Julian Lennon has revealed that there’s a ‘dark’ feeling associated with the Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’, despite Paul McCartney writing it for him.
He made the comments during an interview with iHeartRadio shortly after releasing his seventh studio album (and tribute to the iconic song), JUDE.
“I think one of the things I tried to offer up is a clearer understanding of my perspective on this,” he said of the new album and what McCartney’s song meant to him.
McCartney wrote ‘Hey Jude’ for 5-year-old Julian after his parents split up.
Paul McCartney holds Julian, 4, son of John Lennon (visible in the background) during a holiday in Greece.
“Obviously as a kid, his lyrics and the song at the age of five didn’t really mean too much. Of course, it was only later in life that I realised what it was all about. And as much as I’m very thankful because of his support in having written that song a lot of people don’t realise it was also a dark reminder of what actually did happen. Of dad walking out the door, leaving mum and I on our own to fend for ourselves. And that really, really, really was the case.”
“People think it was a different situation, that everything was hunky dory and there was lots of money in the bank,” he continued.
“That was never ever the case. The thing that was most important to me was looking after mum. She was the be all and end all of life for me, and it was about looking after her, still is about making her proud. Everything I do is to make her proud really, at the end of the day. Even though she’s not with us anymore. I know she guides me a little bit from time to time.”
John Lennon with Julian in 1968.
Elsewhere in the interview, Lennon explained what sparked him to make JUDE after taking such a long break from music, his charitable side, legally changing his name, a possible tour, and more.
Watch the full interview below…
