All Together Now

The last Beatles performance. January 30, 1969

“Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?”

After Aaron Burr kills Alexander Hamilton at their sunrise duel in the Broadway musical Hamilton, characters from throughout Hamilton’s life wonder aloud how the story of Hamilton’s life will be told. For all he wrote, for all he spoke and for all he did, most of Hamilton’s life story will be left to told by others. By those who loved him and those who despised him. Those who governed with him and those who fought with him. Ultimately, the story of Alexander Hamilton’s life will be told by those who survive him.

Similarly, in many ways, it has been left to Paul McCartney to keep the legacy and the story of the Beatles alive. We have been learning a lot about the Beatles through Paul since John Lennon’s tragic assassination at the tender age of 40 in 1980, and George Harrison’s death from cancer at the age of 58 in 2001. Through re-mastered versions of albums, new documentary films and books, numerous interviews, and even new Beatles songs, the story of the Beatles has largely been Paul’s story to tell.

In Peter Jackson’s remarkable 2021 remake of the Get Back movie, originally filmed during the creation of what would be Let It Be (the Beatles penultimate album) we see a band that is tired and falling apart. But we also see a band that still revels the silliness and joy of their childhood days discovering music together. And we see a band that, in many ways, is being held together by the sheer will and tenacity of Paul McCartney.

“Who tells your story?”

John shows up late to recording sessions with girlfriend Yoko Ono while Paul is sitting in the studio, guitar in hand, ready to play. George quits the band, and Paul convinces him to return. Ringo sits bored in the corner of the studio while Paul works tirelessly to put the songs together. Kids are running around the studio as Paul picks out the first notes of the “Get Back” while noodling around on the piano.

“And when you’re gone, who remembers your name?
Who keeps your flame?”

Paul probably had a lot to do with the story that was told in Get Back, but the talent and contributions of everybody in the band are clearly evident. George brings in “Something,” and workshops lyrics with John. Ringo creates brilliant drum tracks on what would become some of the very best music of the 20th century. John and Paul working together, in partnership, just like the old days.

John and Paul were always great songwriting partners, but nowhere is the that partnership of John and Paul more evident than in the brilliant “I’ve Got a Feeling.” The song is actually the joining of one unfinished song by Paul, and one unfinished song by John. When combined, “I’ve Got a Feeling” paints a fascinating portrait of where these two young men were in their lives at the time. Paul was falling in love, and John was finding peace after a very tumultuous time of loss and estrangement.

During these sessions, keyboardist and vocalist Billy Preston had joined the band, and the song begins with a rolling groove gently played on a Fender Rhodes piano. Paul sings the first verse.

“I’ve got a feeling
A feeling deep inside
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, that’s right
I’ve got a feeling
A feeling I can’t hide“

These lyrics bring the sentiment and syrup from Paul McCartney that would come to flourish on solo songs such as “Silly Love Songs” and “Let ‘Em In.” Here, for some reason, they just work.

Ringo comes in on drums about halfway through the first verse as does harmony from John. And all of a sudden, almost out of nowhere, George Harrison comes in with a wonderfully monotone, ripping guitar solo as Paul begins to scream his passion for all to hear. Together, Paul and John sing the next verse.

“Oh please believe me
I’d hate to miss the train
Oh yeah, yeah
Oh yeah
And if you leave me
I won’t be late again“

John and Paul are singing every word in bittersweet harmony. As one of the very last songs they would ever record together, we can’t help but to appreciate what we are hearing in this moment, as we know we would never hear it again.

Paul then rips loose with his very best “Helter Skelter” and “Oh Darling” blues wail.

“All these years, I’ve been wanderin’ around
Wonderin’ how come nobody told me
All that I been lookin’ for was somebody who looked like you“

Paul is in love. He wants everyone to know it, he wants everyone to hear it. Next we hear from John.

“Everybody had a hard year
Everybody had a good time
Everybody had a wet dream
Everybody saw the sunshine
Oh yeah (oh yeah)
Oh yeah, oh yeah (yeah)
Everybody had a good year
Everybody let their hair down
Everybody pulled their socks up (yeah)
Everybody put their foot down”

Whereas Paul is expressing his love for the woman who would become his wife, John is bemoaning the breakup of his marriage to his wife Cynthia, and his estrangement from his son Julian. Everybody had a good year, except when they didn’t.

And then the songs are combined. After trading verses, the lines are now combined. Intertwined. The message is one of love and loss. Happiness and pain. Optimism and regret. Yin and Yang. John and Paul.

“I’ve got a feeling (everybody had a good year)
A feeling deep inside (everybody had a hard time)
Oh yeah (everybody had a wet dream)
Oh yeah (everybody saw the sunshine)
I’ve got a feeling (everybody had a good year)
A feeling I can’t hide (everybody let their hair down)
Oh no (everybody pulled their socks up)
Oh no, no (everybody put their foot down, oh yeah)“

The recording sounds a little but rough, not the polished finished product we have come to expect from The Beatles, because it was recorded live during their very last concert on that London rooftop in 1969. It sounds rough, but the band is as tight as they ever have been, which is remarkable because they had not performed live together for several years. They played only a few songs during this last concert on that cold day, and they were still the best band in the world. A studio version of “I’ve Got a Feeling”would ultimately be released in the 1990’s, but it was the rooftop concert version that still resonates.

“Let me tell you what I wish I’d known
When I was young and dreamed of glory”

While it is unfortunate that the story of the Beatles has been left only to Paul to tell, thankfully it is a story he continues to tell. We don’t know what he has gotten right or wrong, and we don’t know how John or George might tell the story differently. But the story goes on. The music goes on. In fact, after the Get Back movie was released, Paul performed “I’ve Got a Feeling” again live on stage, but this time with the film and vocal of John playing along with him from the rooftop concert. It’s remarkable, and the story of the Beatles continues.

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“I’ve Got a Feeling”
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Performed by The Beatles
Released May 8, 1970