Who was Hey Jude really about? The story behind Paul McCartney’s Beatles classic

It’s not often that one listens to songs that have the emotional pull of The Beatles’ Hey Jude. Released in 1968, the seven-minute classic began with something surprisingly personal: Paul McCartney’s concern for a young boy going through a difficult time.

Hey Jude explained: The real inspiration behind Paul McCartney’s iconic Beatles song

At the time, John Lennon was separating from his first wife, Cynthia Lennon, and beginning a relationship with Yoko Ono. Their son, Julian, was barely five years old. McCartney was close to Julian and was worried about how the family’s separation might affect him.

While driving to visit Cynthia and Julian, McCartney started thinking about the situation and began working out a song in his head. The original title was Hey Jules, using Julian’s nickname. McCartney eventually changed Jules to Jude, partly because he felt it sounded better in the song. The early lyrics of the song are essentially words of reassurance, encouraging someone going through a difficult period to keep going and open themselves up to the possibility of something better.

The ballad then builds into its famous extended coda, the ‘na-na-na’ refrain, which lasts almost four minutes. Rather than ending quickly, McCartney lets the chorus keep growing, turning a quiet message of comfort into something that feels almost communal. It is one of the reasons the song still feels so powerful decades later.

Interestingly, the song’s meaning evolved as it developed. Although Julian was the original inspiration, Hey Jude eventually became less about one child’s circumstances and more about resilience, change and moving through difficult moments.

John Lennon reportedly believed the song had something to do with his own situation. McCartney, however, had started writing it with Julian in mind.

When Hey Jude was released in August 1968, its length was unusual for a pop single, but that did not stop it from becoming a huge success. It went on to become one of The Beatles’ most recognisable songs and is on list of greatest songs of all time.

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