It’s not unusual for writers to look backward. Because that’s your pool of resources. If you were to write something now, I bet there’s a pretty good chance you’d call on your teenage years, your experiences then, stuff you learned then.
By the time we made “Abbey Road”, John and I were openly critical of each other’s music, and I felt John wasn’t much interested in performing anything he hadn’t written himself.
Painting is a magical process that I like, where you conjure something out of nothing; you get a little idea that leads you through. You can go into a trance while you’re doing it, so it’s a nice contrast to real life.
When I write, there are times — not always — when I hear John (Lennon) in my head, I’ll think, OK, what would we have done here?, and I can hear him gripe or approve.
