The Ending Of Now And Then Is Identical To The Ending Of Wait

Oh, for what it’s worth, no less than John Lennon loved the song. I spent a long time talking to [photographer] Bob Gruen once, it was great as we talked about a lot of stuff that he doesn’t usually get grilled on. One of the things that came up was the times he spent with John listening to the radio. Bob singled this song out as one he and John would listen to and how much John loved the song. John took the song quite personally, and saw it as Paul sending a message to him: ‘Yeah, I know you think I only write silly love songs, but I love you.’ Bob said John specifically mentioned the ‘I love you’ refrain as being a message from Paul to him. We can speculate all we want, but I have no reason to doubt the word or memory of a guy who sat in the Dakota bedroom with John and listened to this song with him.

— gswan, c/o Steve Hoffman Music Forums. (October 28th, 2010)

🥲 I love them so much

“Now and then, I miss you / Now and then, I want you to be there for me / Always to return to me,” (...) It’s a passage where Lennon’s yearning for McCartney intertwines with Paul’s mourning for John, a shared grieving for the partnership that defined both their lives. link

"Now and Then" is 81-year-old Paul McCartney finishing a song of John Lennon, who has been gone for almost 43 years.

But it is also 15-year-old Paul finishing a song of the boy who wandered around Liverpool with him, talking about their future and love of music.

It is 18-year-old Paul finishing a song of the guy who picked him as his partner and took him to play nightclubs in Hamburg.

It is 20-year-old Paul finishing a song of the lad who wanted to write song after song with him.

It is 23-year-old Paul finishing a song of the man he made history with.

It is 24-year-old Paul finishing a song of the soulmate who shared his visions.

It is 26-year-old Paul finishing a song of the person who serenaded him eating a cupcake.

It is 31-year-old Paul finishing a song of John, who loved him in his own way.

And it is 39-year-old Paul finishing a song of the friend he just lost.

gif source

This interview was to promote Paul’s book “Many Years From Now”. Just before this they were talking about The Beatles break up and the band’s money issues and Allan Klein. At this point in the interview Paul is asked if his relationship with John was always “spiky”. He says that it wasn’t that they loved each other and he still does. 

Parkinson: (..) Was it always a spiky relationship? I mean you say you loved him and that love comes through in the book, did he love you?

Paul: Yeah, I think he did actually. (Joking around) We’ll check, excuse me for a moment… John, come on baby, did ya… ? Yes!. No, I think he did, yeah. It wasn’t actually a spiky relationship at all. It was very warm, very close and very loving, I think, of all The Beatles. We used to say, I think we were amongst the first men to come out openly, ‘cause remember you know, it was quite strange in those days and it was a long time ago. Homosexuality was still sort of largely illegal. We used to say I love him on interviews and interviewers would get slightly taken aback you know, a man saying he loves him. But I think, quite generally, I think we really did and I still do.. Um.. but the business thing came right in the middle of it and the lawyers came along with the business thing. And I talked to John many years later because it’s great saving grace that we did put our relationship back together. Thank God for that because I don’t know what I’d do now with him gone if we hadn’t. I think I would be sort of wracked with all sorts of guilt. But, we did and chatting to him one of the first things he said to me when we met after the break up and things calmed down, he said ‘Do they try to put you against me like they put me against you? Do they do that?’ and I said my God if they do. And he said it’s good, good to know because they’re always trying to pin me against you..

what if I just jump off a bridge

The Beatles Anthology - Director’s Cut

Waiting for John to get back so they can carry on recording Think For Yourself. Begins with George Martin explaining a ‘booboo’ he made on the tapes.

George Martin: *explains* George Harrison: Ah, naughty. John? Paul: John love? George Martin: Jonathan, what are you doing? Someone: He’s just - where - is he messing behind the - I’ll get him.

George: I don't want to to go on the f*cking roof

also George: *refuses to disconnect his amp when the police arrives and asks the band to stop the concert*

Paul McCartney (and George Harrison’s hand) backstage at the ABC Cinema in Manchester, 20th November 1963 - part 4 (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 5)

Reporter: How do you like not having any privacy?

Paul: We do have some, you know.

John: We just had some. We just had some before, didn't we, Paul? You tell them.

George: Yes, we just had some drinks over there.

Paul: Help yourself a drink, folks.