Hey Jude – Temperance (Lennon/McCartney) Released as a Single, 1968 Available on Past Masters Paul wrote “Hey Jude” as a comforting message for John’s five-year-old son Julian, who was experiencing the separation of his parents. It was originally called “Hey Jules” but Paul changed the name to Jude because he felt it sounded better. It…
Not a Second Time – 8 of Cups (Lennon/McCartney) With the Beatles, 1963 How much pain is tolerable in a relationship? We all have our thresholds for what we’re willing to put up with before we move on. “Not a Second Time” was written by John and released on the Beatles second album, With the…
Rain – 9 of Swords (Lennon/McCartney) Released as a single, 1966 Available on Past Masters “Rain” is the song that heralded the beginning of the Beatles’ psychedelic period. It was recorded during sessions for the Revolver album and released as the B-side to Paul’s “Paperback Writer”. This song was written by John and includes some…
Act Naturally – The Fool (Morrison/Russell) Help!, 1965 As the Beatles were finalizing the Help! album, they realized it was still lacking a song sung by Ringo. The band had intended for their drummer to sing a Lennon-McCartney song called “If You’ve Got Trouble”, but everyone was unsatisfied with how it turned out. So Ringo…
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer – 10 of Swords (Lennon/McCartney) Abbey Road, 1969 “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is the silliest song you’re ever going to hear about a serial killer. Although Paul thought it was good enough to be considered for a Beatles single, his bandmates despised it. John, who doesn’t even appear on the final recording, said…
I Should Have Known Better – 2 of Cups (Lennon/McCartney) A Hard Day’s Night, 1964 “I Should Have Known Better” is the second song on the soundtrack for the film A Hard Day’s Night, released in the summer of 1964. The Beatles perform the song twice during the movie. The first time is in the…
Penny Lane – 6 of Cups (Lennon/McCartney) Magical Mystery Tour, 1967 The Beatles were at a creative peak following the mind-blowing Revolver album. For their next project, John and Paul planned to make an album of songs about their childhoods growing up in Liverpool. Although the original concept would soon morph into Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely…
Mean Mr. Mustard – 4 of Pentacles (Lennon/McCartney) Abbey Road, 1969 As an astute observer and storyteller, John was often inspired by things he read in the newspaper and saw on television. In June of 1967, the Daily Mirror and Daily Record both ran stories about a John Mustard, who was being divorced for being…
It Won’t Be Long – 9 of Cups (Lennon/McCartney) With The Beatles, 1963 By late 1963, the Beatles were a phenomenon in their native UK. Anyone who doubted if they could last were sure to be won over from the first notes of their second album; “It Won’t Be Long” is the fantastically energetic opener…
What kind of relationship do you have with the child within yourself? If you’re not sure, ask yourself: How much enthusiasm do I feel each day? How often do I play? How open am I to learning and experiencing new things? Do I still feel awe and wonder, at least once in a while? If…