paul mcgyatney had a farm

Yes, Paul is quite respectful regarding Nancy (I remember Howard Stern told him that he thinks Paul and Linda had one of the greatest love stories ever, and Paul replied, "Well, thank you. And now I've got Nancy.") And yes, this song could very well be about Linda. I actually ponder this a lot because, if you pay attention to the lyrics, all the lines that we would think could apply to John could also apply to Linda: "My thoughts return to you," "Last night I dreamed of you and all that we could do together, side by side," "Over, over again, I'll be in love with you," and even "Always, always, my friend, you'll be my only one." We know that Paul dreams about John a lot and thinks about him a lot, but he has also said that he dreams about Linda and about people he loves in general. And of course, the title We Two sounds to me like a callback to Two of Us, which I personally think is about both John and Linda (and that could very well be the case with We Two as well). The thing that personally tips the balance a bit in John's favor for me is the context of the album. It's supposed to be mainly about memories from Paul's early Liverpool years, hence the title The Boys of Dungeon Lane. Paul has publicly dedicated many of the songs to people who were from that period of his life: his parents (Salesman Saint), Ringo (Home to Us), George (Down South), and even a childhood crush (As You Lie There). But other than a single verse in Days We Left Behind, there isn't a single song that he has publicly identified as being about John. Now, of course, it could be that the only part of the entire album dedicated to John is that one verse. I just personally find that highly unlikely, given John's enormous importance in Paul's life. I don't even think I need to explain why. As I've said before, the only songs that Paul has consistently avoided discussing in terms of their inspiration—and instead keeps deflecting to technical details every time—are We Two, Never Know, and Lost Horizon (and Come Inside as well, although that's a different kind of song with a different theme). Because of that, I have a feeling that at least one of those three songs (if not all of them) is about John. Another interesting thing about We Two is that Paul recorded it using a four-track Studer machine, which is what the early Beatles recordings were made on. Then there's the tape rewinding at the end. The Beatles were the ones who really popularized that tape rewind effect, and they used it quite a bit. So this (and Never Know, interestingly) are the songs on the album where Paul deliberately included all these very Beatle-y touches (except for Mountain Top, a song about getting tripped out and stoned, which also uses tape loops). And if we're reaching just a little bit, there could even be some subtle parallels with Now and Then. For example, John's line "and if I make it through" compared with Paul's "we two came through." Maybe even the fact that both songs begin with Paul counting, "One, two, three." We Two is the only song on the album that starts that way. (But I'm aware this one is even more of a reach, lol.) Maybe, maybe not. But I'm also pretty sure that if Paul ever wanted to draw a parallel between one of his songs and one of John's, he'd do it subtly rather than make it obvious.

Yeah, it's funny (and a bit frustrating) that the media (and even most people today) still think they were actively feuding until their 1974 jam session. Even May Pang said she was shocked when she saw them together there because of how casually they were talking and interacting. She said that it didn't match the image the media had been presenting at all. What most people didn't know is that they had actually been on much better terms since early 1972, when they met in New York and agreed to stop attacking each other publicly. And around that same time, studio engineers working on one of John's albums recalled that Paul would regularly call the studio, and John would stop whatever he was doing, even the album recording sessions, to talk with him for hours, just like two best friends. The engineers themselves were surprised because the press was still insisting that the two hated each other. And of course, as I mentioned on an earlier post, there's also the account of them chatting and laughing together backstage at the L.A. Grammys just days before the jam session. And Paul himself, in Many Years From Now, said that by then, he and John would just laugh at all the media stories. He said:

"When John and I used to meet during that period, he would tell me, 'Do they try and set you against me like they try and set me against you?' And I'd say, 'Yes, often.' People would say, 'Did you hear that Lennon threw up before he went on stage in Toronto?' They'd always tell me the juicy things, in case I wanted to go, 'Did he? What a bastard! Well, serve him right, ha ha.' We'd hear it just as gossip and derive some petty satisfaction from it."

1998: Paul reflects on his decision to compose the score for The Family Way (as well as John’s hurt over it). (Note: This footage was taken from an A&E special called Paul McCartney’s Musical Ways, but I’m fairly certain that this interview was the same one conducted by Michel Laverdière circa 1995, which has been previously quoted here.)