Paul McCartney Reveals Inspiration Behind The Beatles' 'Hey Jude'

Paul McCartney revealed how Bob Dylan's song inspired The Beatles to create "Hey Jude."

The Beatles fans have long known how the band's hit song, "Hey Jude," was written for John Lennon's son, Julian. The band created the track to comfort the then-child who was hurt after Lennon left him and his wife for Yoko Ono.

Although the song's history was painful enough, the band was able to complete it through Dylan's hit song, "Like a Rolling Stone."

How The Rolling Stones' Song Helped The Beatles Create 'Hey Jude'

McCartney previously opened up about the song in the book "Conversations with McCartney" and recalled how he crossed paths with Dylan and other The Rolling Stones members, Brian Jones and Keith Richards.

He noted that Dylan influenced the Fab Four, with John Lennon even impersonating the rocker while performing "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away." The same Rolling Stones track also inspired "Hey Jude" in the end.

"He'd bring out a long record, so we knew it'd be OK to do 'Hey Jude' long. 'What d'you mean, man? 'Like a Rolling Stone' is six minutes 30 [seconds]. Why can't we have one seven minutes?' he said. "You started breaking boundaries, questioning previous values."

How "Hey Jude" Was Created for Julian Lennon

With the help of The Rolling Stones, The Beatles was able to record a song that could ease what Julian was feeling.

Decades after the song was released, Lennon's son appeared in an episode of SiriusXM Volume radio show, "Debatable" in which he talked about the track and how it was written for him by McCartney. He noted that it was written after Lennon and his mother Cynthia split.

"I wasn't really aware of what was going on except when I started seeing Yoko [Ono] around, obviously, that made a bit of an impact and apparently I struggled with the separation a great deal at five. I would have raving moments of being a screaming child, but those moments haven't stuck with me," he said.

Julian then pushed himself to make his mother his priority and help her instead of breaking down due to the heartbreaking event.

He then made an album based on the song. Titled, "Jude," Julian's album reportedly helped him have a different point of view of the song. He also thanked McCartney for saving him after his parents' separation.

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The Beatles