John Lennon wrote ‘complicated’ Beatles tune to trace he was quitting the band
The Beatles shocked their numerous followers after they cut up up in 1970 – but it surely was no shock to the Fab Four themselves.
They had been bickering and embroiled in authorized points for years, and finally, issues got here to a head and John Lennon finally introduced he was quitting the band.
Long earlier than the official announcement was made, nevertheless, Lennon had already despatched a clue to Paul McCartney about his impending exit in music type.
In 1968 Lennon penned the long-lasting observe Glass Onion which included a “crumb” of a touch to what he was about to do to the band.
Speaking in an interview in 1980, he recalled the Glass Onion line “The walrus was Paul” was alleged to create some confusion throughout the fandom who regarded intently on the band’s lyrics.
Lennon defined: “I threw the line in — the Walrus was Paul — just to confuse everybody a bit more. And I thought Walrus has now become me, meaning ‘I am the one.'”
However, Lennon confessed the road additionally had a secret which means for the band, as properly.
“It didn’t mean that in this song,” he went on. “It could have been ‘the fox terrier is Paul,’ you know. I mean, it’s just a bit of poetry. It was just thrown in like that.”
Lennon continued by declaring the road was his approach of displaying his emotions to McCartney.
He stated: “The line was put in partly because I was feeling guilty because I was with Yoko and I was leaving Paul.”
Lennon added: “I was trying — I don’t know. It’s a very perverse way of saying to Paul, you know: ‘Here, have this crumb, this illusion, this — this stroke, because I’m leaving.'”
Shortly thereafter, in September 1969, Lennon broke the news to the band that he was leaving The Beatles.
McCartney recalled years later: “John walked into the room one day and said: ‘I’m leaving the Beatles.’ And he said: ‘It’s quite thrilling. It’s rather like a divorce.’ And then we were left to pick up the pieces.”
McCartney refused to stop making music, though: “The Beatles have been breaking apart and this was my band, this was my job, this was my life. I wished it to proceed. I believed we have been doing a little fairly good things — you understand, ‘Abbey Road,’ ‘Let It Be,’ not unhealthy.”