“I would always turn the radio off and try and make up songs, just in case… I started singing: ‘Hey Jules–don’t make it bad–take a sad song, and make it better.” —Paul McCartney1
In June of 1968, Paul McCartney went to visit John Lennon, his wife Cynthia, and their five year old son Julian. While hanging out and visiting, John and Cynthia announced to Paul that they were getting a divorce. Paul, who Julian considered more his father than John due to their closer connection, thought about how it would affect Julian. It was rumored that the reason why John and Cynthia were getting a divorce was because of John’s infidelity with an artist named Yoko Ono. In a letter written by John to Cynthia, he addressed the fact that John knew that their marriage was long over before the events that happened with Yoko Ono.2
Paul McCartney said, “I thought, as a friend of the family, I would motor out to Weybridge and tell them that everything was all right: to try and cheer them up, basically, and see how they were. I had about an hour’s drive. I would always turn the radio off and try and make up songs, just in case… I started singing: ‘Hey Jules – don’t make it bad, take a sad song, and make it better…’ It was optimistic, a hopeful message for Julian: ‘Come on, man, your parents got divorced. I know you’re not happy, but you’ll be OK.”3
“Hey Jude” was recorded at Abbey Road on July 29-30, in 1968. John and Paul finished the final touches for the song in Paul’s house. They recorded it with Ringo and George that following Monday at Abbey Road. While they were figuring out how to play the song, they brought out an orchestra, and one of the other orchestra men, didn’t thinking that the song would be a huge hit at the time, walked out saying that he wasn’t “going to clap [his] hands and sing Paul McCartney’s bloody song.”4
The Beatles only took one take to record their hit song. While recording the song, Ringo Starr had to go to the bathroom, got up and left, and didn’t let anyone know. He came back, and nobody realized what had happened, for the first couple of seconds in the song. Paul liked how there was no drums and ended up sticking with it.
The final song is 7 minutes and 11 seconds long, and nobody intended on it being that long. “Hey Jude” was released as a single, that later was put into a collection of singles release by The Beatles. The song was released in the Unites States on August 26, 1968 and in the UK on August 30, 1968. “Hey Jude” had a permanent residence at #1 on the Billboards Top 30 for 8 weeks. All in all, it spent 18 weeks in the Top 30. Within the initial release of the song, there were five million sales in the first six months, and 7.5 million in 4 years. 5
When John first heard the song, he though it was about him and Yoko, and telling him “to go out and get her.” “Well, when Paul first sang ‘Hey Jude’ to me… or played me the little tape he’d made of it… I took it very personally. ‘Ah, it’s me,’ I said, ‘It’s me.’ He says, ‘No, it’s me.’ I said, ‘Check. We’re going through the same bit.’ So we all are. Whoever is going through a bit with us is going through it, that’s the groove.”6
In 1987, after the song was released, Paul reached out to Julian and said that the song was about him, and that Julian always felt a better connection to Paul, than his dad, John. The recording notes were auctioned off by Julian in 1996, and then Cynthia Lennon tried to auction off the original handwritten lyrics, but Paul took it to court preventing it from even happening.7
People and critics believe that throughout all the rough, creative, and changing time in America, “Hey Jude” gave people a sense of “letting go of your childhood innocence,” by giving them a message of reassurance, and trying to help them make the step to move forward with their lives. “The process of singing the song testifies that uplifted spirits are earned, not just willed; no peace is possible without struggle.”8
To this day, the Beatles are one of the most well-known bands in the world. They were part of “The British Invasion” and created an international legacy that will never die. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and John Lennon and Paul McCartney were also inducted as solo artist.
- Andrew Leonard, “Hey Jude,” The Beatles Bible. 7 June 2018. Accessed September 09, 2018. www.beatlesbible.com/songs/hey-jude/ . ↵
- John Lennon to Cynthia Twist, November 15, 1976, in Steve Marinucci, “John Lennon Disputes Yoko Ono Ending His marriage In Unearthed Letter to First Wife,” Billboard, August 8, 2017. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7896840/john-lennon-yoko-ono-cynthia-lennon-divorce-letter. ↵
- Andrew Leonard, “Hey Jude,” The Beatles Bible, 7 June 2018. Accessed September 09, 2018. www.beatlesbible.com/songs/hey-jude/. ↵
- Guesdon, Jean-Michel. All The Songs, The Story Behind All The Beatles Release. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2013. ↵
- Dmitry Murashev, “Beatles History,” DM’S Beatles Site, 2012. Accessed 13 November 2018. ↵
- John Lennon, interview by Jonathan Colt, in Rolling Stone Magazine, November 23, 1968, reproduced in Dmitry Murashev, Beatles History – 1968 Year. Accessed November 10, 2018. http://www.dmbeatles.com/interviews.php?interview=67. ↵
- Andrew Leonard, “Hey Jude,” The Beatles Bible, 7 June 2018. Accessed September 09, 2018. www.beatlesbible.com/songs/hey-jude/. ↵
- Encyclopedia Of Great Popular Song Recordings, 2013, s.v. “Hey Jude (1968)—The Beatles.” ↵
92 comments
Vanessa Sanchez
The article was an interesting one to read due to how popular Hey Jude is, even till this very day. The article is about how the song Hey Jude was created. It all started with Paul visiting John, his son and his wife Cynthia. They had announce that they are getting a divorce. Their son, named Julian, was the first person to appear in Paul’s mind.Paul and Julian has a better connection than with his own dad. He started worrying how he is gonna feel. What Paul would do is turn off the radio on the way home and would make up lyrics like “Hey Jules – don’t make it bad, take a sad song, and make it better”, hense to the song Hey Jude. So basically the song is for Julian, to let him know to not feel sad about the divorce. Overall, the article itself was amazing and the information on the song Hey Jude on how to came to life was amazing and made the song even more special.
Averie Mendez
The Beatles, to me, is such “feel-good” music, so it’s intriguing to read about the actual meaning behind one of their songs. I would’ve never known that it was for Lennon’s son. It’s heartwarming that Paul McCartney recognized the emotional turmoil that John and Cynthia’s divorce would’ve caused Julian, and took it upon himself to immortalize his comforting message to him.
Brianna Nevarez
It is never a bore to read an article on how things came to be. How songs were written, what inspired the writer? Never in a million years would I think “Hey Jude” was recorded in only one take. The fact that there are no drums for a bit is completely random and not a genius idea envisioned by Paul McCartney is mind-blowing. This song has been heard across nations, the epitome of iconic.
Ryan Estes
This song is a classic, and it was very interesting to read about the backstory behind it. I’ve always wondered who Jude is in the song. This song now has a different significance for me; it is a hopeful song that encourages the listener to make the best of any situation and remain positive. I hope this song was able to do just that for Julian back when it was recorded.
Andres Cano
This article really captured the impact of the song on the people involved, the rest is history. I think it says a lot about Paul McCartney’s character, but at the same time hopeful for Julian that he would one day find a deeper connection with his father. Nevertheless, Paul McCartney and the Beatles have always been among my top artists and I think that as a whole, people tend to undervalue his music after he went solo. Just my opinion though.
Rosario Moreno
It is crazy how such a beautiful song can come from such a time of turmoil. I never knew that John had a son name Julian, and that Paul’s concern for Julian created such a tune. It is amazing how music can provide such comfort and joy and I do agree with how this song offered reassurance to those letting go of childhood innocence. I can see that, great article I really enjoyed reading it.
Christopher Hohman
Nice article. Paul McCartney did a really nice thing by writing this song for John Lennon’s son Julian. That is a really nice and thoughtful thing to do. It is kind of sad that Julian felt closer to Paul than he did to his own father. I also think its sad that Beatles did not always get along. But hey I guess that not everyone gets along, especially when you spend as much time together as the Beatles
Krystal Rodriguez
I think so many prople loved the beatles and their music but never truly delved into their back stories. They were a very complex band and were very close to one another. I love the song “hey jude” but i never thought the somg had a different meaning. I think Paul did a good thing by dedicating a song to Johns son knowing he was going through a rough time.
Ruby Wynn
I learned a lot from reading this article. I had never looked into the personal lives of the Beatles. It is always heartbreaking when a child has to watch their parents divorce. I think it is cool that Paul wrote the song for John’s son, and that the band members were that close. I enjoyed reading the story behind one of the most popular songs by one of the most popular bands.
Sydney Aleman
I know a good amount of Beatles songs and never knew the meaning of “Hey Jude”, but now knowing what the songs stands for it changes my perspective of the song and how I will listen to it. The Beatles is probably always going to be a famous song and it is because of what the songs mean that will help continue their legacy.