Julian Lennon says he has a “love-hate” relationship with ‘Hey Jude’
John Lennon’s son, Julian Lennon, has revealed that he has a “love-hate” relationship with The Beatles’ classic hit single ‘Hey Jude’.
The former Beatle member’s first son, who is also a musician, discussed the classic 1968 single during a recent guest appearance on the Club Random With Bill Maher podcast. “I have a love-hate [relationship] with it, I have to say,” Julian revealed first.
“I’ve probably heard that song and heard renditions of [it] more than most people alive,” he continued. “And even my dear friends send me babies in nappies playing guitars [and] singing ‘Hey Jude’, which I really don’t need.”
Adding: “I’m thankful for the song without question. But … the other real thing is that people don’t really understand that [the track is] a stark and dark reminder of actually what happened.
“The fact that dad walked out, walked away – left mum and I. That was a point of complete change and complete disruption and complete darkness and sadness. I mean, I was only three, but I recognised that something was up, you know?”
As Julian touched upon during the interview, the song was written by Paul McCartney about John Lennon’s 1968 divorce from Cynthia as his affections deflected towards a new romance with Yoko Ono.
Originally titled ‘Hey Jules’, the subject of the track was a young Julian. “I started with the idea ‘Hey Jules,’ which was Julian, don’t make it bad, take a sad song and make it better,” McCartney told Barry Miles in his 1997 biography.
“Hey, try and deal with this terrible thing. I knew it was not going to be easy for him. I always feel sorry for kids in divorces.”
Watch the full podcast episode below.
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