Paul McCartney: “I miss working with John”

McCartney in 2009. Photo by Shutterstock

Paul McCartney was interviewed about his songwriting craft on NPR’s ‘All Songs Considered’ podcast on Friday. When asked if he misses writing music with other people, Sir Paul reflected on his songwriting partnership with John Lennon:

Obviously the biggie is, I miss working with John, because that was something very special. It’s very difficult to replicate that – in fact, I’d say it’s impossible. We met each other as teenagers and went through a lot of life together: hitchhiking to Paris, having holidays, working together, being in Hamburg together with The Beatles. We were very intimate; we knew each other intimately as only teenage friends can. We knew what music each other liked. We knew what our tastes were in art and literature. We shared a lot of tastes. When we came to write together, it started off very simply – but because of all this experience together, we grew together. As I say, that’s pretty impossible to do again. I doubt whether I’ll be able to be teenage again.”

I got a bit misty-eyed listening to Paul reminisce about his collaboration and friendship with Lennon. Their creative union was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Paul as well as for generations of Beatles fans.

During the interview, McCartney also discusses the making of ‘Live and Let Die’ (it’s easy to forget that the song was written for a James Bond film!), his belief that songwriting is “not one of these things you ever really know how to do,” and more.

Recommended: In 1964, Larry Kane was the only American reporter to travel with The Beatles on their North American tour. Read Kane’s incredible book Ticket to Ride: Inside the Beatles 1964 Tour That Changed the World.