All 24 Post-Beatle Songs Of Them Messaging Themselves

The most impactful band in history is how many describe them. In their own words, either in song lyrics or interviews, I unveil the intended meaning of songs in which the writer was messaging other band member(s) after their breakup. I believe even the most fanatical Beatle fans will be surprised by some of the songs included on my list.

The Beatles were only active as a band from for 8 years from 1962 to 1969, having recorded their final album titled Abbey Road in the summer of 1969. Their formal break up occurred in April of 1970 when Paul McCartney publicly announced he was leaving and going solo. Lennon had quietly left the band 8 months earlier.

Other than Ringo, who joined the band in 1962, the others had been together since 1957–1958. They were as close as the closest brothers could ever had been and had many indescribable experiences that bound them together for life. And they also shared many financial, musical, creative, legal and personal ups and downs.

Fun Fact: Speaking about closeness, when on the road, their normal rooming scenario was 2 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms with Paul and Ringo sharing a room and John and George in another. They typically had a shared living room area as well. George stated that only privacy that he ever had was “when he was in the bathroom.” The biggest entertainment act on the planet didn’t even get their own bedroom!

So, it’s not surprising that upon their break-up, song ideas developed from all of them. Unsurprisingly, these messaging songs began immediately after the breakup and have continued many years later. I’ve categorized them into 3 groupings: Personal Digs, Tributes and Memories.

Personal Digs

1. “Run of the Mill” by George Harrison was released in 1970.

The song was written while he was still a Beatle and was released on his triple solo album All Things Must Pass, which reached No1 in almost all markets. His malaise and frustration of feeling so low on the ladder by mostly Paul was clearly coming to head. The song goes into the depth about his troubles with the whole band’s dysfunction.

You’ve got me wondering how I lost your friendship
But I see it in your eyes
Though I’m beside you
I can’t carry the lame for you
I may decide to
Get out with your blessing
Where I’ll carry on guessing

George’s wife claims it is among her favorites but not mine. You decide.

2. “Man We Was Lonely” by Paul McCartney was released in 1970

This song is from his first solo album titled McCartney in which he plays all the instruments and, with his wife Linda, does all the vocals. The album charted at No1 (US) and No2 (UK). Like several songs on the album, among them ‘Every Night’ and ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’, this song was inspired by the pain felt by the break-up of The Beatles. In his own words, “My biggest problem was I had to sue the Beatles; I tried to sue our new manager, but he wasn’t a party to any of the agreements, so I ended up having to sue my best friends as a technical matter. It was the last thing in the world I wanted to do, but it was pointed out to me that it was the only way to do it.” He experienced depressive thoughts in the aftermath of the breakup of the group, and briefly found solace in alcohol, before eventually reaching fulfillment in music and domestic harmony. Good song, but the venom is missing.

3. “Wah Wah” by George Harrison with Ringo on drums released in 1970.

It was released on his first solo album All Things Must Pass, which reached No1 in almost all markets. “At that point in time, Paul couldn’t see beyond himself,” Harrison told Guitar World in 2001 about the band’s demise. “He was on a roll, but…in his mind, everything that was going on around him was just there to accompany him. He wasn’t sensitive to stepping on other people’s egos or feelings.” Separately, he told Musician magazine, “I just got so fed up with the bad vibes, I didn’t care if it was the Beatles, I was getting out and they should advertise for his replacement.” After an unusually bad argument with John, he went directly home and claims that these feelings were his inspiration for writing one of his best songs. Though it was named in part as a reference to the guitar pedal, he lateradmitted in his autobiography I, Me, Mine that it was saying “You’re giving me a bloody headache,” to his bandmates. The whining vibe and Harrison’s power make this song a classic on its own and directly reflected the depth of his anger.

4. “God” by John Lennon released in 1970 with Ringo on drums.

This brilliant and deeply personal song was released on his first album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and is structured with three sections. In the first section, he describes his concept of God. In the second, he describes things that he does not believe in, including the Beatles. In the third section he proclaims the dream (Beatles) is over and refers to Paul’s megahit “Yesterday”. His vocal delivery is powerful and honest. Great song, but low on venom.

The dream is over
What can I say?
The Dream is over
Yesterday
I was the Dreamweaver
But now I’m reborn
I was the walrus
But now I’m John
And so, dear friends
You’ll just have to carry on
The dream is over

5. “Too Many People” by Paul McCartney released in 1971. Charted at No1 (US).

This song is from his 2nd solo album Ram, where he again plays all the instruments and handles all the vocals with his wife Linda adding some backing vocals. The album charted at No1 (US) and No2 (UK). While these are not readily apparent, Paul himself did admit to one unambiguous jibe. “There was one tiny reference to John in the whole thing,” McCartney states, “I felt John and Yoko were telling everyone what to do. And I felt we didn’t need to be told what to do. The whole tenor of the Beatles thing had been, like, to each his own. Freedom. Suddenly it was “You should do this”. It was just a bit the wagging finger, and I was pissed off with it. So he writes, “Too many people preaching practices.” Additionally, the song begins with the lyric “piece of cake” (which sounds like “piss off, cake”) later revealed to be a veiled jibe at Lennon saying “Piss off, cake. Like, a piece of cake becomes piss off cake, And it’s nothing, it’s so harmless really, just little digs.” Lennon later said, “There were all the bits at the beginning of Ram like ‘Too many people going underground’. Well that was us, Yoko Ono and me. And ‘You took your lucky break’, that was considering we had a lucky break to be with him.” Here’s a 2007 live performance.

6. “Three Legs” by Paul McCartney released in 1971.

This song is also on his 2nd solo album Ram, where he again plays all the instruments and handles the vocals with his wife Linda adding some backing vocals. The album charted at No1 (US) and No2 (UK). This songs catchy melody and lyrics may seem like a simple tune about three-legged animals but, the metaphor reflects on his struggle and vulnerability in maintaining a relationship, mirroring the determination of a three-legged dog to keep moving forward despite its hardships. He’s the dog and their the 3 legs. This song is aimed at the entirety of the band. After all, each member of the group had recently had a falling out with him. There is also reference to John as his “friend” within the lyrics. They had been working together for over a decade and seen all the highs the world had to offer together. Now, he was the outsider looking in and wasn’t happy about it. He let John and the rest of the band, know about it.

Well, when I thought, well, I thought
When I thought you was my friend
(When I thought that I could call you my friend)
When I thought, well, I thought
When I thought you was my friend
(When I thought that I could call you my friend)
But you let me down (hoo!)
Put my heart around the bend

7. “How Do You Sleep” by John Lennon released in 1971with George Harrison on slide guitar.

The song was on his 2nd solo and No1album Imagine and was a sharp edged response to Paul’s subtle digs at Lennon on his earlier released song “Too Many People”. It was Lennon’s gloves off response, but it was one which he later downplayed. At a fan Q&A, he responded to a question about why he wrote it, saying, “Why did I write it? I don’t have a reason for writing it.” In 1980, just prior to his murder, he added, “I used my resentment against Paul … to create a song … not a terrible vicious horrible vendetta … I used my resentment and withdrawing from Paul and The Beatles, and the relationship with Paul, to write ‘How Do You Sleep’. I don’t really go ‘round with those thoughts in my head all the time” In my opinion, it’s the most personally searing swipe song written. This raw studio out-take is not nearly as powerful and tight as the finished version, but it’s cool to listen and watch John’s vocal delivery. It’s almost a minute longer than the finished song.

8. “Back Off Boogaloo” by Ringo Starr (Co-writer George Harrison) was released in 1972 included George Harrison — slide & acoustic guitar. Charted No9 (US) and No2 (UK).

Although Ringo denies the song was directed at McCartney, most experts believed it clearly was pointed at him. Ringo was publicly critical of both of Paul’s initial solo albums, and they had a falling out about the timing of his first albums release. The song’s first verse begins

Wake up meathead

Don’t pretend that you are dead

Get yourself up off the cart

In the songs bridge, he clearly is telling McCartney that he can do better and pleads that he does.

Get yourself together

And give me something tasty

Everything you try to do

You know it sure sounds wasted

This widely regarded as one of his best efforts. The opening 2 bars feature Ringo soloing in a military drumbeat followed with George’s distinct slide guitar. Give it a listen.

9. “Sue Me, Sue You Blues” by George Harrison and was released in 1973.

The period from 1969 through 1974 was mired in legal and financial discord caused initially in deciding who was going to be their business manager. McCartney was in favor of having his wife’s father represent them and the other 3 disliked the obvious conflict of interest. The result was non-stop legal actions by all sides. And, it got very personal for everyone, but for one of Paul’s fiercest opponents, the need for so many lawyers was unbearable. George Harrison made his feelings clear on ‘Sue Me, Sue You’ with the first verse singing:

Well, you serve me and I’ll serve you

Swing your partners, I’ll get screwed

Bring your lawyer and I’ll bring mine

Get together, and we could have a bad time

With McCartney winning the courtroom battle, Harrison’s song was clear in what that meant: “Now all that’s left is to find yourself a new band.” An ok song with good slide guitar work, but doesn’t make my cut.

Tributes

10. “All Those Years Ago” by George Harrison released in 1981 with Paul doing backing vocals and Ringo playing drums. Charted No2 (US) & No13 (UK).

It was recorded just 5 months after Lennon’s murder and was the first time the remaining band members recorded together since 1970’s “I Me Mine” session. George had originally written the song for Ringo, but he disliked the lyrics and returned it. After John’s murder he re-wrote the lyrics. I found these lyrics interesting.

Living with good and bad
I always looked up to you
Now we’re left cold and sad
By someone, the devil’s best friend
Someone who offended all

11. “Here Today” by Paul McCartney and released in 1982.

There’s no song that is more deserving of the best tribute for John Lennon than ‘Here Today’. Written in less than a year after Lennon’s death in which he said the writing session put him in a deeply emotional state of mind and he was “kind of crying” as he worked. The song’s structure was based around a hypothetical dialogue between he and John. It is a heart-wrenching song that is driven simply by his acoustic guitar and a few string instruments. It’s therapeutic for both Paul and the millions of listeners who were all deeply grieving about John’s loss. Paul states that the lyrics were honest depiction of their relationship and shared an example. One verse in the song refers to an incident that occurred during the Beatles’ first American tour in 1964 when they were stranded in Key West, Florida during a hurricane. Said McCartney, “It was during that night, when we’d all stayed up way too late, and we got so pissed that we ended up crying — about, you know, how wonderful we were, and how much we loved each other, even though we’d never said anything. It was a good one: you never say anything like that. Especially if you’re a Northern Man.” This is a video of the recording session.

12. “Never Without You” by Ringo (Co-writers Mark Hudson & Gary Nicholson) was released in 2003.

Ringo said of this song written 2 years after Harrison’s death: “George was really on my mind when I wrote it.” He claimed that he had remained closest friends with George following the break-up of the band and that the song was an attempt to convey “how I miss him in my heart and in music.” The song takes reference from Harrison’s most notable compositions including ‘Here Comes The Sun’ and ‘I Dig Love’ while there are elements of Harrison’s riff for ‘What Is Life’ too. But perhaps what would have been Harrison’s favorite part was Eric Clapton’s use of slide guitar “Eric’s on two tracks on the album Ringo Rama, but I really wanted him on this song because George loved Eric and Eric loved George.” As you’ll hear, Eric’s lead guitar work on the track was outstanding.

13. “Friends to Go” by Paul McCartney released in 2005.

This another song that he plays and sings all parts of it. He wrote this as a tribute to George Harrison who died in 2001. In his own words, “Funny thing about some songs is when you’re writing them you can think you’re someone else. I mean when I was doing “The Long And Winding Road” I thought I was Ray Charles. In actual fact my record of it, the Beatles record of it, is nothing like Ray Charles at all. But in my mind I was being him. I was playing Ray. And on ‘Friends To Go’ I realized I was playing George Harrison. So to me it just started to sound like a George Harrison song. So I was writing with that in the back of my mind, so it was kind of like (sings) ‘I’ve been waiting on the other side for your friends to leave so I don’t have to hide.”

Memories

14. “Early 1970” by Ringo Starr and released in 1971 with George Harrison on guitar.

The song is the B-side of his first and very successful single with lead side “It Don’t Come Easy” and is a plea for his bandmates to reconcile and finally put the past behind them.Beatles historian Bruce Spizer writes that Ringo’s feeling of disorientation after the bands break up “form the basis” of Starr’s composition which he describes as a country-flavored track. A very lackluster song in my opinion, but you be the judge.

15. “Dear Friend” by Paul McCartney was released in 1971.

This song was on his first post-Beatle album titled Wild Life with his new band Wings. Previous outings may have seen him taking shots at John, but this was the first olive branch sent across the airwaves. In his own words, “Dear Friend” was written about John, yes. I don’t like grief and arguments; they always bug me. Life is too precious, although we often find ourselves guilty of doing it. So, after John had slagged me off in public I had to think of a response, and it was either going to be to slag him off in public — and some instinct stopped me, which I’m really glad about — or do something else. So, I worked on my attitude and wrote “Dear Friend”, saying, in effect, let’s lay the guns down, let’s hang up our boxing gloves.” For me, this song is way too long, somber and repetitive and mirrors the poor quality of this album in general. But it serves as a useful testament to his struggle with self-identity which, in the end, he wins.

16. “Silly Love Songs” by Paul McCartney released in 1976. Charted at No1 (US) & No23 (UK).

This song was a bit of a rebuttal to music critics, and he stated, “But over the years people have said, “Aw, he sings love songs, he writes love songs, he’s so soppy at times.” I thought, Well, I know what they mean, but, people have been doing love songs forever. I like ’em, other people like ’em, and there’s a lot of people I love — I’m lucky enough to have that in my life. So the idea was that “you” may call them silly, but what’s wrong with that?” But there was another more important critic that really mattered to him. As his relationship with John Lennon began to improve in the mid-1970’s, they had been talking about their difference in the band and, in truth, Lennon had always set himself and McCartney apart. Lennon was the rocker in the group who wrote songs with explicit honesty and packed with provocative substance. In Lennon’s eyes, McCartney wrote “silly love songs” and music hall numbers that he labelled as ‘granny shit’. Think “When I’m 64” or “Honey Pie”. McCartney couldn’t stop himself from playing a mind game with his friend.

17. “All Those Years Ago” by George Harrison with Ringo — drums, Paul — backing vocals and released 1981. Charted at No2 (US) & No13 (UK).

They all paid tribute to their fallen friend, John Lennon., six months after his tragic murder, The song had originally started as a track for a new Ringo Starr album that Harrison had penned for his former drummer. However, following Lennon’s death, Harrison took the song back and adapted the lyrics to the circumstances. It charted well globally and was one of George’s better songs.

18. “When We Was Fab” by George Harrison (co-writer/producer Jeff Lynn) and was released 1987 with Ringo — drums, backing vocals. Charted at No23 (US) & No25 (UK).

This is one of the best nostalgic songs from any of the band members and one of his 10 best according to AOL radio listeners. The historically correct instrumentation includes a string quartet, sitar, and psychedelic effects like late 1960’s Beatle songs. The video is also very creative and received 6 nominations at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards. McCartney appears in the walrus costume.

19. “That Was Me” by Paul McCartney was released in 2007.

This solid rocker is autobiographical but contains content specific to the band. In his own words in an interview with Mail on Sunday “People often say they can remember more from their childhood than they can from a month ago. I think that is a fact of life — I don’t know why. So, all I had to do for this song was to think back. And immediately I go back to Liverpool, where there was a little place, we could escape to, beautiful little woods where, come springtime, there would be these carpets of bluebells. It was a magical place. There’s something about me at the bus stop that’s a big part of my memories — going to school, coming home from school, going to the pictures, going to your friend’s house. So all of these things got in there. ‘The cellar’ is the Cavern, ‘Royal Iris’ is a ferry boat they had — they’d call them riverboat shuffles, and some of our earliest gigs were on them. So, these are just exciting memories of mine, and I connected them: ‘On a blanket, in the bluebells, at the bus stop,’ Then I get into the Beatles: ‘That was me, on TV, sweating cobwebs in a cellar.” Here’s a live performance

20. “Early Days” by Paul McCartney was released in 2013.

This a real charmer because of the way he sings it. He did it as a studio demo and told the producer he’d redo the vocal because it “is a bit wobbly”. The producer disagreed stating “but it’s you! It’s vulnerable and sounds really true to life”. In his own words from an interview with Absolute Radio “It’s just this idea of people robbing your history from you, But it in my case, it started off with the idea of ‘They can’t take it with me because I lived through those early days. I was there.’ And then it went into describing some early days, some memories of me and John, walking along or listening to the records in the record shop and all of that. But then the last verse is wildly defensive, which is like these people say who did this and who did that. Well, that is very definitely about people telling me what I did and what John did.” The video below is very compelling.

21–24. “Rory And The Hurricanes” by Ringo Starr (Co-writer Dave Stewart) and released 2015.

Ringo joined this band in 1959 and would remain their drummer until 1962 when he fortuitously joined the Beatles months prior to them having their first hit song “Love Me Do”. Rory and the hurricanes were topped ranked Liverpool band and we’re known for their outlandish stress and exuberant stage performance. Their front man, Alan Caldwell, changed his name to Rory, and convinced Richie Starkey, to do the same. Due his habit of wearing many rings, Richie morphed into Ringo and the rest is history. In his own words, “I have been offered autobiographies, but all they only really wanna know about is those eight years in The Beatles and there would be three volumes before I even got to that,” Ringo explains. “[So] I’ve decided to do mini-autobiographies, instead of writing a book, I’m doing it on record… I’d rather put it quickly in a song, snippets of part of my life.” He had previously released “Liverpool 8”, “The Other Side of Liverpool” and “In Liverpool”. “Rory And The Hurricanes” is by far his best effort of the series. Good song, but not enough Beatles content.

If you weren’t counting, Paul has 10 songs, Ringo 7, George 5 and John 2. If you are a big fan, you might want to read this article. As of 11/6/23, I have 13 other articles about them and more coming. If you are aware of a song I missed, please let me know.

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