‘Beautiful Boy’: John Lennon’s subtle solo message to Paul McCartney
Of all the high-profile feuds in history, John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s is the most transparent. Even at the height of their bickering, when it reached its most ugly, the idea that the former bandmates despised each other was never really that believable. There might have been some soured feelings, of course, but ultimately, the explosive emotions always came from a place of real respect and admiration.
Aside from the obvious reasons why the Lennon-McCartney partnership caused The Beatles to excel beyond realms imaginable, the two also shared a kindred spirit, often speaking in shorthand commentary or engaging in shared amusement to get by at the end of another Beatlemania-plagued day. The two musicians could experience the same things with George Harrison and Ringo Starr, but the connection between them was uniquely intuitive, rooted in their shared upbringing and creative symbiosis.
Above all, the two shared an almost telepathic understanding of each other’s musical instincts, which not only fueled their creative process but also sparked intense arguments. Even during their disagreements, however, it was precisely this deep-rooted connection that made them so acutely aware when their visions clashed. Their ability to argue for creative control came from operating on a wavelength few others could comprehend—a shared foundation that allowed them to sense when the other was heading in a different direction.
A few years after The Beatles broke up, Lennon was in the crux of newfound fatherhood, writing songs that coalesced with his experience with responsibility in the family. He had emerged from his earlier bitterness towards his bandmate and gained new focus on what truly mattered, suddenly aware of all of the things he once allowed himself to feel crushed by and how trivial they suddenly seemed.
This earlier manifestation of struggle came in The Beatles’ track ‘Getting Better’, which saw McCartney uttering lines like, “I’ve got to admit it’s getting better, a little better all the time”. However, in his typically cynical manner at the time, Lennon included the lyric, “It can’t get no worse”. Years later, while holding his son Sean Ono Lennon in his arms, he realised, against all odds, McCartney had been right.
Things could get better, and they did—so when Lennon sat down to pen ‘Beautiful Boy’ in honour of his son, he included one line specifically to show McCartney he was thinking of everything he said that he didn’t believe at the time, mainly because he wasn’t ready to open himself up to the possibility but also because he had yet to learn the beauty of becoming a father. In the song, he sings, “Every day and in every way I am getting better and better.”
Lennon appears to be delicately singing the mantra to a sleeping child, reminding him that there are no monsters or demons, there will always be safety, and when his son feels scared at night, all he has to do is repeat that line. It’s soothing but heady in its subtle connection to Lennon’s former bandmate, proving that their shared appreciation and respect always remained intact. This is Lennon sending a message to his friend, telling him that he was right—it does get better, and he sees that now.
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