During a recent discussion of The Beatles' legendary 1965 hit "Help!," one fourth of the renowned quartet, Paul McCartney, said something extraordinary. He divulged that John Lennon's "whole life was a cry for help," even while creating so many memorable songs.
McCartney reminisced the time period surrounding the British invasion group's smash hit, explaining to Billboard, "I turned up at John's house for a writing session and saw the opportunity to add a descant [melody in the second verse]. We finished it quite quickly; we went downstairs and sang it to John's wife at the time, Cynthia, and a journalist he was friendly with called Maureen Cleave. We were very pleased with ourselves."
For two years following the song's release, Lennon was caught up in ongoing recording and touring without reprieve during the same time he and his wife Cynthia were going through a rough patch in their marriage, leading Lennon to turn to drugs for self-medication. With the formation of "Help!" The Beatles began to move from their bubble gum sound to a more morose style.
Lennon later admitted, "The whole Beatles thing was just beyond comprehension. I was subconsciously crying out for help. I was fat and depressed, and I was crying out for help."
"He [Lennon] didn't say, 'I'm now fat and I'm feeling miserable.' He said, 'When I was younger, so much younger than today.' In other words, he blustered his way through. We all felt the same way," McCartney recently explained to Billboard of Lennon's sentiments.
"Looking back on it, John was always looking for help. He had [a paranoia] that people died when he was around. His father left home when John was three, the uncle he lived with died later, then his mother died. I think John's whole life was a cry for help," the "Band On The Run" singer added.
Trailing Lennon's December 8, 1980 death in New York City, McCartney revealed he felt "frustrated" by the drastic change in the public opinion of Lennon, explaining that after The Beatles split, he, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Lennon all tackled their own solo albums, NME notes. After Lennon's death at the hands of Mark David Chapman, many people began to refer to Lennon as "The Beatles" while the trio still remained alive, well and equally responsible for the group's success.
