McCartneyism

Your Majesty,

I am returning my MBE as a protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against ‘Cold Turkey’ slipping down the charts.

With love. 

John Lennon of Bag

Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl

But she doesn't have a lot to say

Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl

But she changes from day to day

I want to tell her that I love her a lot

But I gotta get a bellyful of wine

Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl

Someday I'm going to make her mine, oh yeah

Someday I'm going to make her mine

Sir Paul McCartney, MBE 

1969

"And so I let him toss me off."
And that was that. End of story.

"So what harm did it do, then, Pete, for fuck's sake?" John asked rhetorically. 

"No harm at all. The poor fucking bastard, he can't help the way he is."

Paul McCartney later suggested that Lennon agreed to the holiday in order to assert his authority within The Beatles :

"Brian Epstein was going on holiday to Spain at the same time and he invited John along. John was a smart cookie. Brian was gay, and John saw his opportunity to impress upon Mr Epstein who was the boss of the group. I think that's why he went on holiday with Brian. And good luck to him, too - he was that kind of guy; he wanted Brian to know whom he should listen to. That was the relationship. John was very much the leader in that way, although it was never actually said."

Paul McCartney Anthology

(Scholars of myth may note that in the title sequence, McCoy winks the eye that Merlin is said to have sacrificed for wisdom.)

Cornell, Day and Topping,

1995