Posted by The Beatles are all dead except Ringo, but he’s out of the games. The Beatles’ legacy today is all in the hands of Paul McCartney, and that’s probably a good thing: the figure of John Lennon would be inappropriate to the present day. When the hero doesn’t die, he could be annoying, if you get what I mean. The monuments that were built can no longer develop: they can only collapse, slowly, but certainly. The result does not change. Paul, on the other hand, has always had the karma of the survivor, and there is no proof that surviving is less cool or easier than dying. It’s a big, challenging karma. One shall be brave to choose it.
Just listen to this song to realize this: Here Today, extracted from the 1982 album Tug of War, the song that Paul dedicated to his dear friend John Lennon.
The author declared in several interviews that he wasn’t sure of composing a song in John’s memory, but one day, in 1981, he was alone in a room with a guitar and he began to play chords, to “talk” with his dead friend. So Here Today was born, as an intimate conversation of deep reconciliation.
“I wrote it after John’s death. It’s like singing and telling him ‘I love you’.”
These are his words.
In this video you can see how Paul gets emotional when he remembers his friend. The video shows Paul won by emotion, while singing the song written in John’s memory. When you look at this video, you understand the special sensitivity that Paul has always had. And it’s impossible to not be touched by that.
And if I say I really knew you well
What would your answer be?
If you were here today
Here todayWell, knowing you
You’d probably laugh and say
That we were worlds apartBut as for me,
I still remember how it was before
And I am holding back the tears no moreI love you
We don’t need to add anything else.
