#get enough

Hi anon! My theory—or thought—is that Paul at least feels, or remembers, that he and John made a promise to each other to be in each other’s lives forever. Whether that was as friends, closeted lovers, writing partners, or soulmates (or all of the above).

In “Get Enough,” Paul sings:

It was a time when we walked by the docks I told you, “I need you all of my life” And watching the tugs rolling by together Do you remember?

I'm 100% sure this is a reference to a real event that occurred in their early days together. Paul writes about himself saying "I need you all my life" but I've no doubt it was mutual, otherwise it wouldn't mean so much to him. And to be fair, they managed to achieve that for a long time. Their success as Beatles, and the unusual life it allowed them to live, meant they achieved that. By that, I'm mostly suggesting living together as closeted lovers or romantic partners (on top of everything else). Until, of course, John left him for Yoko and broke that pact/promise, something that now, after the release of Man On The Run audiobook and film is quite obviously something that broke Paul's heart.

He admits to that heartbreak very plainly these days, and even to waiting for John to change his mind, to decide that the thing with Yoko was a fling and come back to him. He even mentions putting off building a table up in their Scotland farm during that period, one he eventually built when he realized John wasn't coming back after all.

That table even pops up in “Hey Diddle”:

I wouldn’t make her Her wooden table I wouldn’t care

The table story was only shared publicly for the first time in the Man On The Run audiobook, and honestly that detail sealed the deal for me. It paints a picture of Paul living with Linda but still emotionally waiting for John to come back. Only when that hope finally faded did he begin building a life with Linda properly—symbolized, in a very literal way, by building that table.

I’ve no doubt that Paul was nevertheless waiting, in one way or another, for John throughout much of the 1970s. After all, they had a pact. They made a promise. We’ll never know what might have happened if things had turned out differently.

In the new song, Paul sings:

We met at Forthlin Road And wrote a secret code To never be spoken I stand by what I said The promise that I made Will never be broken

"but still I remember your face forever, forever"

Thinking about Warm And Beautiful & Get Enough and other Paul songs that refer to promises made at nighttime next to moonlit water..…. also “I’ve left all those days behind” & Days We Left Behind… much to think about

1977

Now and Then: I know it's true / It's all because of you

And if I make it through / It's all because of you / And now and then / If we must start again / Well, we will know for sure / That I love you

I don't wanna lose you, oh no / Abuse you or confuse you / Oh no, no, sweet darlin' / But if you have to go away / If you have to go, well you the reason [?]

Now and then / I miss you / Oh, now and then / I want you to return to me / 'Til you return to me / I know it's true / It's all because of you / And if you go away / I know you could never stay

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1978

Love Awake: Love awake to the day / When we can make our love awake / Lord knows we need it any time we can get it / But we forget it every now and then / But if you don't feel it, later on, you'll regret it / And if we let it we could set it free, you and me

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1981

My Old Friend: If I told you how I feel / Oh, it wouldn’t sound so real / ‘Cause emotions, they are just now settin’ in / But it sure is great to know / That wherever we may go / We can always be the best of friends

My old friend, / Thanks for inviting me in / My old friend, / May this goodbye never mean the end / If we never meet again this side of life / In a little while, over yonder, / Where it’s peace and quiet / My old friend, / Won’t you think about me every now and then

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Well, it was something that I’ll never live long enough to forget. It happened in February of 1981 and as the world all knows, and never will forget, in December of 1980 when John Lennon was taken away from us, and so this was the following year, in February. I wrote the song about and for Paul McCartney. I did it because he was so kind to invite me down to this beautiful island of Montserrat with Stevie Wonder. Ringo was there, just had a wonderful time. I flew down by myself. Paul and Linda met me with a jeep on the (center) airfield with a little single engine plane and took me across the mountains we were like kids again, and it was a wonderful time, and I wanted to do… I didn’t want to cry when I left after staying down there, and I’m a big crybaby! If something moves me, I’ll just choke up… I talk about it. I thought that would happen, so the night before, I just wrote how I felt on the isle of Montserrat on every shell, forget a country boy with a guitar and a song you invited me, and you treated me like kin, and you’ve given me a reason to go on. So my old friend, think about me every now and then. I sang it for Paul, at about 10:00 the next morning. I was scheduled to leave flying again in the little single engine aircraft to the island of Antigua where I was flying commercial back to Atlanta and on to Nashville and back to Jackson, where I live here. I sang it, he said “Carl, it’s beautiful… would you sing it again?” and I said. “Sure, man.” He said “wait just a minute,” and he got Linda in there, and they sat on the floor, I sat on his old Fender twin reverb amplifier, with a guitar, I did however notice a microphone over there. I didn’t pay that much attention to it, but George Martin recorded it and after I finished singing the song to Paul, he was crying, tears were rolling down his pretty cheeks, and they’re pretty to me just like they are to the rest of the world. I think he’s a very handsome boy and always did. He’s even handsomer when he’s crying. And Linda said, “Carl, thank you so much.” I said, “Linda, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to make you cry.” She said, “But he’s crying and he needed to. He hasn’t been able to really break down since that happened to John.” I mean he stepped outside of the room, out by the pool, and he just had his handkerchief out, and he was going at it. And she put her arm around me and said, “But how did you know?” I said, “Know what, Linda? I don’t know what you’re talking about?” She said “There’s two people in the world that know what John Lennon said to Paul, the last thing he said to him. Me and Paul are the only two that know that, but now there’s three and one of you… you know it. I said, “Girl, you’re freaking me out! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” She said the last words that John Lennon said to Paul in the hallway of the Dakota building were… he patted him on the shoulder, and said, ‘Think about me every now and then, old friend.’ Q: That’s just amazing… And she said, here you are, that’s what you just sang, and how did you know? And I said I didn’t know it, gosh, I didn’t know it. But McCartney really feels that Lennon sent me that song, he really does.

— Carl Perkins, interviewed for Goldmine (September 26, 1986).

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1994

Paul had gone to Yoko to ask if she had any of John’s songs kicking around. The deal was that Paul would induct John into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in return. Yoko’s a generous person in that respect, so she actually gave him three songs – 'Free As A Bird' and 'Real Love' were worked up and released, the last one wasn’t.

— Source close to the Anthology project, quoted in the Sunday Express (April 29, 2007).

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1995

It was one day – one afternoon, really – messing with it. The song had a chorus but is almost totally lacking in verses. We did the backing track, a rough go that we really didn’t finish. It was sort of a bluesy sort of ballad, I suppose, in A minor. It was a very sweet song. I liked it a lot. Should it ever be completed it would probably end up as either ‘Now And Then’ or ‘Miss You’. I wished we could have finished it.

— Jeff Lynne, quoted in the Sunday Express (April 29, 2007).

It didn’t have a very good title, it needed a bit of reworking, but it had a beautiful verse and it had John singing it. [But] George didn’t like it. The Beatles being a democracy, we didn’t do it.

— Paul McCartney, interviewed for Q Magazine (November 2006).

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2007

There are a couple of things which may surface at some point. You see, with the Beatles, there’s always a surprise somewhere along the line. We did ‘Free As A Bird’ and ‘Real Love’, those two songs of John’s, and that was very exciting, very moving for me and very comfortable having his voice in my headphones in the studio again. And there was a third track, another song we had our eyes on called ‘Now And Then’. l actually wanted to do it on Anthology 3, but we didn’t all agree. But things change and the thing is that it might not go away. There was only one of us who didn’t want to do it. lt would have meant a lot of hard work, the song would have needed a lot of re-writing and people would have had to be very patient with us. But there are these one or two things lurking in the bushes. The Beatles might just raise their ugly little heads again…

— Paul McCartney, quoted in the Sunday Express (April 29, 2007).

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2012

And there was another one we started working on, but George went off it. We were like, ‘No George, this is John’. He said, ‘It’s still rubbish’. ‘Ok, then’. So that one is still lingering around. I’m gonna nick it with Jeff and do it. Finish it, one of these days.

— Paul McCartney, interviewed for the “Mr Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne & ELO” documentary (2012).

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2018

Get Enough: It was a time when we walked by the docks / I told you, "I need you all of my life" / And watching the tugs rolling by together / Do you remember? / Do you remember the lights on the shore? / How they reflected the rain on the road? / I believed that you love me alone / It was real / Do you remember? / Now and then I see your face / I've been wanting a lovin’ embrace / I've been looking for love, but it gets me nowhere / Oh, yeah, yeah

Get enough, get enough, get enough of (Your love) (x2) / I can't get enough of / Of you

It was a time we were all full of hope / Saw the future burning bright / As we watched the moon rollin’ out to sea / Do you remember? / But those days are erased from my mind / Yeah, I've left all those old days behind / But still I remember your face forever, forever

.

If I'm going to see a face in a painting, it's highly likely to be his.

— Paul McCartney, interviewed by Diane Sawyer for ABC News (November 2, 2000).

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2022

And then 'Now and Then’ just kind of languished in a cupboard and we didn’t do anything with it. I kept saying, “You know, maybe we should do something with this, seems a bit—” “Hm, I don’t know…” There wasn’t a great desire to do anything with it. So it hung around for a while. Years! And every so often, I’d kind of go to the cupboard and think, “There’s a new song in there! We should do it! We gotta do it!” But it’d go back in the cupboard.

— Paul McCartney, in BBC Sounds Eras: The Beatles (November 2, 2023).

I got a phone call from Paul saying, “Is it possible to use that [MAL] technology for another project I’ve been thinking about? […] Would it be possible to take John’s vocal and clean it up and get rid of everything else? Because that would allow us to finish this Beatles song.” And absolutely, it didn’t take me more than about a second to get back to him and say, “Of course we can do it!”

— Peter Jackson, in BBC Sounds Eras: The Beatles (November 2, 2023).

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2023

Now and Then: I know it’s true / It’s all because of you / And if I make it through / It’s all because of you

And now and then / If we must start again / Well we will know for sure / That I will love you

Now and then / I miss you / Oh now and then / I want you to be there for me / Always to return to me

I know it’s true / It’s all because of you / And if you go away / I know you’ll never stay

Now and then / I miss you / Oh now and then / I want you to be there for me

I know it’s true / It’s all because of you / And if I make it through / It’s all because of you

.

I do feel as though ‘Now and Then’ is a love letter to Paul written by John. I mean, I've never really asked Paul about it, and I'm not sure whether Paul would say, ‘Oh, that's definitely it,' because he wouldn't want to second guess John. But that's the sense I get. And I get the feeling that's why Paul was so determined to finish it.

— Giles Martin, interviewed for PEOPLE magazine (October 26, 2023).

When you say you enjoy 'Now and Then', that’s really nice, because that’s why we do it. We do it so people can listen to stuff and not just hear it. 'Now and Then' sounds like a love song. It sounds like a song that John wrote for Paul, and the other Beatles: “I miss you/ Now and then.” It sounds like Paul has gone there, which I think he did. You know, no one told Paul to go and do it, and Paul didn’t go, This would be a great exercise for the Red and Blue Album. He was at home in the studio. He dug on the record and started working on it, because it’s his mate. And he really misses John. I mean, that’s the truth. They broke up, and John died nine years later. It really isn’t very long.

— Giles Martin, interviewed for GRAMMYS (October 26, 2023).

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When I remember the Beatles, I remember the joy, the talent, the humor, the love. And I think, if people remembered us for that — for those things — I’d be very happy.

One of the most emotionally raw things Paul has ever put out, the lack of attention given to ‘Get Enough’ is baffling. Some random thoughts on the song:

If we’re looking for songs that might have real personal meaning to him, one that starts by recounting a memory and includes a quotation, seems a pretty good bet.

So, can we identify who he is addressing in the song?

“It was a time when we walked by the docks, I told you, "I need you all of my life", and watching the tugs rolling by together, do you remember?”

Docks? Liverpool, John?

“Now and then I see your face”, seems to seal it. We know the importance of the phrase “now and then” to Paul and, as has been pointed out, he has spoken of how if he recognises a face in one of his paintings, it is more than likely to be John.

Then there’s “I keep looking for love but it gets me nowhere”? Who would have foreseen Paul singing that in 2018? How has that gone largely unnoticed?

It is hard to escape the John associations. Could there be anything else going on in there too, though?

Well, it is kind of odd that having managed to be non-gender specific throughout the song, at the very end he changes “get enough of” to “get enough girl”. Why do that unless, and I know this is a crazy idea, he’s actually talking about a girl? That the song at least in part, is about an ex?

It might also be worth pointing out that, with regards to the docks reference, he never stopped going back to Liverpool or the Wirral. He could have taken a walk by the docks with someone that he brought home when visiting his dad. Yeah?

A lot of the criticism of the track on fan forums focused on the use of auto-tune, ignoring that it is being used as a device: distinguishing the current thoughts of the bridge from the reminiscence of the verse. Maybe those current thoughts are so raw that they need some distancing effect as he sings them.

The glorious release of the bridge at 1:58 with that odd, barely audible spoken word passage underneath. Not in the speaker’s first language? Lennonesque wordplay? I’ve no idea but, if we find out it could open up a lot about the song.

While we’re speculating madly and oscillating wildly, one more thought? Could the memory described in ‘Get Enough’ be the same one evoked in Paul’s ‘New Moon Over Jamaica’?

Both songs reflect on a memory: “I’m living with an old memory” (NMOJ) ; “it was real, do you remember?” (GE)

Both reflect on somebody he used to be with, an old love. Watching the moon triggers the memory in NMOJ and is part of the memory in GE.

NMOJ is set at New Year. GE was, very unusually, released as the clock hit 12 at New Year 2019.

—From In His Own Write (1964) | First published in Mersey Beat August 17, 1961 | Written 1958-1959 (see below)

Q: There’s a very, very sad poem at the end of the play about Kakky Hargreaves who is some sort of person whose name changes during the poem who’s gone lost. Who was Kakky Hargreaves?

JOHN: Well, nobody, you know. It was Kakky, or Cathy, or Tammy. So it was all those people. But the point is that you GOT it -- the sadness that I wrote into it. But after you write something, a song or anything, you get the sadness and then you perform it or you put it on paper and then that’s gone. And the only way you get the joy back of writing it or the sadness back, is when somebody like Victor or somebody else comes and reads it to you, or acts it out. Like, when I first saw the rehearsal of the play, and they said these words back to me and I got the sadness from Kakky Hargreaves like I’d never heard it before.

Q: You wrote that one when you were very young.

JOHN: Yes. That was, sort of, pre-Beatle. Eighteen. Nineteen.

VICTOR: (laughs)

Q: And have you written lately?

JOHN: Well I write, I think, all the time. So I mean, it’s the same. I actually don’t put it on paper so much these days, but it goes into songs -- A lot of the same energy that went into those poems. I don’t know what I actually do with the thoughts, but they come out either on film, or on paper, or on tape. I’ve just got lots of tape, which, I suppose if I put onto paper it would be a book. But it’s just a matter of, do I want to make those tapes into paper or make the tapes into records.

Q: Does it feel the same to you when you’re writing something on paper and when you’re writing a song lyric?

JOHN: It does now. In the old days I used to think, if song writing was this... you know, 'I love you and you love me,' and my writing was something else, you know. Even if I didn’t think of it quite like that. But I just realized through Dylan and other people... BOB Dylan, not Thomas... that it IS the same thing. That’s what I didn't realize being so naive -- that you don’t write pop songs, and then you DO THAT, and then you DO THAT. Everything you do is the same thing, so do it the same way. But sometimes I’ll write lyrics to a song first and then I'll get the same feeling as Kakky Hargreaves or a poem and then write the music to it after. So then it’s a poem, sung. But sometimes the tune comes and then you just put suitable words to fit the tune. If the tune is (sings) 'Doodle-loodle loodle-leh,' and then you have 'Shag-a-boo choo-cha.' You know, you have sound-words then, just the sound of it. ‘Cause it IS all sound. Everything is vibrations, I believe, you know. Everything is sound, really, or vision. And just, the difference between sound and vision I’m not quite sure about. But its all just (imitates a vibrating sound) 'vuh-wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh.'

—BBC-2 Interview of John Lennon and Victor Spinetti (about the In His Own Write play) [x] | June 6, 1968

—Remember by John Lennon | Written: started July 1969 | Recorded: October 9, 1970 (John’s 30th birthday), after seeing his father the last time | Released: December 11, 1970

1. Dear Friend (1971)

Dear friend, what's the time? Is this really the border line? Does it really mean so much to you? Are you afraid, or is it true?

Dear friend, throw the wine I'm in love with a friend of mine

2. Get Enough (2018)

It was a time when we walked by the docks I told you, "I need you all of my life" And watching the tugs rolling by together Do you remember? Do you remember the lights on the shore? How they reflected the rain on the road? I believed that you love me alone It was real Do you remember? Now and then I see your face I've been wanting a lovin' embrace I've been looking for love, but it gets me nowhere

3. This One (1989)

Did I ever take you in my arms, Look you in the eye, tell you that I do, Did I ever open up my heart And let you look inside.

Did I ever touch you on the cheek Say that you were mine, thank you for the smile, Did I ever knock upon your door And try to get inside?

If I never did it, I was only waiting For a better moment that didn't come. There never could be a better moment Than this one, this one.

4. Calico Skies (1997)

It was written that I would love you From the moment I opened my eyes And the morning when I first saw you Gave me life under calico skies I will hold you for as long as you like I'll hold you for the rest of my life

Always looking for ways to love you Never failing to fight at your side While the angels of love protect us From the inner most secrets we hide I'll hold you for as long as you like I'll love you for the rest of my life

Long live for us crazy soldiers Who were born under calico skies May we never be called to handle All the weapons of war we despise

I'll hold you, for as long as you like I'll hold you for the rest of my life I'll hold you for as long as you like I'll love you for the rest of my, for the rest of my life

5. Here Today (1982)

And if I say I really knew you well What would your answer be? If you were here today

Well knowing you You'd probably laugh And say that we were worlds apart If you were here today

But as for me I still remember how it was before And I am holding back the tears no more

What about the time we met? Well, I suppose that you could say that we were playing hard to get Didn't understand a thing But we could always sing

What about the night we cried Because there wasn't any reason left to keep it all inside? Never understood a word But you were always there with a smile

And if I say I really loved you And was glad you came along Then you were here today

For you were in my song Here today

6. Two Of Us (1969)

Two of us riding nowhere Spending someone's hard-earned pay You and me Sunday driving Not arriving On our way back home We're on our way home

You and I have memories That stretches out ahead

7. Best Friend (1972)

Well, I wake up in the morning, I'm still dreaming 'bout you Tell you, pretty baby, I'm blue Wake up in the evening, I'm still screaming out Over you, over you

Well, tell me why, why, why do you treat me so bad, so bad When you're the best friend a man ever had?

8. No Words (1973)

You wanna give your love away And end up giving nothing I'm not surprised That your black eyes are gazing You say that love is everything And what we need the most of I wish you knew that's just how true My love was No words for my love You're burning love Sweet burning love It's deep inside You must not hide Your burning love Sweet burning love Your burning love You want to turn your head away And someone's thinking of you I wish you'd see It's only me, I love you

No words for my love

9. Little Lamb Dragonfly (1973)

My heart is breaking for you little lamb I can help you out But we may never meet again

Dragonfly fly by my window You and I still have a way to go Don't know why you hang around my door I Don't live here any more

Since you've gone I never know I go on, but I miss you so

Dragonfly don't keep me waiting When we try, we'll have a way to go

Dragonfly, you've been away too long How did two rights make a wrong

Since you've gone I never know I go on but I miss you so In my heart I feel the pain Keeps coming back again

Dragonfly, the years ahead will show How little we really know

Since you've gone its never right They go on the lonely nights, Come on home and make it right

My heart is aching for you little lamb I can help you out But I cannot help you in

10. Call Me Back Again (1975)

Well when I, when I was just a little baby boy Every night I would call, your number brought me joy I called your house, every night since then But I ain't never, no no never heard you calling me Come on and call me back again Come on call me back again I've heard your name every night since then But I ain't never, no no never Heard you calling me Come on and call me back again Yeah all me back again

11. I Don’t Know (Johnny, Johnny) (1960)

I don’t know what I’m gonna do I don’t know what I’m gonna do when I tell my father You love me Johnny, I love you Johnny I’m not gonna let you go

12. Tug of War (1982)

It's a tug of war What with one thing and another It's a tug of war We expected more But with one thing and another We were trying to outdo each other In a tug of war In another world In another world we could Stand on top of the mountain With our flag unfurled In a time to come In a time to come we will be Dancing to the beat played On a different drum It's a tug of war Though I know I mustn't grumble It's a tug of war But I can't let go If I do you'll take a tumble And the whole thing is going to crumble It's a tug of war

In years to come they may discover What the air we breathe and the life we lead Are all about But it won't be soon enough Soon enough for me No it won't be soon enough Soon enough for me