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9.15am
23 January 2022
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Today’s Paul song: Here Today
Paul directly calls this “A love song to John” in The Lyrics, where he also says “the night we cried” is about the night in Key West where “[we] cried about how much we loved each other”.
The lyric “we were playing hard to get” is an interesting one. It’s a phrase that’s rarely used outside of some kind of sexual context. Not never, but pretty rare. And he doesn’t expand on what it means in the song. I’ve never heard him talk about that, or heard anything that sounds like “playing hard to get” in any retellings of The Day John Met Paul.
The thing that prompted me to write this, though, was discovering that there’s a song on Pet Sounds called Here Today . Now Paul has often mentioned his love for the album:
I figure no one is educated musically ’til they’ve heard that album
and
I’ve often played Pet Sounds and cried. It’s that kind of an album for me.
https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/interview/paul-mccartney-spoke-about-pet-sounds/
So he knows there’s a song on there called Here Today , a song about a painful love affair from the past. It starts suddenly (as Paul’s Here Today does). Here are the lyrics:
It starts with just a little glance now
Right away you’re thinkin’ ’bout romance now
You know you ought to take it slower
But you just can’t wait to get to know herA brand new love affair is such a beautiful thing
But if you’re not careful think about the pain it can bringIt makes you feel so bad
It makes your heart feel sad
It makes your days go wrong
It makes your nights so longYou’ve got to keep in mind love is here today
And it’s gone tomorrow
It’s here and gone so fastRight now you think that she’s perfection
This time is really an exception
Well you know I hate to be a downer
But I’m the guy she left before you found herWell I’m not saying you won’t have a good love with her
But I keep on remembering things like they wereShe made me feel so bad
She made my heart feel sad
She made my days go wrong
And made my nights so longYou’ve got to keep in mind love is here today
And it’s gone tomorrow
It’s here and gone so fastOk, here’s we go
Keep in mind love is here today
And it’s gone tomorrow
It’s here and gone so fastLove is here today
And it’s gone tomorrow
It’s here and gone so fastLove is here today
And it’s gone tomorrow
It’s here and gone so fast
The following people thank meaigs for this post:
sigh butterflyMy hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
9.54am
12 May 2015
Offline meaigs said
Another interesting clip:https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx0…..j7HtDbjECp
meaigs said
Today’s Paul song is This OneThis song has made me cry. It evokes a relationship that is/was very close, but with very poor direct communication.
If I Never Did It, I Was Only Waiting
For A Better Moment That Didn’t Come.
There Never Could Be A Better Moment
Than This One, This One.
The Swan Is Gliding Above The Ocean,
A God Is Riding Upon His Back,
How Calm The Water And Bright The Rainbow
Fade This One To Black.
Maybe the swan is a metaphor for the moment, and the God is the powerful potential that the moment has? And then the moment fades to black, because it’s gone.
In the first two verses the protagonist imagines moments of intimacy where he could have made his feelings explicit, implying that the intimacy existed, but he never verbalised it. The third verses reverses the question, did the other person ever make their feelings explicit? But then switches back to wondering if the singer opened up enough to make it possible.
The “middle 8” (or whatever the correct term is) is the bit that always gets me
What Opportunities Did We Allow To Flow By
Feeling Like Like The Timing Wasn’t Quite Right?
What Kind Of Magic Might Have Worked If We Had Stayed Calm,
Couldn’t I Have Given You A Better Life?
I had already wondered if this was about John, and then I watched the video, which is arguably set in the Ashram, where something happened between them. Maybe it’s something that could have gone very differently if they’d had the emotional maturity and self-knowledge to have a really good conversation about it, maybe then Paul could have given John a better life.
I’ve often wondered about the regretful lyrics to this song….. And i’m not entirely certain its about John.
The Swan is a symbol used in indian culture to depict wisdom – Paul often described george as “wise”. Maybe it was his way of trying to reach out to George, the songs words note that you have to reach out to people while they are still alive, and not leave it too late.
That, and the videos blatant references to rishikesh and india make me think it might have been an olive branch to george…..
10.02am
23 January 2022
Offline Ooh, interesting.
I always think Souvenir on Flaming Pie is directed at George.
My hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
10.57am
23 January 2022
Offline There’s a sense of resignation in This One that implies that the opportunity is gone. I think Paul is saying “I should have” rather than “I must now”. “Learn from my mistakes and take the opportunity while it’s there” kind of thing. Especially with the line “fade this one to black”. So while I think you make an interesting point, I’m still inclined to think it’s about John.
My hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
6.19pm
12 May 2015
Offline PAUL McCARTNEY – When you get those moments sort of late at night, or when you’re feeling sort of good, or I don’t know.. You think oh.. you know.. you think it’d be great… I hope I tell her I love her enough, and we do all that.. And then you kind of come the morning you’ve got to get off to the office, “Ok, goodbye.. MMM love you.” You know life’s like that. And there’s never enough time to.. if you’re like your parents for instance to tell them just what you meant to me.
You always think, well I’m saving it up, I’ll tell them one day. And what happens with a lot of people with John for instance, getting back to that subject… He died…. Um.. I was lucky, for the last few months he was alive, we managed to get our relationship back on we were talking, we were having really nice conversations, real nice and friendly…
George actually.. um.. didn’t – I don’t think, get his relationship right.. I think they were arguing right up till the end, which I think is a great source of sadness to him.. And I’m sure in the feeling of this song, that George was always planning to tell John he loved him, but time ran out. So that’s what the song is about. There could never be a better moment than this one. Now. Take this moment to say, I love you..
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meaigs5.03pm
23 January 2022
Offline I’ve had However Absurd on a loop most of this afternoon.
https://www.the-paulmccartney-…..er-absurd/ includes the following quote from Paul
It did suggest the epic finale – which is why it’s at the end of the album! For me, it was another thing you start off and think ‘Ooh no, that’s too Beatley, so I won’t do it’. So I resisted it for a while, but I kept coming back to ‘Why? Tell me one good reason why you’re resisting this Beatles influence?’ Cos if anyone’s got a right to do it, there’s three guys alive who’ve got the right to do it. I’ve got past the point of comparisons with The Beatles, or being accused of being a ‘Beatle Stylist’, but I mean, I was involved in all that stuff very heavily, and realising it was a good system then, why ignore it now?
There’s a sort of ‘Walrus’ intro to this track, but of course any time you play that style on piano it evokes that. It’s a style I know and love. The lyrics on this song are a bit bizarre, but then again they make a kind of sense, a strange kind of sense. But then I find that things in life don’t always make sense, they’re not always conveniently wrapped up with a little sticker that says ‘This is very sensible!’ Sometimes they are completely absurd, which is what the song is about. In the middle section it explains itself a bit, less surrealist: ‘Something special between us… Words wouldn’t get my feelings through… However absurd it may seem.’ That’s taking off into ‘The Prophet’ by Kahlil Gibran – there’s a line of his that always used to attract me and John, which was ‘Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it just to reach you’. So it’s that kind of meaning to ‘However Absurd’.
Paul McCartney , in Sound On Sound interview, October 1986
Which I would summarise as follows:
- this is a Beatles-y song
- specifically a John style song
- the central section is direct, rather than surrealist. I’ll quote it, skipping over the line “When we made love the game was over.”
- anyway, back to John
I sometimes wonder if “So I keep talking to you… However absurd” was actually the seed for the whole song. Paul has said a few times that he still talks to John.
side note: there’s something very beautiful about the song maps Paul drew for this album
My hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
5.38am
23 January 2022
Offline 
Alright, it’s past time for a Linda appreciation post on this thread.
I don’t personally subscribe to the idea of a One True Love, but Paul and Linda’s marriage comes pretty close, especially for celebrities. Whatever Paul and John’s relationship was like, Paul and Linda’s was undeniably healthier. They never kidded themselves or the public that their marriage was perfect, but they clearly liked and loved each other the whole way through.
I think Paul was probably generally honest with Linda — I firmly believe that pretty radical honesty is the key to a healthy marriage — and I think over time he told her everything he was able to express about his relationship with John. There’s an interview somewhere (I can’t find it right now) where Paul had walked out of the room and the interviewer asks Linda about his relationship with John. She says “if I had known then what I know now”, and it really sounds like she feels should could have helped them reconcile if she had understood better at the time what she was walking into. (edited to add: I found the interview here https://www.beatlesbible.com/f…..7/#p141887)
As much as I see references to John in Paul’s lyrics, there are *so many* references to Linda. One of my favourites is After The Ball/Million Miles from Back To The Egg . I think this is one song where he manages to really express how much it meant that she was there for him. Heaven On A Sunday is another. There’s no doubt John and the Beatles were heavily on his mind during the making of Flaming Pie , and I can imagine him wanting to reassure Linda that (as important as all that was) her love would be the one he’d choose.
What strength of character she must have had. She was no stranger to famous people and their weird lives before she met Paul, but she had no plans to make a music career for herself. She put up with awful (sometimes downright cruel) press, but she stuck with him, not just in their marriage but in his career. That’s what he needed, and she provided it.
I love this take on their relationship:
https://www.heydullblog.com/pa…..keyboards/
I’m really grateful to Linda for the influence she had on Paul, though I really wish she had been more willing to shout from the rooftops about her own incredible art.
My hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
11.55am
23 January 2022
Offline Dig A Pony (1969)
Everything has got to be just like you want it to
Paul had a reputation for perfectionism
Yes you can imitate everyone you know
Paul is (or at least was) an excellent mimic. (This is pointed out in the Understanding Lennon/McCartney series, where they have this song in the background while Paul is doing impressions of people).
How did I miss
I pick a moon dog
until today? (Johnny and the Moondogs was one of their pre-Beatles names)
My hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
5.42pm
23 January 2022
Offline I’m sure this photo came up on this forum somewhere recently, but I can’t find it in this thread. I’m still not 100% convinced it’s real, but having read the thread linked below I’m now doubting my “obvious fake” assessment. What do you think?
The following people thank meaigs for this post:
Rube, sigh butterflyMy hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
4.41pm
23 January 2022
Offline (As I said before, if this is getting annoying, please stop me. Though you will have it on your conscience that you forced me to create a tumblr account as an outlet for this nonsense 
)
Today’s Paul song is You Tell Me
I’ve always been struck by the appearance of the “bright red cardinal” at the beginning of this song. It’s an American bird (as is the hummingbird mentioned later), which he definitely knows. Paul apparently used to spend hours birdwatching as a child, and he often mentions birds in his songs. From a quick Google he’s still “a twitcher”. So he’s evoking the US as the place where “that summer of a dozen words” happened.
I’ve spent the last couple of days listening the the podcast series Pizza and Fairytales by Another Kind Of Mind, and they present some pretty convincing evidence that Paul hung out with John *a lot* during the summer of 1974.
So I went back and listened to You Tell Me and I’m now 100% convinced that’s what this song is about. This song definitively puts the lie to the idea that Paul can’t convey emotion in his songs. It’s an unusually “horizontal” tune for him, that conveys such a depth of longing and confusion. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Paul is genuinely unsure when it happened, and questions how accurate his memories are of it. It’s possible that I’m projecting my own interpretation onto the delivery of “you tell me” but it feels so terribly resigned (as if the person being addressed could never answer).
Anyway, that podcast made me cry, but I highly recommend it.
The following people thank meaigs for this post:
Ahhh Girl, Rube, Pennys PoppiesMy hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
12.07pm
23 January 2022
Offline Okay so this one may be one of my most far-out theories, but I have thoughts about
Two Magpies
It’s based on the traditional superstitious rhyme “one for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told” (supposedly the number of magpies you see indicates your fortune).
I see a connection between the secret (present in the full rhyme, not mentioned in the song) and lying (mentioned many times), and facing down fear (also repeated). So I think the heart of this song is about a secret Paul fears to reveal. The phrase “lie in truth” is so apt for Paul, I think one of his tactics in interviews is to tell (most of) the truth in a way that obfuscates and allows people to hear the lie. It’s also got that ambiguity that I appreciate in his lyrics — is it “lie down” or “tell an untruth”, or both?
So my theory is that the secret is Paul’s bisexuality. “Saw” being a term for “had a relationship with” as in “are they still seeing each other?”
I saw two magpies
There was a girl and a boy
One for sorrow
Two for joy
(My translation:) I have had two great loves, one woman, one man. One relationship brought me a lot of sorrow, but they both brought me joy.
Obviously there’s a lot more room for celebrities to be open about their sexuality than there was in the past, but I also think there’s much better understanding of homosexuality than bisexuality (especially for bisexuals who have had long-term stable hetero marriages). Paul would *definitely* be accused of lying for the sake of attention if he was to publicly claim bisexuality now, especially after all his public denials. Even if he weren’t fearing for his life (which honestly, would be reasonable), he likes to have general acclaim, and such an announcement would definitely lose him some demographics.
Anyway, if I’m right, and it’s something he’d like to be truthful about, I hope he gets the courage, and that it goes well for him.
My hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
10.07am
11 June 2015
Offline meaigs said
I’m sure this photo came up on this forum somewhere recently, but I can’t find it in this thread. I’m still not 100% convinced it’s real, but having read the thread linked below I’m now doubting my “obvious fake” assessment. What do you think?
Hey meaigs, this is interesting research. I made a note to vote for you in the annual forum awards poll. (Not sure which category yet) 
The following people thank sigh butterfly for this post:
Rube, Richard, meaigsYou and I have memories
Longer than the road that stretches out ahead
6.08pm
14 June 2022
Offline I’m not really into the Mclennon thing but I find their bond to each other really fascinating. 
I love to read your analysis about the lyrics @meaigs , it’s very interesting ! And I admit that there are a lot of “coincidences” in some of them.
I discovered, weeks ago, the song Beware my love (a wonderful song
) and I thought, if you inverse pronouns, we can think, he is talking about John and Yoko :
I must be wrong
But I don’t believe SHE is the one
But you insist
I must be wrong
Paul sings it with a lot of energy, almost breaking his voice in the “no no no” part at the beginning. As if it mattered to him.
The following people thank Pennys Poppies for this post:
meaigs, Rube7.31pm
23 January 2022
Offline I love Beware My Love. I was wondering recently if it might be about Allen Klein. Especially the line “I have to leave”. You’re right though, he sings it with such emotion.
I’ve also been thinking about this song:
Written by George Michael as an homage for Paul. I think it’s a pretty good imitation of his style (the link is to a version where they sing it together). I do wonder if George was also speaking to Paul. I can imagine a world where Paul opened up to George about his relationship with John.
Lyrics:
PM) Let me tell you a secret
Put it in your heart and then keep it
Something that I want you to know
(GM) Do something for me
Listen to my simple story
And maybe we’ll have something to show
(PM) You tell me you’re cold on the inside
How can the outside world
Be a place that your heart can embrace
(GM) Be good to yourself
Because nobody else
Has the power to make you happy
(PM/GM- Chorus)
How can I help you
Please let me try to
I can heal the pain
That you’re feeling inside
Whenever you want me
You know that I will be
Waiting for the day
That you say You’ll Be Mine
(PM) He must have really hurt you
To make you say the things that you do
He must have really hurt you
(GM)To make those pretty eyes look so so blue
(PM) He must have known
That he could
That you’d never leave him
(GM) Now you can’t see my love is good
And that I’m not him
(PM/GM- Chorus)
How can I help you
Please let me try to
I can heal the pain
Won’t you let me inside
Whenever you want me
You know that I will be
Waiting for the day
That you say You’ll Be Mine
(PM) Won’t you let me in
Let this love begin
Won’t you show me your heart now
I’ll be good to you
I can make this thing true
Show me that heart right now
(GM) Who needs a lover
That can’t be a friend
Something tells me I’m the one you’ve been looking for
If you ever should see him again
Won’t you tell him you’ve found someone who gives you more
(GM) Someone who will protect you
Love and respect you
All those things
That he never could bring to you
Like I do
Or rather I would
Won’t you show me your heart
Like you should
(PM/GM- Chorus)
How can I help you
Please let me try to
I can heal the pain
That you’re feeling inside
Whenever you want me
You know that I will be
Waiting for the day
That you say You’ll Be Mine
(PM) Won’t you let me in
Let this love begin
Won’t you show me your heart now
I’ll be good to you
I can make this thing true
And get to your heart somehow
Ahhhhh….
The following people thank meaigs for this post:
Pennys Poppies, RubeMy hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
7.54pm
14 June 2022
Offline With Allein Klein, It works very well too !
I didn’t know that song, the lyrics are really interesting !
The following people thank Pennys Poppies for this post:
meaigs, Rube12.06pm
23 January 2022
Offline Happy 65th anniversary of the day John and Paul met*. I couldn’t find an appropriate thread to commemorate it, so I thought I’d just go with my favourite thread 
* there are some hints, including in Tune In, that they might have actually met before, but this is the “official” day
The following people thank meaigs for this post:
sigh butterfly, Ahhh Girl, Pennys Poppies, meanmistermustard, RubeMy hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
5.23pm
14 June 2022
Offline In the new wonderful video for I’m Only Sleeping , there is a small but adorable detail that was noticed by someone in the comments on Youtube.
John is awakened by Paul who is the only one not dressed the same as George and Ringo (which are wearing a black jacket ) He is wearing a red jacket with golden dots and at the end of the video, we see a person from behind in front of the artist who is wearing the same clothes and he removes his hand like in the animation. It’s probably Paul (he has a watch on his right wrist, too )
6.43pm
Reviewers
17 December 2012
Offline
Myself, @Pennys Poppies, because of the hair, I see that as Cynthia trying to wake John, not Paul.
If that is meant to be 1966 Paul, very weird hair to give him.
"I only said we were bigger than Rod... and now there's all this!" Ron Nasty
To @ Ron Nasty it's @ mja6758
The Beatles Bible 2020 non-Canon Poll Part One: 1958-1963 and Part Two: 1964-August 1966
9.23pm
23 January 2022
Offline I was confused by the white hair too, but i eventually concluded that it’s not really meant to be hair. The collar of Paul’s shirt as he comes through the doorway matches the sleeve, and if you slow it down Paul touches John’s arm before the white “hair” obscures him. And as @Pennys Poppies points out, the shirt matches the person watching the animator at the end.
My hot take is that after the Beatles split they went down the paths of spiritualism, solipsism, alcoholism, and Paul McCartney
-- Jason Carty, Nothing is Real podcast
6.52pm
14 June 2022
Offline I think, the white thing is just an effect for the animation.
Here are some pictures to clarify my point
and the fact that the person at the end of the video repeats exactly the same movement with his hand reinforces my idea.
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