‘God Help You’: John Lennon’s Vicious Letter To Linda And Paul McCartney (1971)
- dthholland
- May 21, 2017
- 5 min read
In the early months of 1971, amid a turbulent time for all four former Beatles, John Lennon sat down to write a letter to Paul and Linda McCartney. The correspondence, scrawled on two sheets of paper bearing the letterhead of Bag Productions – the company Lennon had formed with Yoko Ono – captures a raw and painful moment in the aftermath of the Beatles’ disintegration. Far from offering a note of reconciliation, Lennon’s words reflected anger, hurt, and a profound sense of betrayal.
The letter itself was triggered by an earlier note sent by Linda McCartney. In her letter, Linda had chastised John for not having made a public announcement regarding his decision to leave the Beatles. This, she implied, left Paul to face the fallout alone, particularly in the eyes of fans and the press. Paul was indeed struggling. In interviews and later reflections, he would admit that during this period, he was descending into unhealthy coping mechanisms: “I hit the bottle,” he said bluntly. “I hit the substances.” The Beatles, once a symbol of collective creativity and brotherhood, had ended in rancour, and the personal cost was heavy.
John’s reply to Linda – often referred to simply as the “Lennon Letter” – is not an uplifting read. It is a glimpse into the bitterness that coloured his life during this period. Lennon accused Paul and Linda of being self-righteous, insinuated that Paul had always sought to control the Beatles’ direction, and expressed resentment at what he perceived as a lack of recognition for Yoko’s role in his life and music. The letter is often quoted for its curt, lacerating lines, including Lennon’s assertion: “Do you really think most of today’s art came about because of the Beatles? I don’t believe you’re that insane – Paul – do you believe that?”
Lennon’s discontent was partly rooted in long-standing frustrations. Throughout the final years of the Beatles, tensions had simmered between John and Paul, with conflicts ranging from musical disagreements to business decisions, particularly regarding the management of the Beatles’ finances following the death of their original manager, Brian Epstein. When Paul chose to sue his fellow Beatles in order to dissolve their partnership formally – a decision he found agonising but necessary – the personal wounds widened into chasms.
The 1971 letter also reveals John’s defensive loyalty towards Yoko Ono. In it, he lambasted Linda’s apparent suggestion that Yoko had been a divisive influence, asserting instead that his relationship with her had given him a sense of personal and artistic freedom he had not experienced within the Beatles. “I had to either be married to them or Yoko,” he wrote. “I chose Yoko.”
The correspondence further laid bare a divergence in their personal philosophies. Lennon, who was immersing himself in radical politics and avant-garde art, bristled at what he saw as Paul and Linda’s bourgeois lifestyle. The tone of the letter fluctuates between sarcasm, hurt, and outright hostility, indicating how deeply Lennon had internalised the resentments of the past few years.
For Paul McCartney, this letter was yet another blow during a deeply painful period. Having been portrayed by some media outlets as the man who had “broken up the Beatles,” Paul found himself isolated. His first solo records, McCartney (1970) and Ram (1971), were critically divisive, and his heavy drinking and drug use reflected a man struggling with depression and disillusionment. The once-solid friendship between Lennon and McCartney, forged in their Liverpool youth and solidified in the backrooms of Hamburg and the studios of Abbey Road, seemed utterly broken.
Over time, the vitriol softened somewhat. By the mid-1970s, Lennon and McCartney would reconnect socially, even spending relaxed, music-filled evenings together during Lennon’s so-called “Lost Weekend” period in Los Angeles. However, the bitterness captured in that 1971 letter never fully disappeared, and it would take years for the mutual affection underlying their fraught relationship to be acknowledged again openly.
The 1971 letter stands today as a stark testament to how creative partnerships, even the most successful in popular culture, can be undone by personal wounds and miscommunications. It also humanises Lennon and McCartney, showing them not as mythic icons but as young men overwhelmed by the collapse of something they had built together, something that had defined their lives and identities.
In that moment, neither Lennon nor McCartney was capable of extending a hand of reconciliation. Instead, they were mired in anger and sadness, emotions poured into angry songs, private letters, and bitter interviews. Yet, despite everything, the deep connection between them endured in subtle ways until the end of Lennon’s life. It is a relationship that remains as complex and fascinating to historians and fans alike as the music they created.
Full Transcript:
I was reading your letter and wondering what middle aged cranky Beatle fan wrote it. I resisted looking at the last page to find out -I kept thinking who is it – Queenie? Stuart’s mother?—Clive Epstein’s wife?—Alan Williams?—What the hell—it’s Linda!
You really think the press are beneath me/you? Do you think that? Who do you think we/you are? The ‘self-indulgent doesn’t realize who he is hurting’ bit—I hope you realize what shit you and the rest of my ‘kind and unselfish’ friends laid on Yoko and me, since we’ve been together. It might have sometimes been a bit more subtle or should I say ‘middle class’—but not often. We both ‘rose above it’ quite a few times—& forgave you two—so it’s the least you can do for us—you noble people.—Linda—if you don’t care what I say—shut up!—let Paul write—or whatever.
When asked about what I thought originally concerning MBE, etc.—I told them as best as I can remember—and I do remember squirming a little—don’t you, Paul?—or do you—as I suspect—still believe it all? I’ll forgive Paul for encouraging the Beatles—if he forgives me for the same—for being—‘honest with me and caring too much’! Fucking hell, Linda, you’re not writing for Beatle book!!!
I’m not ashamed of the Beatles—(I did start it all)—but of some of the shit we took to make them so big—I thought we all felt that way in varying degrees—obviously not.
Do you really think most of today’s art came about because of the Beatles?—I don’t believe you’re that insane—Paul—do you believe that? When you stop believing it you might wake up! Didn’t we always say we were part of the movement—not all of it?—Of course, we changed the world—but try and follow it through—GET OFF YOUR GOLD DISC AND FLY!
Don’t give me that Aunty Gin shit about ‘in five years I’ll look back as a different person’—don’t you see that’s what’s happening NOW!—If I only knew THEN what I know NOW—you seemed to have missed that point….
Excuse me if I use ‘Beatle Space’ to talk about whatever I want—obviously if they keep asking Beatle questions—I’ll answer them—and get as much John and Yoko Space as I can—they ask me about Paul and I answer—I know some of it gets personal—but whether you believe it or not I try and answer straight—and the bits they use are obviously the juicy bits—I don’t resent your husband—I’m sorry for him. I know the Beatles are ‘quite nice people’—I’m one of them—they’re also just as big bastards as anyone else—so get off your high horse!—by the way—we’ve had more intelligent interest in our new activities in one year than we had throughout the Beatle era.
Finally, about not telling anyone that I left the Beatles—PAUL and Klein both spent the day persuading me it was better not to say anything—asking me not to say anything because it would ‘hurt the Beatles’—and ‘let’s just let it petre out’—remember? So get that into your petty little perversion of a mind, Mrs. McCartney—the cunts asked me to keep quiet about it. Of course, the money angle is important—to all of us—especially after all the petty shit that came from your insane family/in laws—and GOD HELP YOU OUT, PAUL—see you in two years—I reckon you’ll be out then—in spite of it all, love to you both, from us two.
P.S. about addressing your letter just to me—STILL….!!!
