How Paul McCartney Stays Connected to John Lennon and George Harrison: ‘They’re an Ever-Present Presence’
John Lennon and George Harrison have lasting legacies in the music industry due to their impeccable careers. While the music community lost two rock legends, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr lost two friends and former colleagues. Paul McCartney has found ways to remain connected to John Lennon and George Harrison years after the two died.
John Lennon and George Harrison died at younger ages
Following The Beatles’ split, Lennon and Harrison began their solo careers. Lennon had plenty of success with hits like “Imagine” and “Happy Xmas (War is Over).” Unfortunately, his career was cut short when he was assassinated in December 1980 outside his apartment building in New York City.
Harrison had a similarly successful music career, with many hit songs and successful albums. While he could reap the rewards longer than Lennon, Harrison’s career was still cut short after he died from lung cancer in 2001. Harrison would be 79 this year if he were still alive, while Lennon would soon be 82.
Paul McCartney remains connected to John Lennon through his memories
In a 2020 interview with NPR, Paul McCartney reflected on his relationship with John Lennon around what would have been his 8oth birthday. It also was around the 40th anniversary of his death. McCartney says he marks the occasion by reminiscing many of his favorite moments with Lennon.
“I really mark it by just thinking about it, and just going over memories. Mind you, I do that all the time. I think as time goes on and John is a distant memory, it becomes more and more special. I often sit there and think, ‘Wait a minute, did we go hitchhiking when we were kids?’ Yeah, we did. We went to Paris — boy, we had a laugh there, you know. I remember all these little things we did together. And it brings him back in a way. If I’m listening to a song we wrote together, I can picture us in the room writing it and looking at each other, with a little bit of a conspiratorial look as we cause trouble.”
“I’m often thinking of him. I dream of him. It’s family. We had arguments — but then, I’m reminded, so do families. He was a fantastic guy, and I do sometimes think, ‘Wow! I sat down all those years and wrote songs with John Lennon. And then went on stage and appeared all over the world singing them together.’”
McCartney remembers George Harrison with a tree in his front yard
McCartney reveals Harrison had a passion for horticulture and was an excellent gardener. He gave McCartney a tree as a present, and the “Live and Let Die” singer put the tree in his front yard. For him, it symbolizes Harrison’s spirit, and he says hello to it every morning.
“George was very into horticulture, a really good gardener,” McCartney shared. “So he gave me a tree as a present: It’s a big fir tree, and it’s by my gate. As I was leaving my house this morning, I get out of the car, close the gate and look up at the tree and say, ‘Hi, George.’ There he is, growing strongly. And you know, that takes me back to the time when I hitchhiked with him! They’re an ever-present presence, if that’s a way to say.”
