“John just sat there… smiling.” Paul McCartney didn’t always get instant approval from John Lennon — but this Beatles song was different. As Paul began writing it right in front of him, Lennon didn’t interrupt, didn’t criticize, and didn’t overthink it. He simply watched — and nodded. At a time when their tastes were already starting to drift apart, this quiet moment revealed how deep their creative chemistry still ran.

John Lennon didn’t always approve of Paul McCartney’s songwriting. As their tenure in the Beatles trekked on, their tastes diverged. Lennon labelled much of McCartney’s latter Beatles catalog “granny” music, making his aversion to his narrative, oft-cutesy style clear. But they were once very much on the same page when it came to songwriting. There was one McCartney-penned Beatles song in particular that Lennon instantly approved of. Find out which one below.

The Paul McCartney Song John Lennon Instantly Approved Of

The Beatles’ songwriting mindset changed in the mid-’60s. Around 1965, the band began dropping its pop-friendly songs for more experimental efforts. This gave way to their psychedelic era, marking them as master songwriters and not just a young rock sensation.

The throughline throughout the band’s career was the partnership between Lennon and McCartney. The closeness of this relationship would waver over the years, but there was always a semblance of mutual respect between the two.

Even though their songs were credited under the Lennon-McCartney legal partnership, not all of the songs were co-efforts. Many times, one or the other would bring in songs for the other to merit.

“Sometimes I’d bring something in, and he’d go, ‘Well, there you are’, that’s it, I just got the stamp of approval,” McCartney once said of this process.

Not every song McCartney wrote was approved by Lennon in this way, but one that was a quick “yes” from his songwriting partner was “Paperback Writer” from Revolver.

“I think ‘Paperback Writer’ was a bit like that,” McCartney added, continuing elsewhere with, “I proceeded to write it just like a letter in front of him, occasionally rhyming it. And John, as I recall, just sat there…amused smile, saying, ‘Yes, that’s it, that’ll do.’”

Their relationship would grow murky as the Beatles’ career drew to a close, but McCartney still thinks fondly of his time writing songs with Lennon.

“I look back on it and think, ‘Yeah, you were a good collaborator,’” McCartney once said in relation to Lennon. Despite their diverging tastes, both of these songwriters penned legendary and timeless songs together. That kind of chemistry isn’t easily obscured by a couple of rocky years.