April 16th, 1973 (Beverly Hills Hotel, Los Angeles): A few months before the Lost Weekend, DJ Elliot Mintz, in his interview with John and Yoko, slips in a leading question about Paul. Cue Johnās defensive, convoluted rambling. (Note: Elliot Mintz was, and still is, a good friend of Yoko Onoās; itās been said, however, by at least one credible source that John himself didnāt have a very good opinion of Mintz, and mostly tolerated his company. In this interview - with Mintz keen for an unfavorable comment about Paul, and John pointedly not giving him one - it may seem so.)
MINTZ: Thereās one name that has not come up in our discussion.
JOHN: Whoās that?
MINTZ: Paulie. [laughter]
JOHN: Yes, he did! We got Paul in it. And I object to that Paulie business.
MINTZ: Mr. McCartney. His nameā
JOHN: Paul.
MINTZ: Paul. Yes. And we really havenāt discussed him to any degree, and people are always concerned about, er, how you regard him.
JOHN: I first met Paulā
MINTZ: No, no, theyāre not interested in that aspect, but they ā they are interested in how you relate to him now. There is this all-pervasive feeling, you know, that folks sometimes articulate, that you donāt have the fondest of feelings towards him. Perhaps youād like to discuss that.
JOHN: Well, because of the situation weāre in, and I often express myself through song, or mainly through song, somebody can have ā letās call itā Letās say heās a brother of mine, in the family. Now, if two brothers argue and fight, for whatever reason, or even ā write, the only way they can express themselves, because theyāre not artists, is either through letters or through dialogue. One brother goes away to sea, not because they had a fight, but because he was going away to sea anyway. The last thing they did was have an argument. He, the brother away at sea ā letās call that me, ācause I went to America ā might write to his brother, or he might write to his other relaā his auntie, letās say, to, you know, jolly do, say this, or whatever you might say about it. Now, because weāre in the ā we do it on the grand scale, or whatever the trip is weāre on, my letters home are examined and taken for a lifelong statement. Now, I said, āI want to hold your handāā Thatās what I was saying then. At the same time, I was saying, āid grooble on the diddle bow,ā in me books, right?
So ā yeah, okay, I said it, alright? So what does it mean? Does it mean that that is the Bible, and I ā and when Iām eighty, thatās what I mean? And now to reiterate yet again ācause I heard the program ā you know, do they will they are they about the song āHow Do You Sleep?ā. And Iāll say once againā āHow Do You Sleep?ā was my reaction to Paulās [second] album. And the song that particularly offended not only me, but the others too ā and maybe we were super paranoid at the time, but thatās irrelevant, itās there in green and white ā was āToo Many Peopleā, and some various other remarks. Now whether heās ā he was expressing himself because whether we plan it to express our innermost feelings, or sort of surreal it like Dylan, or ā Paul, you could say, his lyrics are very sort of⦠non-specific ā if one knows the person, one knows what is coming down. You know, you can read whatās being saidā
YOKO: Between the lines.
JOHN: Between the lines. Because peopleās expressions and feelings come out in their work whether they want it to or not. So I always express myself directly, or [in the] language of the streets, and other people donāt. And thatās what it was all about. And I donāt go āround thinking, āhow do you sleep?ā the same as I donāt go, āimagine thereās no heaven,ā you know. Because itās 1973 now, and itās a different world. And as youāve probably heard, or people have read, Paul and I have communicated, Linda and Yoko have communicated. And another myth was that Linda and Yoko had all sorts of arguments going on in the early period, and they never had one.
YOKO: No, never.
JOHN: And they related to each other fairly well. And if anything the arguments are between the two males, you know, the machos. And thatās how it was, and as far as Iām concerned, itās all over, and I hope not to go through that kind of trip again with anybody. For whatever reason. Itās just a waste of energy and time. There you go. And weāre fine! And if we could meet, itād probably be finer, but the governmentās making it inconvenient.
MINTZ: So when you think of him now, you donāt think hostilely or negatively?Ā
JOHN: No. Iām happy heās doing well with his song, I think his album will do well, and ā good luck to him, you know. I hope the James Bond themeās well, and good luck to all of them, you know. Just ā as long as I donāt have to be a part of it, then great! I wish them all well. Even, or including Mr. Klein. Good luck to him. I just wish to lead my own life. Yoko and I want to be happy. And whatever it takes ā I mean, not over somebodyās dead body, as it were ā but thatās the main concern, and thatās what itās all about.