Paul McCartney says John Lennon convinced him to keep ‘Hey Jude’ lyric: ‘It’s the best line’

Paul McCartney has revealed how his late Beatles bandmate John Lennon encouraged him to keep one of his now-famous lyrics in “Hey Jude”.

The legendary singer-songwriter, 81, shared the revelation in the latest episode of his podcast, Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics, a series in which he delves into the stories behind some of his most famous songs.

While reflecting on how the song was inspired by his relationship with Lennon’s first-born son, Julian, in an attempt to cheer him up after Lennon left his first wife Cynthia for Yoko Ono, McCartney said it was Lennon himself who offered some valuable input to the song.

“‘The movement you need is on your shoulder.’ Now, I thought that was just me blocking in,” McCartney admitted during the podcast, as he explained how he performed it for Lennon and Ono on the piano in his music room.

“When I played it for John and Yoko in my music room on my psychedelic piano — I’m sitting facing this way and they’re standing behind me, almost on my shoulder and they’re listening,” he said.

“I’m so pleased with myself playing this new song.”

McCartney said he quickly pointed out that he planned on replacing the line, “The movement you need is on your shoulder”, until Lennon objected.

“I turn around to John, ‘Don’t worry. I’ll change that,’” McCartney recalled. “And he looked at me and said, ‘You won’t, you know? It’s the best line, innit?’”

The “Let It Be” artist has divulged a number of intriguing details for fans on his podcast in recent weeks.

In another episode that aired in February, McCartney shared that he believed the lyrics to “Yesterday” could have been influenced by a regretful moment where he mocked his mother when he was a teenager.

“Sometimes it’s only in retrospect you can appreciate it. I remember very clearly one day feeling very embarrassed because I embarrassed my mum,” he said.

The Liverpool-born musician explained that his mum, Mary, was a nurse of Irish origin so “talked posh” compared to the rest of the family, and that he had called her out for this while in the backyard of his childhood home.

“I went, ‘Arsk! Arsk! It’s ask mum.’ And she got a little bit embarrassed. I remember later thinking, ‘God, I wish I’d never said that.’ And it stuck with me,” he said. “After she died I thought, ‘Oh f***, I really wish … ’”

The latest episodes of Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics are available on all major streaming platforms.