Julian Lennon says he’s been “driven up the wall” by The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’
Julian Lennon has once again discussed his relationship with The Beatles‘ ‘Hey Jude’, saying that he’s been “driven up the wall” by the classic song.
During a new interview with Esquire, the musician and son of late Beatles icon John Lennon remembered how Paul McCartney wrote the 1968 non-album single about John’s break-up with Julian’s mother, Cynthia.
The couple had separated and John began a relationship with Yoko Ono, whom he married in 1969.
“It was ‘Hey Jules’ at first, but that didn’t quite sit well rhythmically,” Julian explained. ‘Hey Jude’ was a better interpretation.”
He continued: “Paul wrote it to console Mum, and also to console me. It’s a beautiful sentiment, no question about that, and I’m very thankful – but I’ve also been driven up the wall by it.
“I love the fact that he wrote a song about me and for Mum, but depending on what side of the bed one woke up on, and where you’re hearing it, it can be a good or a slightly frustrating thing. But in my heart of hearts, there’s not a bad word I could say about it.”
Julian added: “The lyrics are pertinent even now. They’re about making life better and taking the weight off my shoulders, especially on the path I followed as a musician – following Dad. It’s like, what are you, crazy? Why would you do that?
“I’ve chosen the hardest road known to mankind to follow, but that’s why after 30 years of doing music I felt it was time to follow some other dreams I had. Photography and a number of other things.”
He went on: “The music will always be in my blood and that’s partly due to Dad and it’s partly due to the Beatles, especially after having watched Get Back.”
Later, Julian told the outlet: “The weird thing with the audience is they think it’s cute sometimes, quoting ‘Hey Jude’ to me, but I don’t think they realise there’s a lot of pain behind what happened. Every time you quote that, it reminds me of my mother being separated from my father, the love that was lost, the fact that I rarely saw my father again ever.
“I saw him maybe a couple of times before he died. A lot of people don’t quite get how intense, how emotional, and how personal that is. It’s not just a ‘pick yourself up and dust yourself off and be happy’. There’s deep emotional pain. I can celebrate it – but also it’s something that’ll always be dark to me.”
He concluded: “It’s not a position where forgiveness comes into it. It was just a time and a place in my life where things happened. Who knows if I’ve dealt with it? Maybe I haven’t. Do I need to do therapy? No, I think life is therapy enough. So, it’s a weird one.”
Earlier this year, Julian admitted that he had a “love-hate” relationship with ‘Hey Jude’. He said the track was a “stark and dark reminder” of what had happened between his parents.
While reflecting on the song last year, Julian described his late mother – who died in 2015 – as “the be-all and end-all of life for me, and [‘Hey Jude’] was about looking after her, still is about making her proud”.
In other news, a deeply researched examination of John Lennon’s murder recently arrived in the form of a new Apple TV+ documentary called John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial.
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Tom Skinner
NME
