When Paul is REALLY not in the mood...
This is very interesting. Here is a pic of John and Paul during a party at Rory Storm's house. John is being John. Rory is reaching out, touching Paul's hand, trying to get his attention. And Paul seems like, "don't bother me, you..."
And here, around 7 years later, we see John and Yoko and Paul (without Jane) attending the premier for "Yellow Submarine." And John is reaching out, touching Paul's hand, trying to get his attention. And Paul's expression is nearly identical to the first picture -- a clear, "don't bother me, you."
Look at Paul -- these pictures are remarkable because for once, Paul McCartney is NOT BLANK-FACING. What's on his face is REAL, and so is the body language:. His eyes are hooded, his lips are tense, narrowed and pressed closed. His body is a subtle turn (or half-turn, as that was all he could manage) away from John Lennon.
My GUT says that in both cases John said or did something that really hurt Paul -- made him feel betrayed or reduced to a punchline, and Macca (probably quite rightly) minded that. Note that Yoko looks amused and is looking directly at Paul. The sort of thing you see when a companion of a bully scores a direct hit.
I mean, John was known to go for a fast laugh at Paul's expense, or to make a caustic remark, loudly, if he wanted to embarrass Paul or get a little vengeful smack against him.
In the first pic it almost looks like Rory is saying, "don't be upset, Paul, it's just John being John." And perhaps John is saying exactly the same sort of thing to him. "It's just me, Paul..."
"That's just him being him" has never been an excuse I've accepted easily from people. It's usually a cover for cruelty, made by people who can actually see your pain but just want it all to go away and for things to be peaceful again.
But (assuming both pics are showing us Paul's reaction to John's endless mouth), to be turned into a punchline in front of mutual friends (or a new, bizarre lover who has displaced you and dissolved a decade's long partnership) could not have felt good. And you can see in both of these shots (neither of which hide the asymmetry of Paul's messed up lower lip) an identical expression of anger, and pain and confusion, and perhaps a sense of betrayal.
No one has ever said John Lennon was easy to be around, and if he could sometimes be kind, he was notorious for going for one's soft-underbelly when he wanted to. Paul was known as being able to do the same, but much more rarely. John would lash out, cause real pain and mental anguish -- lots of people have said it, including Cynthia and his own children.
I think in both pictures, we're seeing a moment when Paul was hurting and couldn't hide it, couldn't get that habitual, learned blank expression into place fast enough. He couldn't hide it, and I feel really sad to see it.
A lot is made of Yoko Ono saying "John said no one ever hurt him like Paul McCartney did." There is never any real talk of how John must have hurt Paul. And not just the once.
I believe only John could have hurt Macca enough to let the well-controlled blank mask slip.
But Paul McCartney always forgave John Lennon. I wonder if Lennon ever considered that what he had in Paul, and threw away, was unconditional love. Which is exactly the sort of love we "all need." And all look for. And is so rare that mostly only parents can manage it (and John never got it from his parents), if they're not too wounded, themselves.
What a complicated world and complicated relationship.
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