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Episode two of our series provides a comprehensive examination of Paul’s state of mind in autumn of 1969. We discuss the deluge of problems he faces and consider how this confluence of issues triggers one of the worst episodes of Paul’s life. How might this depression have impacted Paul’s ability to interpret and respond to John’s continuing attempts to communicate through the media?
We dissect four key interviews (and a surprisingly overt personal gesture) from John, identifying and tracking the gradual evolution of his outreach to Paul as the communication gap between the two men grows ever wider and deeper.
PLAYLIST
You Never Give Me Your Money THE BEATLES (1969)
Cold Turkey PLASTIC ONO BAND (1969)
Cold Turkey (live Lyceum Ballroom) PLASTIC ONO BAND (1969)
I’ll Be Home for Christmas THE BEACH BOYS (1964)
Man We Was Lonely PAUL MCCARTNEY (1970)
SOURCES:
John Lennon Interview w/ John Small WKNR-AM (October 22, 1969)
“Paul is Still With Us” Paul McCartney LIFE Interview (Nov 7, 1969)
“The Ex-Beatle Tells His Story” Paul McCartney LIFE Interview (March 1971)
“Meet the Beatles: A Cultural History Of The Band That Shook Youth, Gender and The World” by Steven D. Stark. (2005)
“This is your brain on fatherhood: Dads experience hormonal changes too, research shows” By Alan Boyle NBC News (June 15, 2013)
“Beatles are on the Brink of a Split” (Dec 13, 1969)
George Harrison Interview Howard Smith, WABC-FM New York (April 25/May 1, 1970)
John Lennon & Yoko Ono interview with Marshall McLuhan in Toronto (Dec 21, 1969)
A Private Talk w/ Ritchie Yorke (Dec 23, 1969)
Peter McCabe and Robert Schonfeld, St Regis (Sept 5, 1971)
Tune In, Mark Lewisohn (2013)
ANOTHER KIND OF MIND 
Couple of things to comment: 1) thank you, thank thank you for this super-insightful, heartbreaking and fun series! It is what I have been waiting for for years. 2) a bit of puzzlement re the statement, that John didn’t find messages or statement on Pauls Album. What about “Man we was lonely” and “Maybe I’m amazed” (I’m a lonely man who’s in the middle of something that he doesn’t really understand)? Even “every night” offers insight on Paul’s state of mind 3) That brings to a song that really puzzles me: “Suicide”. I’d really love the idea of you Ladies digging into that one…. is there evidence that he really wrote the lyrics in 1957? To me they sound not at all like “rat-pack” and certainly not like something that a 14-year-old might chose as his first attempt. However if you read them as response to Instant Karma they make perfect sense….
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