John & Paul: a Love Story in Songs

 

I thought I might cry after the last Mike Hammer novel but I *did* cry at the end of this one. So tragic. Not just John's murder at such a young age but the fact that he and Paul, who were pure magic together, never fully reconciled before he died. 

I love the Beatles. John and Paul were both enormously talented songwriters and musicians on their own but together they were lightning in a bottle. The world had never experienced anything like them before and I don't think we will again, at least not in my lifetime. 

It's strange to try to think of a male friendship as them "being in love". We tend to equate that with a sexual relationship but as Leslie points out, it doesn't need to be. John and Paul were more than just best friends, it was a deeper connection than that. They communicated without words. They brought out the best and the worst in each other. They expressed their love for each other in their music, their intensely personal lyrics, and they way they often emulated each other. That's why there are still raging debates online regarding certain sections of songs: is it John singing or is it Paul trying to sound like John? Or is it John trying to sound like Paul trying to sound like John? Because they were so adept at imitating each other sometimes it's impossible to tell. It was a moving and beautiful story about two young men, cast adrift, who found each other at just the right times in their lives and captured something magical that they shared with the world. We're all better off for having had them, even if it was all too brief.