“Bless him”: The origins of Paul McCartney’s ultimate insult
Paul McCartney has long held a reputation for being one of the more affable men in rock music, to such an extent that some might even label him inoffensive. Out of the four members of The Beatles, McCartney made his name as the most angelic, as to fans, it was impossible that the man who wrote ‘Yesterday’ could get up to no good. Augmenting this thought, he came with a pair of dough eyes and a slightly dithering persona to boot — but looks can be deceiving.
However, this account of the Liverpool native is not wholly accurate, with Macca possessing a dark side, as is a prerequisite for being a legend of rock and roll. From owning his fair share of drug-fuelled antics – such as the possession arrest in Japan that contributed to the end of Wings or the dark truth behind one of his best-loved songs – many factors suggest McCartney could toe the line of acceptable behaviour from time to time.
Perhaps the clearest example of McCartney’s wicked side comes from his often-used phrase: “bless him”. The term has a much darker undertone than the well-meaning but slightly dismissive message many of us have long taken at face value. McCartney revealed its true purpose during an interview with GQ in 2018. The comment came after he mentioned the criticism that drumming icon Buddy Rich once directed at The Beatles’ master of rhythm, Ringo Starr. Notoriously, Rich said: “Ringo Starr was adequate. No more than that.”
Interestingly, the road to this revelation came after the conversation referenced comments made by Quincy Jones, a time when the producer reflected upon how he felt when first hearing The Beatles. Shockingly, Jones, a longtime friend of McCartney’s, said: “They were the worst musicians in the world. They were no-playing motherfuckers. Paul was the worst bass player I ever heard.”
When asked about Jones’ comments, McCartney claimed he didn’t care whatsoever. At the end of his account, he packed in a jab at Buddy Rich by drawing a parallel between the two’s comments. Afterwards, he disclosed the true meaning of “bless him”.
The former Beatles bassist recalled: “So I get a phone call: ‘Is this Mr. McCartney?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Quincy would like to speak with you.’ Because he’s always worked through security guys, I said, ‘Hey, Quince!’ ‘Paul, how you doing, man?’ ‘I’m doing great—how are you, you motherfucker!’ I’m just jiving with him. ‘Paul, I didn’t really say that thing—I don’t know what happened, man. I never said that. You know I love you guys!’ I said, ‘If you had said that, you know what I would have said? Fuck you, Quincy Jones!’ And he laughed. I said, ‘You know I would say to that: Fuck you, Quincy Jones, you fucking crazy motherfucker!’ So actually, we just had a laugh. And he was like, ‘Oh, Paul, you know I love you so much.’ ‘Yeah, I know you do, Quince.'”
He added: “But he’s an old guy. I don’t know what it was. But I don’t think I’m the worst bass player he’s ever heard. Or maybe he’s never heard bad bass players. He’s talking all of this jazz and musicianship, and he’s an arranger and stuff. This is like Buddy Rich saying Ringo couldn’t drum. Because, coming from Buddy Rich’s sensibility, Ringo can’t drum. But coming from our sensibility, Buddy Rich is a load of shit. But God bless him”.
Clearly, McCartney views Buddy Rich with great contempt after his dismissive comments on Ringo. After revisiting Rich’s account, he explained that “bless him” is a historic euphemism used by the entire McCartney family. It started when McCartney was in his childhood. At the time, an older relative, an actor and a somewhat colourful figure refused to label the man who had “badly wronged” him as a “fucking cunt”, despite the rest of the clan repeatedly saying, “After what he did to you, what a fucking cunt he is, fucking cunt”. Instead, the relative, who had an affected way of talking, opted to say of his enemy, “bless him”.
Dumbfounded by the eccentricity of his response, the McCartneys adopted it as a subtle means of addressing people they hate, and it has served them well to this day. “So this became the thing,” McCartney said. “If we ever said, ‘bless him,’ we all knew what you meant. It’s great—if you really hate someone, ‘Bless him.’ It was a great euphemism for ‘What a cunt.’ So if you ever hear me say, ‘Bless him…'”
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