At The End, After He Heard ‘Free As A Bird’, Paul Gave Me This Great Big Hug And Said, ‘Oh, John,

These pictures together are really good!

Hey can you tell me more about I Don't Know (Johnny, Johnny)? because there is very very little info about it online and the only source of the song i can listen to was a youtube video. Considering the excessive research of everything beatles by a fuckton of people, I'm surprised we don't know much about this. (because really, it it is what people say it is, it burned down all the mclennon doubts i had)

You’re right. This song was written around 1959/1960. The only audio we have, this one,  is the recording of a rehearsal made in 1960 at Paul’s house. 

Even if the recording is damaged and the sound is shitty the lyrics are quite easy to understand:

P- Well oh Johnny, oh Johnny, oh god Johnny boy

How are we gonna tell him

Why don’t we go somewhere where he don’t own me

Where can i go?

Oh Johnny boy you wore me out.

Oh Johnny, oh Johnny, oh Johnny boy

Oh Johnny, you got me, you be my boy

Well, a long time ago, I called you Johnny boy.

J- Hey little boy, I’m packing my shoes, and I’m leaving you.

I told my Mama I’m going to see my sister

She don’t see me, I don’t know what I’m going to do.

P- A long time ago I called you Johnny boy.

I don’t know what to tell the fellas.

Please, oh please, Johnny.

J- Well I’ll tell the fellas that I do love you.

P- I don’t know what I’m gonna do.

I don’t know what I’m gonna do when I tell my father

You love me Johnny, I love you Johnny

I’m not gonna let you go.

P- I don’t know what I’m gonna do when I tell my father

You wore me down, you wore me down.

You’re gonna leave, you’re gonna leave me

Please, oh, I’m not gonna let you go

J- Take the next bus out of town

Then you won’t let your father down.

I don’t know what good I am since I see life in front of us.

P- Well get out of town,

don’t hold me down.

I don’t care.

J- Get out of town,

I don’t know (3x)

I want to leave right now

To get out of town.

P- You know I want to do it all.

I want to go far away, far away,

I want to go far away.

J- No, no, no, no

P- Yeah, I’m going far away.

Yeah, we’re going far away.

We’re gonna leave.

J- We’re going away,

Yeah, we’re going away,

Gonna leave town right now.

This is one of the very first mclennon song, it’s very clear that they sing their desire to escape together: Paul is afraid of what his father might think of it cause he loves John:

 “ I don’t know what I’m gonna do when I tell my father” 

and at 2:39 John replies:

‘And i love you Paul’. 

Like, it’s so clear you don’t even need to investigate much about it, no metaphors, no double-meanings, it’s all SO SIMPLE AND EVIDENT, they’ re singing I LOVE YOU  to each other, that’s it! And the song ends with both John and Paul singing that the only solution is to leave and go away from the town.

This song was never put in any Anthology, even if there’s another song of the same year, You’ll be mine, that has the same shitty audio (the same recording)  but they decided to include it! “I don’t know (Johnny Johnny)” instead was never included, neither edited or cleaned, that’s why some people have doubted its veracity, because very few people have ever listened to it, and it’s considered rare. It’s such a pity they didn’t try to clean it a bit, but, i think WE ALL KNOW WHY. Can’t imagine this song listed in the Anthology, cleaned, a bit edited, and a random 40s old white man listening to it and exclaiming: “Wow! what a friendship!”

Paul McCartney, Nov. 16, 2023

photo by: Miguel Cabrera

paul crying while singing Here Today 😭😭😭😭😭😭 omg

Can you imagine being John Lennon in 1974, and you’re about to see your ex-best friend/pseudo husband/songwriting partner for the first time in years, plus its a really big moment cause you’re tentatively thinking about working with him again, then the motherfucker shows up looking like this unironically:

John, Julian and George

August, 1980: John talks to Playboy writer David Sheff about ‘If I Fell’.

JOHN: That’s my first attempt at a – at a ballad. Proper. That was the precursor to ‘In My Life’. It’s the same chord sequence as ‘In My Life’, but – just about ‘round D, and B minor, and E minor, those kind of – things. And uh, it’s… semi-autobiographical, but not that conscious, you know. It’s really about – it’s not about Cyn, my first wife. If I fell in love with you, would you promise to be true… I used to like intros like they had on forties songs, you know, that have a long intro, and then the song would start. So that’s all mine. The harmony’s Paul’s. […] So that shows that I wrote sentimental love ballads – silly love songs, as you call them – way back when.

Could anybody tells me where this comes from?It is very important for my mclennon theory I think……

It can incredibly fit well for the I saw her standing there script

I mean this……you act like a QUEEN……😮

I wanted to know what Paul's looking so lovingly at on the back of their cover so I recreated his hand placement and this is approximately where his left hand is pointing at.

Here is a clean copy for my John girlies:

Hey! I was wondering if there is actually any evidence for Paul Mc. actually really liking Two of Us -- everything I found was an Aidan Quinn interview in which he mentioned he met Paul and asked him if he liked it and he said yes. It's just that the way everyone says it, it makes it seem like he loved it, when in reality maybe he was just being nice? Is it a meme I am not aware of? Help.

Hi! :) The answer is yes, Paul does genuinely like Two of Us (2000)! I think he's been asked about it in a few interviews but the one I specifically remember was on the Adam Buxton podcast in 2020 (it's episode 144 around the 50 minute mark if you want to listen to it yourself). Here's what Paul said:

I did see [Two of Us] actually, yeah. And what was OK about that was that at the beginning of the film it said, you know, 'John and Paul met on such and such a date in New York and this is us imagining what might have happened.' It's pure fiction. They did it like a disclaimer at the front. So I thought, well, that's OK. 'Cause I can get into this. And I mean, I must say, I enjoyed it. I thought, 'I wish that had happened.' [Laughs] It didn't happen quite like that.

So yeah, basically Paul is an RPF understander and enjoyer. An open-minded king!

00:03 - Yes, John and Paul kiss. Paul:“To say about the girls that you….do”

00:25 - They kiss again. John, in a sexy voice: “Alright Paul, come along now..”

00:58 - John whispers : “McCartney”

01:13 - John: “Now, give us a kiss! ha ha!” “Mmm” “Ok..” “That might be an idea…”

and don’t try to tell me these aren’t kisses ‘cause I won’t believe you anyway.