How Julian Lennon Feels about the Song his Dad Wrote for him

Bill Maher and Julian Lennon on: The blessing and burden of The Beatles legacy, Julian’s recent name change, mental health, anxiety and depression, joy in the Peter Jackson documentary Get Back, the magic of Monaco; revelations from George Harrison’s Living in the Material World, album JUDE out now with a new lo fi mix of Love Don’t Let Me Down, why comedians don’t get mobbed by fans, the lone wolf nature of being a comedian, and Julian’s plans for a memoir.

All Social here

[erikkillmonger]

Paul wrote Hey Jude. I thought they were going to talk about Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, which is the song John actually wrote that was inspired by Julian.

[bert]

I really feel for Julian and his mom. John sounded like he was very awful and abusive to them. What a selfish thing to abandon your family to just end up making a new one and completely leaving your first child behind.

[KRAFTWERKK]

He got the best of his dad and his mum. And actually turned out to become the human John pretended to be but never really was. I'm so immensely thankful that Julian understood his musical talent and used it. Don't ever let a good talent go to waste. If only John would not have been taken off his life that i'm sure both Julian and his Dad would have definitely healed and most likely made music together. If but it is what it is... at least in THIS timeline.

[matthewhelm]

Cmon. How could you get this wrong. Paul wrote it. Everybody knows that. Well, I guess there’s one person who doesn’t 😂

[ethanmarten]

Jude/Julian is a class act. He didn't point out several of these types of faux pas during the podcast.

[bobshenatzky]

Julien must be so tired of being asked his opinion of Hey Jude.

[Sabure]

Julian is a class act. Very smart young man. I think we all have moments when you think your father is an Ass****. I think John was at times very full of himself. I think John is the one who screwed up because Cynthia raised a very talented and very nice child.

[thunderbirdmcfly]

Paul was worried about him that's what i heard on a interview. He wanted to change "don't carried the world on your shoulder "but John loved so it remained on the lyrics

[califcamper]

Think John would have been blown away how much his son turned out like him but even better

[spb]

Never realized John Lennon spelled his name “Paul McCartney”.

[JaneKellie-uhmo]

I really feel it for Julian.
If you fully know his personal life history, you will fully understand . # Respect Where Respect Is Due.

[speppers]

Revisionist history. Lennon contributed to the song. But it was written by Paul. And Julian was 5 when his dad left...not 3.

[lucianafreitassoaressilva]

The album JUDE is awesome. Julian is brilliant song writer and singer. ❤❤

[JustinChampa]

Correct the damn title of the video for Christ’s sake 🤦‍♂️

[christopherdachille]

Maher is a master at making every interview boring.

[johnglover]

Had never occurred to me that that massively beautiful song could be a weight on anyone's shoulders like that, even Julian's.
I get it, though.

[tinytanks]

"the song his dad wrote for him"?? You gotta stop letting some know-nothing Gen Z staffer write your headlines for you, Bill.

[johnboutet]

Um, John had nothing to do with it (except for convincing Paul to keep one line, "the movement you need is on your shoulders").

[readresp]

In a video-taped interview of Paul McCartney by GQ magazine (on the GQ YouTube channel, , "McCartney breaks down his 81 favourite songs"), Paul says on tape: "John and his wife, Cynthia, had divorced, and I felt a bit sorry for their son, who was now a little bit, you know, a child of a divorce.I was driving out to see the son and Cynthia one day, and I was thinking about the boy [5 years old], who's name is Julian, Julian Lennon, and I started this idea, hey Jules, don't make it bad, it's all gonna be okay. You know, it was like a reassurance song. So, that was the idea that I got, driving out to see them. I saw them, and then I came back, and worked on the song some more." John Lennon said in a 1981 interview with Playboy Magazine: "''Hey Jude' is a damn good set of lyrics. I made no contribution to the lyrics there." Paul is reported by many newspapers of having played his song for "everyone, and I mean everyone." He even played it at a launch party for a Stone's album -- with the 7 minute+ recording pretty much breaking up the party. Paul speaks of performing for John, but it's difficult to find any reference to exactly what was John's contribution to the music. Sony lists "Lennon/McCartney" as writers. According to "(copyright) 1968 Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC. All rights reserved, used by permission": ""Hey Jude' is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon-McCartney. The ballad evolved from "Hey Jules", a song widely accepted as being written to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian, during his parents' divorce." Paul has commented that John wasn't originally aware that the song was inspired by Julian; Lennon thought Paul had written it as an acceptance of John's relationship with Yoko Ono. Post script: (Wikipedia) "Along with "Yesterday", "Hey Jude" was one of the songs that McCartney has highlighted when attempting to have some of the official Beatles songwriting credits changed from Lennon/McCartney to McCartney–Lennon. McCartney applied the revised credit to this and 18 other Lennon–McCartney songs on his 2002 live album Back in the U.S., attracting criticism from Ono, as Lennon's widow, and from Starr, the only other surviving member of the Beatles

[christiangibbs]

I think Bill should drink more in interviews 🤪

It really enhances his
self awareness, sensitivity to others & ability to listen 😂