TL;DR:
- John Lennon joked he’d receive an award for writing The Beatles’ “Yesterday” at the age of 60.
- John said he liked living in the United States instead of England.
- The “Imagine” singer discussed what he thought of “Yesterday” and his relation to the song.
John Lennon didn’t write The Beatles‘ “Yesterday.” Despite this, he joked he would receive a plaque for writing the song. John also revealed what he thought about “Yesterday.”
John Lennon told fans of The Beatles to write to their senators and congressmen so that he could remain in the United States
The book Lennon on Lennon: Conversion with John Lennon features an interview from 1974. In it, John discussed living in New York City despite his issues with America’s Immigration and Naturalization Service. “I seem to be still here, and I don’t have any intentions of going,” he said.
He noted fans wanted to help him stay in the United States. “And I’d like to thank all the people that write to me,” he added. “And ’cause I don’t usually answer, because I have no answer, you know, about how they can help.” He said these letters made him feel better. In addition, John encouraged fans to send letters to their senators and congressmen to allow him to remain in the country.
John Lennon said he didn’t want an accolade for The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’
John felt it might be sad if he ever returned to England. “I’d hate that, you know,” he said. “They’d wheel me on at 60 and give me a plaque for ‘Yesterday.’ And Paul wrote it, you know? I mean, I can just see it, you know?”
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John didn’t like that idea. “I don’t want that,” he said. “I’d like to live here, you know. I don’t harm anybody. I’ve got a bit of a loud mouth — that’s about all. And I make a lot of music, and that’s mainly what I do. I’m making music, watching TV, or listening to the radio. And occasionally I get into a little spot of trouble, but nothing that’s going to bring the country to pieces.”
The ‘Imagine’ singer wished he wrote ‘Yesterday’ and said it received more attention than most of the Fab Four’s other songs
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. In it, John was asked about “Yesterday.” He again credited it entirely to Paul, saying he wished he’d written it. John said he received many accolades for the track without naming them.
John noted the track received lots of attention. He said it was one of a handful of Beatles songs that were played on the radio. The others were “Help!,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Something,” and “Let It Be.” That’s why he was surprised to hear “Glass Onion” on the radio once. John felt The Beatles released “a wealth of material,” even if the radio only focused on a fraction of it.
John loved “Yesterday” even if he didn’t want to get an award for it.
