The Beatles Song John Lennon Denied Writing, Calling It a “Piece Of Rubbish”
The collaborative approach to the Beatles’ songwriting allowed John Lennon and Paul McCartney to bolster one another creatively, and it also opened the door for one musician to blame a song on another, as was the case for the Beatles song John Lennon later denied writing.
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His denial came over a decade after he first wrote the song, so maybe he really forgot that he was the creative force behind the “rubbish” he brushed off in his final interview with David Sheff in 1980. Perhaps Lennon felt a bit embarrassed by the fact that the recording session for that particular song caused their chief engineer to quit.
Or maybe it was a mix of both. Whatever the reason, Lennon had no intention of taking responsibility for the fifth track on the Beatles’ 1968 eponymous “White Album’s” fourth side. John Lennon Denied Writing This 1968 Beatles Song.
In his final interview with David Sheff, John Lennon gave his no-holds-barred opinions about countless tracks from his former band’s extensive discography. Sheff would call out song titles like “Strawberry Fields Forever,” “Yesterday,” and “Across the Universe,” and Lennon would offer anecdotes, accolades, and critiques where fit. But when Sheff called out, “Cry, Baby, Cry,” Lennon was curt.
“Not me. A piece of rubbish,” Lennon said (via All We Are Saying).
Sheff didn’t press Lennon on the topic, moving right along to other songs like “Good Night” and “Mother Nature’s Son.” But eagle-eyed fans would notice that Lennon’s glib remark wasn’t entirely truthful. If one were to believe Hunter Davies’ writing in The Beatles: The Authorized Biography, he captured the moment Lennon was writing it.
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
