I have one mad idea (well, maybe not only one). I think John's 'Now And Then' grew out of 'Nobody’s Perfect' by Goffin and King. Not as a remake but as a sequel.
Look. Back to the egg (hah).
In the early 60-s The Beatles play 'Chains', 'Don't Ever Change', 'Take Good Care of My Baby' and the other cool Carole King and Gerry Goffin' songs, right?
Later John Lennon says,
'Well, first of all, Paul [McCartney] and I wanted to be the Goffin and King of England' (J. Wenner, 1971)
UPD (thanks a lot @the-paper-apricot for reminding about this moment in the interview):
John and Paul answer question about another composers people whose work they particularly admire ('The Lennon-McCartney Songbook', 1966),
Or even this, 'Early in their carier Paul and John reportedly had said that they hoped to becom the Goffin and King of the United Kingdom. I had taken this to mean not that they hoped to marry each other and live in New Jersey but that they aspired to be successful songrigters' (Carole King, 'A Natural Woman)
In 1962 Carole King recorded the beautiful 'Nobody’s Perfect',
I might have thought that other lips Could taste as sweet as your sweet lips Nobody's perfect Nobody's perfect We all make mistakes now and then
I might have thought that someone new Could give me truer love than you Nobody's perfect Nobody's perfect We all make mistakes now and then
And I paid for them every hour Every minute we're apart Anyone can tell I learned my lesson well Can't you find forgiveness in your hеart?
You said goodbye the other night But don't bе sure you're doin' right Nobody's perfect Nobody's perfect We all make mistakes now and then Yes, we all make mistakes now and then
It's unlikely John and Paul didn't hear it.
And in 1977 John sings,
I know it's true It's all because of you And if I make it through It's all because of you
And now and then If we must start again Well, we will know for sure That I love you
I don't wanna lose you, oh no, no Abuse you or confuse you Oh no, no, sweet darlin' But if you have to go, away If you have to go, well you the reason
Now and then I miss you Oh, now and then I want you to return to me 'Til you return to me
Yeah, I know, it's only in my headcanon but I think the Goffin and King song spinned in John's head when he wrote his one. And 'Nobody’s Perfect' for me is like John understands his own mistakes, accepts the reality and thinks about Paul as real Paul not about as an ideal figure on the top of the pedestal. And John's 'Now and Then' is the next step.
@i-am-the-oyster, what do you think about this idea?











