Beatles Biography by Mark Lewisohn (6th edition)- plus Lewisohn news. *

Not sarcastic.

I had forgotten.

Maybe I shouldn't post before breakfast.

(In mitigation Wikipedia says: "When asked if the song referred to the Virgin Mary, McCartney has typically answered the question by assuring his fans that they can interpret the song however they like.")

I stand by my comments about "Julia" and "Mother", however.

 

And only now have I realised that, ‘Tune In = Tuning’, as though the band is tuning up before they really begin.

 

"Turn On" would have made sense for Volume 2.

But would "Drop Out" have worked for Volume 3?

 

Mebbe Burn Out

 

Well it's all subjective, let it be.

 

I prefer (for Vol 3): Turn Over (and Go To Bed)

 

First book was great, great work.
Second is taking far too long and third will be unread by a great many of the people who really care about the subject matter if this publishing timeline is carried on. That'll be a great shame.
Only thing that occurs to my very cynical side, maybe certain deaths are in fact being factored in as part of the release schedule in a legal 'can't defame the dead' way?

 

You can’t rush proper, meticulous research. Especially now that we’re getting into one of the busiest periods of the band’s activities, and the sources/documents etc are geographically more diverse.

Whose got a copy of the ‘But enough about Lewisohn, let’s talk about my death’ meme?

 

Your implying Paul's mother was a fashion model and she wasn't. She was a nurse. A grounded woman just like you wrote above. You seem to have given more credibility to my post without realizing it.

 

Paul has said many times that one of the things that appealed to him about Linda, in comparison with all the other girls in his life, was that she was more "womanly" and already had a child and he could see how she handled herself as a mom, and all of that appealed. Certainly, I'd agree with you that John's mother worship of Yoko was different (and not all that healthy) compared with Paul's admiration for Linda's motherly qualities. But Paul very clearly did not want a career woman as his wife. And his choosing Linda -- a motherly type figure who would take care of him -- was part of a pattern where he seemed to bond repeatedly with his girlfriend's mothers.

/armchair-analysis-over

 

Ambivalent came from Sean Murdock's post where he was describing some fans' perception that somehow Paul wasn't as devastated as John. Didn't mean to imply I was quoting you there. Sorry.

 

Look at how Paul dealt with two of the biggest deaths until Linda. His mom is there then gone and the same with John. Suddenly gone. His response about John of "It's a drag, innit?" makes more sense. I don't know but maybe with Linda since he knew it was coming he got to grieve in a different way. A better way than his mom or John.

 

I think it's just that the subject is so vast, with an overwhelming amount of research involved. Just think how much research he'd have to do on the lawsuit alone. Must be TONS of documents to go through. And nobody has offered a truly definitive, accurate account of that, let alone all the other stuff. Lewisohn's task is pretty enormous.

 

I know I read/heard that Paul also said he had a dream where it was Mal Evans was saying 'Let it be' in regards to Apple I think? Maybe it was while in India. Could be wrong about that. After telling Mal about it he changed it to Mary because Malcolm didn't fit well. I don't know which dream came first.

 

also?"
Well, that song was written for his daughter, who is also called "Mary".

 

Paul's verbal response to his mother's death was (paraphrasing) "What will we do for money?". So that's at least two times his responses seemed "wrong", presumably because of being in shock, since he's normally able to be charmingly correct.

 

I can understand the response to his mother. He was a teenager and dealing with death for maybe the first time. Actually I can understand his response to Lennon's death because, aside from Yoko, everyone in the world wanted to hear what McCartney was going to say. I can not imagine that pressure along with wanting people to leave him alone while he grieved. To go off of a comment of @sallymae_hogsby I think McCartney being charmingly correct is him in interview mode and may not reflect what he actually feels. That's not to say the two don't intersect but I get the feeling he'll give the public what they want because he wants us to want him.

 

Sorry, I think you've misunderstood me. My comment about Linda was that she wasn't the typical "rock star" wife, but rather a down to earth person and caring mother- and that these types of people are more common than not. It didn't have anything to do with comparing her physical looks to Paul's mother. Just because Paul didn't marry a fashion model or actress doesn't mean that he was trying to replace his mother.

 

From your post, because you said Linda was not a fashion model, and my original post didn't say anything of the sort, to me this says you have implied that Paul's mom was in some way like a fashion model. We both know that wasn't the case. I think what you're saying here is that's the type Paul was dating during his Beatle years. To me this still, maybe not proves my point, but is more in line with it by saying Linda was not a model type just like you said. To me, that puts her closer to his mother than Jane Asher. Maybe Asher's mom was a stand-in for Paul's mom during their relationship. My main point in this post is to show you the way you wrote the quoted post that you implied something I did not and I am answering to that. If I have misunderstood your original point, then I ask you to clarify it please. Your post above mine, to me, is still agreeing more with the point I made. Linda was more down to earth as was his mother. Lots of people marry their parents in some way.

 

Book Three: Drop Out

 

The word is codependent. And Lennon was in a big way as was Ono.

 

Absolutely. They dropped out of being Beatles and it all came crumbling down. I think all 3 titles would have been perfect for the eras they cover, but that's just me.

 

Vol 3: Hard On (Yoko)

 

Codependent is something even the healthiest couples are on each other (in moderation). John had a bizarre mother fixation that was downright creepy at times with Yoko. I love my wife to bits, but I've never wanted to call her "mother" or act like she was my mother (and I certainly don't want HER to act as if she's my mother). John would come right out and say he needed to ask Yoko for permission before doing certain things...it's right there in interviews up to the end in 1980 ("I've got to check with Mother..."). Very weird. I'm a massive John fan (obviously), but that part of his personality has always seemed downright bizarre to me. No wonder he didn't like being married to Cynthia...she was sweet as can be and tried to be a wife to him, not a mother.