Did we talk about this yet? Yet another reason why Paul McCartney is an insufferable prick...

I do like Yoko's initial response, which was that he was free to change the order as long as he added her name as well... hahahahaha... you go girl.

McCartney is a genius and he can - or should be able to - do what he likes with his songs.

Ono is a tosser, whose opinions are not worth attention.

I reckon it's pretty lame of McCartney. What the fuck does it matter?

I hope Yoko nails him with her lawyer on principle. Whatever you think of Lennon's legacy, it's wrong of Mc C to mess with it when he's not here to deal with it himself.

I admire McCartney a lot, but I find this embarrassing.

I would guess that McCartney's recent recollections that he actually wrote or contributed to songs previously assumed to have been wholly or mainly Lennon's (like "In My Life") might now be examined more sceptically.

What are we supposed to do with songs that L/M wrote more or less 50/50? Superimpose one name on top of the other?

Some of them he wrote the bulk of: his name can presumably go first.

Some of them Lennon wrote the bulk of: so *his* name can go first.

50 / 50: stick with 'Lennon / McCartney', if you like.

In general, anti-McCartney conspiracy & overrating of safely dead Lennon = deeply irritating.

In general, righting supposed wrongs & slights involving a deceased creative partner where no wrongs actually occurred = smacks of opportunistic pettiness, especially to folks unable to really grasp the difference between X million and Y million. Were Lennon alive to address these discrepancies, then hashing out proper credit wouldn't be such a big deal. Of course, even if there was unavoidable proof that Macca was getting jobbed (cf. "Yesterday", for instance), the circumstances of Lennon's passing would paint any & all restitution arrangements as uncomfortable and sacriligious. Better to let things be, in this case.

But I think he has a right to "Yesterday". If everyone accepts it's Paul solo effort, much as I admire Yoko, I don't get why she's so hung up on this. Lennon can live w/out Yesterday!

In general, bitching about a bad decision you made 40 years ago with someone who isn't alive anymore = far more irritating than the over-rating of the admittedly over-rated Lennon.

Hard to say who's the straight man there. George, perhaps?

Very funny.

none of the (200+) Lennon/McCartney songs were written by both of them after a few very early ones, like 'The One After 909'. you can tell who wrote the song by who sung the lead vocal, although there are a few exceptions like Ringo singing a couple. the other notable exception is 'A Day In the Life' which was two unfinished songs (one Lennon and one McCartney) stuck together...

but as mentioned above, the Lennon/McCartney credit was agreed on for fairness in royalties etc.

'The Word' is a similar effort in reverse with Paul's bridge being added to John's verse/chorus. There are loads more examples.

Everything The Pinefox has said upthread is worth it's weight in gold.

And also, why are semantics unimportant?

This alone:

"At one point, Yoko earned more from `Yesterday' than I did,"

strains any credibility this guy has in the argument, as far as I can tell. Is he claiming that sometime after Lennon was shot, Yoko collected royalties on these songs and he didn't? If so, prove it!

That being said, looking further at the songs in question:

Hello Goodbye- Almost certainly written exclusively by McCartney, because Lennon didn't like it (if I recall, they argued whether this song or Lennon's "I Am the Walrus" should be the a-side of a potential single release).

Blackbird and Mother Nature's Son- I don't think Lennon had fuck-all to do with these songs. Particularly, I've read the session for recording MNS (McCartney and session musicians) was going along quite nicely, until Lennon and Ringo walked in, and then it became very tense.

Yesterday- Wasn't this the first instance in their catalog where it was one Beatle working without the other Beatles?

Back in the U.S.S.R.- I don't even think **Ringo** played on this one, did he (or am I thinking of "Why Don't We Do It in the Road")? In any case, Lennon would never write a song this goofy.

Here, There and Everywhere- Lennon spoke admirably in his 1980 Playboy interview about this song using an objective tone; again, not very likely at all that he had anything to do with writing it.

Carry That Weight, The End, Lady Madonna, Let It Be, Hey Jude, The Long & Winding Road- All late-period McCartney vocal songs from Let It Be or Abbey Road, where they weren't exactly in "hey, let's collaborate with each other" mode.

So, that leaves: All My Loving, Getting Better, We Can Work It Out, The Fool on the Hill, Eleanor Rigby, Can't Buy Me Love, I Saw Her Standing There, and Sgt. Pepper's. Out of these, the most likely candidates for some degree of collaboration I'd say are All My Loving, We Can Work It Out (if memory serves, Lennon did co-write lyrics to this one in some regard), Can't Buy Me Love, and I Saw Her Standing There.

Their early 45s (up to From Me To You, I think) and their compositions on the first LP actually *were* credited to McCartney-Lennon on the labels. Ironic, since they were probably the songs Macca had least to do with.

Let this be a lesson to us all: Success, even on the grandest scale imaginable, does not eliminate insecurity.

Don't know what has changed so that this is no longer the case.

"Michelle" is a pretty song though.

Harvey: nice to find myself in agreement with a man who plays such a fine 'Long and Winding Road'.

it does seem a little petty, but when you think about how emotionally attached one can become to a song (particularly ones own), you can kind of understand how this has happened.

I don't care if there was a prior agreement - that agreement,
if it exists, is idiotic and should be repealed. Songs
written by McCartney should be credited to P. McCartney, songs
written by Lennon should be credited to J. Lennon, and songs
written by Starr should be promptly flushed.