on the banks of my own lagoon

beatles 🪲 side blog. mostly here to anonymously yap lmao

[m1ssunderstanding]

Sorry, but I’d love to hear your headcanons about John and Paul's love life and sex life, just like their 1970s domestic life.

Please don't say sorry when you're giving me a present are you kidding me?

Sex Life things we "know" from things they've actually said and done

John liked Paul to come all over him.

John had crazy skills sucking dick and like really really loved it -- especially on his knees.

Paul liked John to be a tease, breathing on his dick, mouthing at it, hovering over it.

They had intense eye contact while fucking

John liked Paul's looks, specifically his small mouth and his shapely body, especially his legs.

Paul liked John's nose, glasses, sideboards, and hands.

They would both openly check each other out and stare at each other's asses.

Paul thought John looked strong and masculine in his heroin chic era so imagine what he thought of him in healthier times.

Paul liked to be made to feel small but also liked to be treated like a good boy.

Paul liked road-head, car sex, bathtub sex, and spontaneity.

John liked expositionism, fashion shows, bathtub sex, and spontaneity.

John at least would get handsy in public.

Sex Life things I just think based on *vibes*

Paul sounds like a pornstar when he's being a bossy bottom. John sounds like a virgin bride when he's being a pillow princess top.

There would've been a lot of body worship.

Obviously Paul has a huge praise kink and John is obviously the person he craves praise from the most. There's a lot of mileage there as to what John can get out of that.

John really likes to feel owned and contained and jealously guarded. That goes pretty far too.

They would've got competitive with it. Who can make the other come faster, who can make the other scream, who can make the other beg for it? Whoever's song is doing better in the charts gets to bottom -- because we know they were obviously verse but they both loved bottoming -- 'If I get you to fuck up on stage tonight, you have to do X for me in bed' type stuff.

They weren't exclusive but there would've definitely been moments of -- "does it feel this good with X?" "Does X know I do this for you?" "You want this dick, don't you? Say I'm better than X." "All those girls want you so bad and here you are with me. What would they say if they knew what a fag you are?" Etc.

There would've been a lot of make-up sex.

A lot of reassurance sex building up each other's delicate little egos.

Paul loves morning sex. John loves sleep.

So many ridiculous role plays that anyone else would be absolutely cringed out by like unwatchable revolting embarrassing and they are locked in and so so hard.

They had secret codes that meant "let's fuck". One of those was getting nasty with an instrument or mic. They thought they were so sneaky. George and Ringo and Brian are so embarrassed for them.

Songwriting -> sex -> songwriting -> sex -> songwriting -> sex

They definitely took turns calling each other Daddy

Love Life things we "know" based on things they actually said or did

Movie dates where they'd hold hands in the back of the theater

Showing each other music

The dinner date fight strat

Coffee dates

Boating dates

Emo kid graveyard picnics

Road trips

Paul loved to cook for John, even though he doesn't cook for anyone else. It's not about the hobby of cooking, it's about feeding his man.

Shopping dates, especially book shops

Going to parties and being the obnoxious couple that's weird and exclusive and overly touchy and clingy

Walking the dog together

Voting together

Working in a bar together

Teaming up to bully people together was a full on love language for those two. Poor everyone trying to be their friend when they were together. It was like no one else mattered. If they deigned to recognize the rest of the people in the room existed it was for their entertainment.

Play fighting from throwing things at each other across the room and giggling like "staaaahhhpuh!" To actual wrestling on the ground.

Talking in code

Talking with their eyes

Eye fucking

They thought each other were hilarious

Paul loved to watch John dance and they loved to dance together.

John was very very touchy and physically clingy.

Paul loved that John knew how to do the Charleston and had rich relatives and was very literary and leisurely.

John loved spoiling Paul.

They would both be gentlemanly and chivalrous to each other, helping each other into cars, little guiding touches on the arm or the small of the back, John holding doors, Paul walking on the side closest to traffic.

They both liked to be held, to cuddle, to spend time together just lazing around in bed, and falling asleep together.

They called each other pet names. Particularly John calling Paul "baby" and Paul calling John "love".

They loved to hold hands, out walking and in the studio.

Love Life things I just think based on *vibes*

I'm starting to think there was some kind of shared finances thing going on from the promise.

They were not exclusive but they were, and I think this is part of the promise too, always each other's number one.

Paul wanted to go out all the time. John wanted to stay in all the time.

I truly think they let each other in emotionally a lot more than is generally accepted. I think they could open up and talk through things, especially when pushed by circumstances.

Paul knew how to handle John when he was in a strop and John knew how to handle Paul when he was paralyzed with anxiety.

They loved showing each other off and they loved being shown off.

I think they genuinely would've wanted to share rooms with Ringo and George sometimes because they were their friends and just because you're married doesn't mean you can't or don't want to have sleepovers with friends. I think they also would've known they needed to do that to keep people from being suspicious. I also think the majority of the time, they shared a room.

There would've been a lot of sweet domestic time getting ready together -- one of them in the bath while the other shaved and brushed his teeth and hair, carefully messing up the other bed so it looked slept in, one of them ordering breakfast for both of them, knowing exactly what the other wants, pouring milk in each other's tea etc. I mean the fact that Paul was cooking a nice meal in a hotel room for John tells me they really valued these "living together" moments. There would've been lots of actual songwriting of course, I mean they worked hard those two, and they loved what they created together more than anything. There would've been some good, deep pillow talk, times when they were up late just making each other laugh hysterically at the stupidest shit. Paul would cuddle John to wake him up in the morning. John would play with Paul's hair and rub his shoulders at night to get him to settle. Paul had a hard time falling asleep due to anxiety, and sometimes he'd wake up panicking in the middle of the night, and John was the best medicine for that.

Paul loved Julian, loved to play with him but also could be responsible and parental. And mostly John loved that about him, loved that if one of Julian's dads didn't know how to access his inner child, at least the other one did. And I'm sure John could join a-la kitten stew from time to time.

John enjoyed marking his territory by pissing off Jim and being horrible to Jane, while Paul's goal was to gain more access by kissing up to Mimi and being sweet to Cyn.

I don't think they would've bought each other flowers or chocolates, but they did write songs as presents and they did give them to each other openly. I do also think John gave Paul the "love of my life" pin he wore to the Our World broadcast.

They liked matching, dressing each other, and trading clothes. Anything they could figure out to be more of an official "couple" they'd do, and clothes was one of those things.

Ruth says Paul would take John up to Rembrandt and they would lock themselves in a room and write songs, just like they used to when they were teenagers. Ruth has lots of memories of John, just like she does of Jane. I think John was there for moral support because I genuinely do think he knew Jim was hard for Paul even then. Francie said that very clearly, so I think John would know if she picked up on it. I don't think they went back to Mimi's together, because Paul was shocked Mimi wanted him to call after John's death. But they might've, because Mimi does call Paul during the breakup being like 'what the hell' and he has to reassure her. So actually yes I do think they would've visited Mimi together. Paul's just an emotional idiot.

Paul would do a lot of "have you eaten?" "Have you touched grass?" And John would do a lot of "come on, what's on your mind? You can tell me." "Do you need mal to get you more meds for your crabs?"

Basically I just think they took really good care of each other considering their respective *issues* and difficulties.

Sorry this one wasn't as detailed as the 70s marriage au. I guess because this isn't an au so I feel a bit more tied to "truth"? This was a good cleansing one for me. Felt calming. Thank you again!

[timely-walrus]

its so interesting how a vast majority of the Beatles songs Led Zeppelin sang during concerts was the earlier stuff, pre-Rubber Soul. interesting cause they make those songs sound heavier (more Led Zeppelin) Plant's voice is key obvi but Bonzo's drums really make a difference too, makes you appreciate how much of the character of Beatles' songs is Ringo's drumming

[i-am-the-oyster]

I am a big fan of the If I Fell valentine. I believe it is a core mclennon artefact. But please listen: the dedication is NOT John's writing.

The dedication is bland! The writing is neat! Show me any single example of John maintaining consistent character height for one whole sentence!

John Winston Lennon did not walk into a shop, buy a generic valentine card, write a greeting that would embarrass a schoolteacher writing a pity card for a student that didn't get any, and then proceed to open it up and write the lyrics of his (at that point) masterpiece.

And what gets me the most is that's a much less good story!!!

Isn't is better if John is like "oh, so it is, a valentine card, how funny! It was *wink* the only piece of paper available *wink*". BOTH of them would have been into the plausible deniability of that.

[undying-love]

From Mark Lewisohn's Tune In: "Was Woolton fete the first time John met Paul? A riddle in two paragraphs: In certain private company, Paul sometimes reveals that he hadn’t only seen John on buses before the Woolton fete, but they’d also exchanged a few words. Paul says he was working as a paperboy (on his bike, delivering the Echo to local houses in the evenings) when he once talked to John outside the newsagent’s shop. John never mentioned it, and Paul has chosen, consistently for decades, never to say it publicly. He was a paperboy after the McCartneys relocated to Forthlin Road in summer 1956, when he turned 14. Paul is shy about giving away the shop’s identity to anyone who’d print it, but one local family who knew him think it was “Abbas.”

From beatlesliverpoollocations.blogspot.com:

The unnamed family mentioned in Mark Lewisohn’s notes are the Hodgsons. In 1956 Charles (senior) and his wife Annie were living at 111 Stamfordham Drive, Allerton with their two sons, Reginald, 26 and Charles, 14. Peter Hodgson, Reginald's son, has told me how his Uncle Charlie got to know the 14 years old Paul McCartney when he was working as a paper boy. Peter Hodgson: In or around 2010 I told Mark [Lewisohn] that (Paul had worked at) the shops at the Cenotaph, right by my Dad’s [...]  We now know that sometime in the past, Paul has revealed the actual first meeting between himself and John and where that meeting took place. I think someone close to Paul has let the cat out of the bag to Mark and (Lewisohn) has wanted to know the name and location of Abbas in 1956. At this time and in the subsequent years, the locals will still have referred to the shop as Abbas when mentioning it, hence it was still known as Abbas by my Dad and brother...many decades later. This is where the confusion started as to the shop’s location as Mark was relying on documentation only, whereas I was relying on first hand witnesses who actually lived literally yards away. I got it straight from Macca, face to face, he agreed and nodded when I mentioned Abbas so when I told Mark many years later he went searching and could only find an Abba in Aigburth. What’s interesting is that at some point Mark actually asked Paul the name of the newsagent’s he delivered for in Allerton. Paul refused to answer him. An unusual refusal for such a seemingly trivial question. [Peter was pleased with what my own research had uncovered, for personal family reasons as much as for the benefit of Beatle’s history. (He said to me): You finding W.W. Abba at 85 Woolton Road vindicated me to Mark, as it’s impossible for me, my Dad or Uncle Charlie to have been making it up].

(Scene from the Fuh You music video. The location of the newsagent, W.W. Abba at Woolton Road, is on the left, which is shown as Paul sings, "on the night that I met you...". The Liverpool local who found the newsagent did his research much earlier than the release of this video. He was shocked when he saw it.)

[bodhbdearg]

The thing that interests me most about this account is what is reveals about ML's working methods, which seems to prioritise documentary sources over oral accounts. This is a perfectly reasonable approach that most historians would take, as oral recollections can be confusing and distorted by normal memory failure, agendas etc. But this account does seem to display a certain lack of imagination on his part. It would make sense, in a scenario such as this, to retain both the oral and the documentary evidence, even if they contradict each other, and present them in the text, acknowledging the contradiction and letting the reader decide what seems most likely. That way, any further supporting evidence for either position that may arise will already have all the relevant information to build on. It may seem like a trivial point but he did many oral interviews with others and used it to inform his research, so it would've made sense to do the same here, even if it was just a quick conversation.

[bambi-kinos]

Mark Lewison also makes shit up and kitbashes quotes together to fabricate evidence: https://therealtamishow.com/2025/06/12/a-beatle-didnt-say-that-lewisohns-cooked-up-lab-created-quotes/

I'm not saying none of this is true but Marky Mark is a proven liar.

[chickadeethoughts]

can you imagine being john lennon on his second listen of coming up paying attention the the lyrics from the beginning and finding out it starts with a don't let me down quote

[thedyingcowboy]

From Pete Townshend’s autobiography, he stops that there and goes on to talk about The Who Sell Out and Magical Mystery Tour, so obviously going on in around 1967..

[modrockmocker]

I’d characterize our relationship as rather volatile. But we’re not bored. We’re still interested in each other. It’s lusty. We have wonderful children and a lovely marriage. And yes, I expect it to go on forever.

Paul McCartney on his relationship with Linda for Playgirl, February 1985.

[timely-walrus]

Let's talk about whose handwriting this is:

As much as possible, we will be using handwriting samples from 1963-'65 since handwriting changes and we want samples from as close as possible to when the above dedication was written on the valentines card (i.e. February 1964, right before/otw to the Beatles' first Ed Sullivan appearance). I have done handwriting analysis as part of my job, but I am not a handwriting analysis EXPERT and as such take this all with a grain of salt.

Preliminarily, it bears noting that the word "love" appears to be in all caps. We can see that when one letter is upper case and the others are in lower case, as in "Paul," the upper case letter is written larger, whereas "with" which is all lower case, has same sized letters. Similarly, it is clear that L and E in "love" are both capitalized, and since O and V are written in the same size as them, we can assume that "LOVE" is in all caps.

With that established, let's start with John and whether we can really rule him out as some are suggesting.

JOHN

The best frame of reference for John's 1964 handwriting is of course the If I Fell lyrics themselves, which were definitely written very close to when the dedication was written.

First thing of note is that the way "with" is written in the above lyrics and the dedication are not similar. For one thing, in the dedication the "t" is clearly crossed, while in the lyrics it is not. Here's a closer look:

Having said that, John is inconsistent with lower case Ts in the "If I Fell" lyrics. You can see it side by side here in "heart" and "to":

It would appear he does write curved and crossed lower case Ts (and does so several times in the lyrics). So the dissimilarities between how "with" is written in the If I Fell lyrics and the dedication does not really definitively establish that John did not write the dedication.

John's lower case Ls are also inconsistent, sometimes with large loops, sometimes thin as in the dedication. Thus the lower case L in "Paul" is not all that informative.

On the other hand, the lower case "au" in "cause" in the lyrics is similar to the lower case "au" in "Paul" in the dedication. Of particular note is that the "a" in both appearances of "cause" in the above lyrics has a faded top half as though the press of John's pen on the paper is consistently lighter when writing this part of the letter, or in the alternative when John's in a hurry his lower case cursive As look like lower case Us as he failes to connect the two ends. This same phenomenon can be observed in the dedication.

The "If I Fell" lyrics do not give us any frame of reference for the capital letters, but another set of lyrics John wrote in 1964 do:

This is from John's handwritten lyrics for "If You've Got Trouble." Here we can see John's capital "L" and "VE" in "LEAVE" are similar to the capital "L" and "VE" in the dedication. "LEAVE" here is written in a similar pseudo script style as "LOVE" so the slight curve connecting the V to the E is especially striking.

Given this, it appears that we CANNOT rule John out of contention. It's still possible he wrote the dedication. There are enough similarities between handwriting samples of his from 1964 and the dedication.

JANE

The trouble with Jane is our handwriting samples for her are limited, the best I could find was a note she wrote in 1966:

Her lower case L is thin and never has a big loop unlike John. This is similar to the L in "Paul" in the dedication. Her upper case P in the note also resembles the P in Paul in the dedication. Her lower case "au" in "autograph" in the above note is somewhat similar to the "au" in the dedication, but Jane's handwriting is curvier, the strokes in the dedication are sharper than the laxer strokes in the above note written by Jane. In contrast, the curve in Jane's lower case h are consistently sharper than the very curved h in the dedication.

Notice also that when she writes a lower case T, the next letter is connected not to the base of the letter (as it does in the dedication) but with the cross/horizontal line. Even when the base ot the "t" and the next letter connect, as in "that" this is clearly more accidental then intentional. Jane's lower case Ts consistently do not have a curved bottom. In contrast, the lower case T in the dedication not only has a curved bottom, it is clearly purposefully connected to the next letter (h).

I am inclined to think the dedication was not written by Jane, it's not completely impossible that it was her, but in my considered opinion it is unlikely.

GEORGE (HARRISON)

My favorite wild card theory. For his handwriting sample, lets use George's 1964 letter to Astrid:

Like Jane, the biggest problem with the George theory is his lower case Ts. Both in "think" and in "anything" the bottom of his lower case T is not curved and it connects to the H through the cross, not the base. He sometimes curves his lower case Ts when theyre the last letter of a word, as in "put", but this is the single instance of a curved lower case t in the entire letter to Astrid. His cursive "V" also curves inwards (as in "everyone" and "love") while the V in the dedication curves slightly outwards. In other words the way George's hand moves when he writes a cursive V seems slightly different from the way the person who wrote the dedication does it. George's capital Es are also consistently angular in the above sample, though its worth noting that he sometimes has curved capital Es in later handwriting samples, such as the handwritten lyrics of Something from 1969. Still, in so far as 1964, that does not seem to be the usual case.

Moreover, while his lower case Ls are inconsistent (sometimes thin, sometimes with big loops), he seemed to write the lower case L in "Paul" with big loops. Here is a letter he wrote to an Atlanta DJ, Paul Drew in 1966:

Notice also the slightly curvier capital Es, and the inward curving capital V.

A point in favor of the George theory however can be seen in his letter to Astrid. That is, George ended some of his letters with "x x x", especially in '63-'64, and the dedication also ends with x x x. Here's another example from 1963 of George ending a letter in this manner.

But the thing is... George isnt the only one who signs off letters with "x x x," John did this on occassion in the late 50s, early 60s. He does it here in a letter to Cynthia (sent from Hamburg, 1959):

Another letter to Cynthia in 1962 also shows John signing off with multiple Xs, and he also signs off with "xxxx" in an alleged letter of his to George's mother, Louise from the early 60s. That said, George is more consistent with using just three Xs. So the sign off is still a point more in George's favor than John's, but it is definitely not a point AGAINST John.

CONCLUSION

If we are to rank our three main "suspects" based on this discussion, John would be the most likely writer of the dedication, followed by George. Personally I would have loved if it was Jane, and John wrote the lyrics on the card in a jealous frenzy lmao; but it does still seem more likely that it was John.

Side Note: I checked some Brian, Mal, and Ringo handwriting samples and they were all too dissimilar to the handwriting on the dedication to merit serious consideration. I don't think anyone else in their inner circle would send Paul a Valentines Card either, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[nothingbutpoison]

[eggieeggsta]

I’m never EVER gonna get over the fact that the last words George ever said to Ringo were “do you want me to go with you?”

[garfunkelgirl]

john lennon drunkingly singing yesterday and changing the lyrics to “why he had to go, i don’t know he wouldn’t say” sounds like something from a fanfiction but it really did happen like theres even a recording of it

[flowersatmydoor]

i NEED this recording asap

[garfunkelgirl]

ask and ye shall receive. (yesterday starts at 19:55) and here’s more context via beatlesbible on the 1971 (!) party where it was recorded

[modrockmocker]

Even before he had become famous, George Martin had the aura. He was a tall man, well over six feet, with a fine head of thick, wavy, swept-back hair and dramatic features: a wide, helmet-shaped forehead; long, sloping jawline; liquid blue eyes; and an afterglow of masculine beauty that filled out and crystallized with age. He also conducted himself with such natural deference that every gesture seemed informed by a graciousness and decency beyond him. Nonetheless, for all Martin's personal poetry, at EMI he was something of a joke.

The Beatles by Bob Spitz.

[sunshinemouse7822]

"John habitually left his top shirt button undone and his tie crooked; often before they went onstage, in an almost wifely—or motherly-gesture, Paul would stand him still and do up the button for him."

- 'John Lennon: The Life' - Phillip Norman, page 299 (via goddamnthebeatles)

[michonnegrimes]

The Beatles interviewed in Memphis (August 19, 1966)

[alanangels]

[modrockmocker]

As they talk, Paul constantly squeezes Linda’s arm reassuringly, strokes her hand or looks to her for approval or agreement whenever he makes a point. The two are inclined to talk at once or to finish each other’s sentences. At times, the link is so tight, they seem almost like different aspects of one person.

Paul and Linda McCartney interviewed for Playgirl, February 1985.

[epiphainie]

:(

[epiphainie]

💔💔💔💔💔

[sgt-paul]

PAUL MCCARTNEY  on the rooftop of 3 Savile Row, ahead of the Beatles’ final live performance ; January 30, 1969.