The poem Paul McCartney wrote about John Lennon’s killer Mark Chapman
When John Lennon was murdered by Mark Chapman in 1980, the world came together in a union of grief and mourning. Many expressed anger at the lack of gun control in the United States, including Lennon’s fans and close friends and, of course, Paul McCartney.
McCartney has previously stated that his childhood friend enters his mind every day, and ever the writer, Macca once wrote a touching and volatile poem entitled ‘Jerk of All Jerks’ about Chapman. The poem was released in McCartney’s 2001 book Blackbird Singing.
Discussing the work, McCartney said back in 2001: “This poem is kind of serious because the title of the poem came to me the day John got shot and after all the tears and the horror of the whole thing in the evening, the phrase that kept going through in my head about the guy who done it was ‘Jerk Of All Jerks’.”
McCartney then recited the poem, which reads: “Hello, how are you? I’m jerk of all jerks. I’m here to undo all your charitable works. I do it quite simply by making mistakes, and one little boo-boo is all that it takes, and you’re at the mercy of jerk of all jerks. I’m the guy with a pistol who kills your best friend. You can’t really blame me ’cause I’m round the bend.”
“I’m the man that disposes of nuclear waste,” the poem continues, “There’s no need to worry; it’s perfectly safe. In fact, there is now every reason to hope that if anything happens, I’ll easily cope. Hello, how are you? I’m jerk of all jerks. I’m the soldier who says as he plants a landmine that, ‘this field in the future is sure to be fine’. And what’s more, he is told that this innocent egg won’t cost you much more than an arm and a leg”. Hello, how are you? I’m jerk of all jerks.”
Evidently, there is such anger in McCartney’s words, and he expresses the futility of Chapman killing Lennon. In his eyes, Chapman is the world’s biggest jerk, and he likens him to several other individuals who commit senseless acts without considering the consequences. For instance, the solider who places a landmine thinking it will do no harm in the future, or those who dispose of nuclear waste without thinking about the effects it will have on the environment.
Discussing how he misses his dear friend, McCartney said in 2020: “It’s difficult for me to think about. I rerun the scenario in my head. Very emotional. So much so that I can’t really think about it. It kind of implodes. What can you think about that besides anger, sorrow? Like any bereavement, the only way out is to remember how good it was with John. Because I can’t get over the senseless act, I can’t think about it. I’m sure it’s some form of denial. But denial is the only way that I can deal with it.”
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