I'll Cry Instead | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

Zig said
I find it interesting that, for this song, John wrote the lyrics;

I’ve got every reason on earth to be mad
Cos I’ve just lost the only girl I had
And if I could get my way
I’d get myself locked up today
But I can’t so I cry instead

Yet, he laughed derisively at Paul for writing the lyrics in ‘A World Without Love’;

Please lock me away
And don’t allow the day
Here inside where I hide
With my loneliness

Was John creating a double standard here, or did Paul contribute the lines to ‘I’ll Cry Instead ‘? Thoughts?  

An interesting observation, but I think it’s a bit of a stretch. It’s important for us to remember that those of us here are much more well-versed on the Beatles’ lyrics, discography, history, etc. than the Beatles were. My guess is when John wrote “I’ll Cry Instead ” he came up with lyrics that expressed how he felt in the moment, and more importantly, that fit the rhythm and feel of the chord structure and melody he was playing with. So often, the Beatles – like most songwriters – come up with lyrics that are intended to be temporary, subject to alteration later by a change of heart, or fresh inspiration, or after consultation with their creative partners. So I don’t think Lennon put that much thought into these lyrics that would harken back to something he may have said (or later claimed to recollect saying) about a song McCartney had written earlier. John Lennon likely wrote thousands of songs in his life, the vast majority of which never saw the light of day. I’m sure others here could provide more details, but my guess is Lennon may have written this song while sitting on a hotel bed somewhere, under pressure to compose more songs for the next album. I think it’s telling that in interviews late in his life, Lennon confesses to having little memory of the composition, and in some cases, the lyrics, and even the titles to the songs he wrote as a Beatle, while McCartney, especially recently, seems to have a much better grasp of the these things. I believe a contributing factor to this is that McCartney has spent considerable time in the last 30-40 years researching and producing Beatles history, particularly the Anthology documentary. Anyway, in the end I believe we tend to read things into the Beatles’ creative process that may not have been there. We want to ascribe great import to these songs that have meant so much to us for so many years. But the reality is that many of these songs were whims, hammered out in short time, or under the influence of various substances, and do not represent to their creators the emotional impact that they do to us. I’d be willing to bet the rent that I’ve listened to the Beatles’ recording of “I’ll Cry Instead ” exponentially more times than John Lennon ever did.