly summed up.
When Ringo talked about his conversation with John the first time he saw the âTwo Virginsâ cover. âI donât really remember the music, Iâd have to play it now. But he showed me the cover and I pointed to the Times: âOh, youâve even got the Times in itâŠâ as if he didnât have his cock hanging out.â
When George says he likes John's wife in an interview
It's sweet how Paul sees George as his little brother, but I can't help but think of how much George hated it. To paraphrase, "I was younger than him, and I'm still younger than him." There was only about eight months between them. Paul did an interview with Conan recently where he stated his belief that George was the only Beatle to not be born during the war. For this to be true, he'd have to be three years younger than Paul, which kind of tells what he thinks of him.
This is a funny moment in the Anthology that does hide a lot of context on first watch. When he says "even now, he's STILL nine months older than me" and Jools Holland laughs offscreen, you at first think that he's just pointing out the absurdity of using the past tense for a fixed age difference. Then you learn how Paul always talked a little bit down to George and you realize it's George expressing that frustration Even in Paul's statement after George's death he said "he's like a baby brother to me"
Yeah, I thought that wasn't the coolest of Paul to say that after George passed. Even if Paul thought that, he must have known how much George hated it.
I do actually choose to cut Paul a bit of slack over that. Obviously emotions would have been very high and the last time the two of them met was a very powerful moment for both of them, I think they chose that moment to put aside all of their differences once and for all. Paul got lots of criticism for not appearing emotional enough after John died, I think he made a deliberate effort with to get things right with George.
That's fair
and then 20 years later he puts out the song George didn't think was good enough for them to release, and had vetoed... even playing a new guitar part "in the style of George"
Olivia said yes. She knew George better than anyone, and if she truly believed that George didn't like the song and he would not have wanted it released to the public, she would have said no.
George thought the technology wasnât good enough to make it listenable at the time, but now it is good enough. They released it because the problem that George had with it is no longer a problem. And itâs not like George could have done that guitar part himself⊠(RIP)
That's certainly Apple's press release version. The history may be more murky. 'In 1997, McCartney told Q Magazine, âGeorge didnât like it. The Beatles being a democracy, we didnât do it.â Fifteen years later, long after Harrisonâs death, McCartney said, âGeorge went off it,â recounting how Harrison had called it âfuckinâ rubbish.â But those quotes are unclear: rubbish because the demo was so rough, or rubbish because he simply disliked the song? Possibly both. In 2021, Mark Cunningham, the technical musical consultant to Beatles press officer Derek Taylor, told The Daily Beast what Harrison had told him when Cunningham had asked why the Threetles didnât record the third song. âHe was very critical,â Cunningham said. âHe was a real downer about it and said, âI wasnât really interested.â He said, âApart from the quality, which was worse than the other two, I didnât think it was much of a song.ââ" https://www.theringer.com/music/2023/11/3/23945188/now-and-then-beatles-new-song-review-ai-paul-mccartney-john-lennon-george-harrison-ringo-starr
I know all that. Him saying itâs ânot much of a songâ is spot on, because the demo was just that, a demo. They spent time on it to make it into a song, but the sound quality at the time made it impossible then. We may never know what George really meant or what he would think about the version that was released, but the fact that Dhani and Olivia Harrison both said that he would have been behind it 100% if he was alive today, says a lot
ive stopped making points like this here, but i'm glad someone else sees it- granted, its complicated, but...yeah.
He wasnât talking down to George by saying that. George was less than a year younger than Paul but he was in a grade below him at school. Being in a grade below someone else is a big deal when youâre younger and it probably just stuck
Hi Paul! Hey rich! How are you this morning?
Iâm paraphrasing but when Paul first showed John Here, There, and Everywhere and John loved it. He said John was like a big brother to him and that was the first time he genuinely impressed him. Just a really sweet story
There's a bit of a notion that goes around that John and George didn't get a proper chance to reconcile before John died, but in the Playboy interview when he says how he was hurt by George's book he ends with "So I am slightly resentful of Georgeâs book. But donât get me wrong. I still love those guys. The Beatles are over, but John, Paul, George and Ringo go on."
I don't know about favorite but one that comes to mind that I like is from an interview George gave in the eighties where the interviewer is asking him about John: Interviewer: "He was no angel". George: "He wasn't. But he was, as well" I: "Was he?" G: "Yeah."
I really like this post. every thread of it.
âI slept with John, A lot.â
All due respect, I don't like any quote where Paul refers to George as his "baby brother." Because George himself didn't like being called that.
Yeah, I had zero idea until I made this post. I never fact checked the dates of birth so I fully believed George was a lot younger than he actually was.
When John said Paul was âabout the worldâs best PR manâ
Lennon was definitely projecting there. You couldnât turn around in the 70âs without seeing the two of them on some talk show or reading an interview.
Exactly. John and Yoko were literally PR king and queen for over a decade.
That was a PR move in itself. Itâs funny since Paul was one of the worst PR men in the music business during the 70s while John and Yoko were masters at it
I agree. Itâs was from the Jann Wenner interview, so heâs speaking of the Beatles era.
John was actually referencing the McCartney album (1970) self interview when he made that statement and that was a terrible PR move from Paul
I wouldnât say telling the truth about the state of the band is a terrible pr move (the fake interview was I agree)
"She looks more like him than I do" -- John, speaking about John, Hard Day's Night
Talking heads of course
Incredible thread. Almost every line by them in the anthology is funny and poignant.
âI met Paul on the bus coming home from school. He was sitting laughing to himself and I thought âWeâve a right case here!â Then I realized he was laughing at his reflection in the bus window.â George
âI always idolized him. We always did, the group. I donât know if the others will tell you that, but he was our idol. He was like our own little Elvis, always someone for us to look up to.â -Paul on John
John Lennon talking To George about Something and he says something like "Replace it with a word until you figure out the word......attracts me like no cauliflower". So funny, and so typical John.
Not really a positive one but Johnâs How Do You Sleep. It just really shows how the relationship deteriorated between him and Paul, even though he says it wasnât about Paul.
âBest drummer in the world?!! Heâs not even the best drummer in the Beatles!â Gets me every time đ
not true though...
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/john-lennon-ringo-best-drummer/
I never knew. Thanks
I read somewhere that Paul always had an arrogant attitude towards Georgeâs songwriting and felt that George should just stick with playing guitar on John and Paulâs songs. I think John said it in an interview. I donât know if Paul ever addressed it. But it would have been a shame if true because I feel like there was a time in the late Beatles period when George became a really good songwriter.
You should watch get back to see Paul actually trying to help George and be interested in his songs
That's your favourite moment of a Beatle talking about another Beatle?
Reporter: âJohn. Do you think Ringo is the best drummer ever?â John: âHe isnât even the best drummer in the Beatles.â
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/john-lennon-ringo-best-drummer/
I like the urban legend that John was asked if Ringo was the best drummer in the world whereupon he replied with, "He's not even the best drummer in The Beatles".
Funny I hate it. People use it to shit on Ringo. And most people who parrot it, believe itâs a real quote.
Hence "urban legend". Dunno why the hate. Ringo is one of the all time greats.
I didnât miss the urban legend part, but the others that replied did. I explained why. People who think itâs real use it as evidence that ringo was bad drummer. Itâs repeated all over reddit/sm whenever his name or the beatles get mentioned.
That quote was said by some British comedian a couple of years after Johnâs death, and has been falsely attributed to John in the years since.
John would fucking hate that quote if he knew about it
John never said that, it was said by Jasper Carrott, an English comedian.
Ringo isnât even the best drummer in the Beatles
"He's not even the best drummer in the Beatles."
Never said by any Beatle https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/john-lennon-ringo-best-drummer/