Out of everyone inThe Beatles, it’s probably safe to say thatJohn Lennonwas the most politically active. His activism gained traction after the band broke up, but even while he was in the biggest band in the world, he found himself involved in scandals due to his controversial comments about the state of the world and youth. So, it really wasn’t a surprise that, whenThe Beatlesbroke up, he dove headfirst into making political demonstrations through his art.
Give Peace a Chancewas the first solo project Lennon did outside ofThe Beatles, and it made a huge impact both on fans and on his close friendPaul McCartney. Even decades after its release, McCartney marveled at the power that song had, and is convinced it actually shaped the world as we know it.
The Song Paul McCartney Credits for Ending a War
In July 1969, shortly before the release ofAbbey Road,whenThe Beatleswere practically broken up, Lennon andYoko Ono, along with their music collective,Plastic Ono Band, released an anti-war song in protest of the Vietnam War. The song,Give Peace a Chance,quickly became an anthem for a generation. It was played a lot during the early 70s, and it became a symbol in every anti-war protest.
Paul McCartney, for his part, has never been known as a particularly political musician. He will speak out on social issues and donate money to causes he believes in, but when it comes to his music, he sticks to more positive themes. However, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t admire those musicians who choose to make the causes they support the focal point of their art, and that, of course, includes John Lennon.
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An interview from the 90s recently resurfaced online where McCartney opened up about the role of music in protest and social changes, andGive Peace a Chancecame up.The Beatle pointed out the importance of that particular songin pushing for the end of the war. He, of course, knows that a powerful song won’t be enough to end a literal war, but the way it inspires people is.
“[The song was] all about Vietnam, and a million Americans went with a big protest to Nixon saying, ‘All we are saying is give peace a chance’. Fairly shortly after, the war was stopped. Now I’m not saying that song stopped it. It’s the million people that stopped it, but they needed a [voice]. That’s what songs can do.”
The Origin Behind John Lennon’s Iconic Song
Give Peace a Chancewas a project completely separate fromThe Beatles.So why, then, was it credited to Lennon-McCartney? John Lennon and Paul McCartney had been writing songs together since they were teenagers in the 1950s, and onceThe Beatlesbecame successful, it turned into an official songwriting partnership. Any song either of them wrote for the band was credited to Lennon-McCartney, even if they’d written them individually.
However, when it came to their solo projects, those were strictly separate. Except for this song.During an interview withPlayboyin 1980, Lennon admitted he shouldn’t have given McCartney credit for a song he didn’t contribute to, but said that, at the time, he felt guilty becausehe knew he would break up the band soon.
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“I don’t even know why his name was on it,” Lennon explained. “It’s there because I kind of felt guilty because I’d made the separate single– the first– and I was really breaking away from the Beatles.” In the posthumous releases of Lennon’s work, McCartney’s name is scratched from the credits.
Regarding the actual inception of the song, the story is fairly simple. During their honeymoon, Lennon and Yoko Ono spent a week lounging around in bed at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, giving interviews and sharing their thoughts on the state of the world. The reporters who followed them into the room believed they were going to witness a more graphic display, and the couple took advantage of the attention that the rumor got them. “These guys were sweating to fight to get in first because they thought we were going to make love in bed,“Lennon said at the time. “We’re trying to sell peace, like a product, and sell it like people sell soap or soft drinks.” The week of protest culminated in the famous performance of the song, which to this day remains a symbol of hope amid violence.
