Music Monday: Hey Jude

Sad to say, I became a Beatles fan as a result of John Lennon’s assassination in 1980. Of course I knew who The Beatles were. I’ve always known. I recall a German boy coming to stay with us for a few weeks when I was about seven or eight. One of the things he, my older brother, and I would do when we were supposed to be going to sleep was to put our pillows on our heads and jump on our beds singing, “She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah!” I was born as they were breaking up, but their music has always been around. We sang “Yellow Submarine” and “Octopus’s Garden” in primary school. And is there anyone breathing air that hasn’t heard “Yesterday” in some form or another? I probably knew them as “John, Paul, George, and Ringo,” but when I saw the news story about John Lennon, I had to ask my Mum or my Dad, “Who’s John Lennon?” As soon as they said, “He was one of The Beatles,” they didn’t have to say another word. I understood. The tears. The grief. The flowers. The singing. I understood. The first Beatles movie I remember watching was “Help!” shown by the BBC as a tribute to John either that evening, or the following evening. All scheduled programming was pushed aside because a Beatle had been shot. I understood.

“Hey Jude” was one of those songs, like “Yesterday” and “She Loves You,” I didn’t need to discover. I re-discovered it when my parents bought me the “Red” and “Blue” Beatles compilation albums for Christmas 1981 (Beatle fans will know exactly which albums i mean). One of the hardest questions people can ask me is, “What’s your favorite Beatles song?” I have been listening to The Beatles for 35 years now, and know their music so well, it’s very hard to pick a favorite. But I have to say, “Hey Jude” is up there in the top five. It’s certainly one of the best songs Paul McCartney has ever written (and that’s another list that’s too long to be useful).

I know not everyone’s a Beatle fan, and not everyone appreciates Paul McCartney, but I have to contend that his giftedness as a songwriter is undeniable to anyone with ears. When you compose songs like THIS for your pet dog, and songs like THIS and THIS for your wife, how can you not be considered one of the finest composers ever to walk the planet? (Notice I didn’t qualify that statement–yes, I’m ranking him alongside Bach, Beethoven, and Debussy with no apology.) He has an innate sense of what works musically, and at his very best he can create tunes and harmonies that simply resonate with the soul, cut to the heart, and speak. He wrote “Hey Jude” for Julian Lennon, John’s son by his first wife. John and Cynthia had recently separated, and Paul wanted to write a song for Julian to encourage him during this difficult time.

“Hey Jude” is not musically complex. There aren’t any fancy chords, or strange twists that usually get my attention. But it doesn’t need anything fancy; the tune is strong, beautiful, and needs only the simplest harmonic structure for support. I listened carefully to what Paul’s playing on the piano before writing the chords out for you, just to be sure I only give you what he plays. Some might be tempted to add to his chords based on the melody, but when he plays a C7, it’s a C7, even if he’s singing an F (the fourth) in the tune. That fourth isn’t in the chord. The bridge part was a little trickier; it’s hard to hear whether he stays on the same chord for each bass note (Bb, Bb/A, Gm, Gm/F), or changes chord. For help, I listened to John and George’s harmonies, and it sounds to me as if they are following the bass notes (Bb, Dm/A, Gm, Bb/F). And that’s about as hard as it gets.

Here’s the lead sheet for you (click to enlarge):

Here’s The Beatles playing the song for David Frost in 1968:

Do you have a favorite Beatles song? Also, let me know if you have any song requests for future Music Mondays.