New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Lennon vs. McCartney, a stunning new book published today, lifts the lid on how the Beatles' song lyrics contain secret conversations between
John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Varying between strong affection and outright hostility, these hidden messages clearly mirror the fluctuations the two
Beatles were experiencing in their personal relationship at the time.
The protagonists themselves have made only fleeting references to this troubled phase.
Paul McCartney acknowledges what he calls the "song wars" period, confirming that, at the time, "I was really writing a lot of songs to John."
John Lennon meanwhile played down the negative tone of his messages saying "I'm entitled to call Paul what I want and vice versa. It's in our family"
Adam Thomas, author of Lennon vs. McCartney says: "Most
Beatles fans have heard of songs like How Do You Sleep, which John very obviously directs towards Paul. But once you dig a little deeper it becomes clear that many of their other songs also contain some pretty blatant messages to each other."
In addition to revealing the depth of this previously unknown conversation within their song lyrics, Lennon vs. McCartney goes a step further, unambiguously illustrating how and why the Lennon/McCartney personal relationship was so volatile during this period.
According to Thomas: "The full implication of these secret lyrics only became clear to me when I discovered what was happening between John and Paul when the songs were being written. Only when I had that information did the significance of what I was finding really sink in. That is why the chronological table that makes up the second half of the book is so important in giving context. Once you see that, it all makes sense."
Note to editors:
Lennon vs. McCartney: The Beatles, inter-band relationships and the hidden messages to each other in their song lyrics is published today (14th November 2014) and distributed by Lulu Press.