One of his best-known numbers is the seven-minute masterpiece “Hey Jude.”
The idea for the song came to him one day as he was driving out to see Cynthia.
“Hey, try and deal with this terrible thing.
I knew it was not going to be easy for him.
I always feel sorry for kids in divorces …
I had the idea [for the song] by the time I got there.”
“Jules” was changed to “Jude,” which Paul McCartney felt sounded better.
In fact, Lennon took those lyrics as a personal hint (viaThe Washington Post).
He once said, “I always heard it as a song to me.
Yoko’s just come into the picture.
He’s saying, ‘Hey, Jude hey, John.’
Subconsciously he was saying, ‘Go ahead, leave me.'”
McCartney revealed how he had come up with “Hey Jude” in his honor.
At the time, Julian said, “It surprises me whenever I hear it.
It’s very strange to think that someone has written a song about you.
It touches me.”
(It was later revealed to be a misunderstanding.)
