TL;DR: Paul McCartney compared one of the lyrics of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” to a mutt. He received letters about the lyric. The track became a huge hit.

The pain in “Hey Jude” resonated in 1968, in a world reeling from wars, riots and assassinations. And it’s why it sounds timely in the summer of 2018, as our world keeps getting colder.

“Hey Jude,” even for the first-time listener, is unforgettable. This rock ‘n’ roll gem, its composer says, was inspired by the divorce of John and Cynthia Lennon, who died on Wednesday at 75.

Paul McCartney has revealed how his late Beatles bandmate John Lennon encouraged him to keep one of his now-famous lyrics in “Hey Jude”.. The legendary singer-songwriter, 81, shared the ...