I listened to the “new” Beatles tune, Now and Then. The haunting melody combined with the lyrics – and the possible story that seems to be heard behind those lyrics – almost moved me to tears. The images of the past and present versions of the Beatles in the accompanying video, only add to the sentimental quality.
The story behind the creation of the song is fascinating. John recorded the vocals in 1977. The surviving Beatles attempted to record additional vocals and the music in 1995 as part of the same sessions that produced Real Love and Free As A Bird, neither of which really speak to me the way Now and Then does.
However, the attempts to record Now and Then in 1995 were frustrated by the inability to separate Lennon’s vocals and piano, something Peter Jackson’s team and 2023 technology were able to do successfully. What has been delivered is as close to a true Beatles reunion – at least in spirit – as we will ever get again.
The tone of the song is one of friendship, forgiveness and desire for reconciliation. Perhaps John Lennon didn’t write the song about the Beatles, but it’d be nice to think that he did. Perhaps he had some thought about the long-awaited Beatles reunion, about the four friends gathered in a studio to put past differences behind and start anew, with a new album, new music and new bonds of friendship and collaboration into the new decade of the 80s. Perhaps it was just his way of expressing that friendship to Paul, George, and Ringo.
At the same time, in listening to Now and Then in 2023, rather than the late 70s, the song feels like a satisfying end to the long and winding road that was the Beatles story. It feels like a proper “Goodbye” from perhaps the most important band in history to its legion of fans.
Much like every other pop culture phenomenon from Jimi Hendrix to Star Wars, as long as there’s money to be made, there stands the risk that there will be another chapter. I’ve already seen jokes on social media about Paul discovering another lost Beatles song in 2035 anbd releasing it.
But if Now and Then isn’t the last Beatles song, it should be.
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