The Life We Once Knew

While The World Gently Weeps

I felt like I was living in some alternate reality. As if one sentence could send me soaring into a world unlike my own. Ever since John dropped the bomb, the entire world felt different. The music wasn't quite as sweet as it once was, the birds didn't sing as they used to, even the sun didn't shine as brightly. Everything had changed, for good or for bad, it was too soon to tell. With the disbandment of The Beatles, the entire world had changed.

It was unreal. Part of me expected to wake up in Hamburg with John rushing us all to a gig. I still remembered the beginning, it felt too soon for the end. Yet, there it was, lying in front of me. The finish line was there, and it was time to cross it.

I've already crossed the finish line. As soon as Storms Over London broke up, I crossed it and stood on the other side waiting for my mates. It seemed as if I've been watching them approach the finish line for a long time, but none of them were willing to cross it. Until John finally got up the courage and took the necessary leap, dragging George and Ringo along with him. Paul was the only one left behind.

Linda had taken him up to the Scotland Farm for the weekend in an effort to calm him down. I had successfully kept him from drinking himself to death, but only one person could truly keep him alive. I knew what he was going through, but Linda knew how to get through to him. She could get him to understand better than anyone else, and I had grown up with him. Something about The Lovely Linda made everybody listen, especially Paul.

Jane and I had taken the responsibility of watching the kids while Linda tried to bring Paul back down to Earth. Mary was napping in our bedroom while Vera and Heather played in the nursery. Jane and I could hear them from the living room. Vera was singing while Heather banged on toy drums. Miraculously, Mary never woke up.

"I never thought I'd be sitting here watching the news that The Beatles are breaking up," Jane commented.

Both of us were blankly staring at the telly. A reporter stood in front of Abbey Road Studios surrounded by crying fans. He was talking about how it was recently announced that The Beatles are finished. The fans cried, doing their best to get inside of the studio even though nobody was there. The lads were in a bad state, and they needed a few moments peace before signing the final papers. Everybody had gone their separate directions for the weekend, but they would have to come together one last time.

"I thought they would last forever," I sighed, "Those lads were built to last."

"Nothing is built to last."

"I thought they'd prove the world wrong once again."

Jane shook her head. She rested her cheek on my shoulder, her frown growing deeper by the second. Both of us, just like the rest of the world, were deeply shaken by this event. The Beatles had become such a icon for all of humanity, them breaking up broke the hearts of everyone on the planet. Even those that didn't like The Beatles paused when they heard the sad news.

"It's not the end though, is it?" Jane glanced up at me, "It's the end of The Beatles, but it isn't the end of the four of them. They're all still mates."

I shrugged, "I dunno, Janie. John seemed pretty pissed at Paul. George and Ringo too."

"They've been angry before."

"Not this angry," I replied, "John's so upset, he broke up the band. I remember when we first started. It was John, Paul, George, Stuart, and me. John used to say, we were going to make it. We'd get to the toppermost of the poppermost and that's where we'd stay."

"You did make it."

"But none of us stayed."

Jane didn't reply. We both watched an old reel of an early Beatles performance play on the telly. I recognized that performance, it was The Royal Variety Show. That was one of the first milestones The Beatles hit.

"What the lads built was more than a band, it was a family," I sighed, "The four of them, and, by extension, the entire world was one, big, happy family. Now, the parents are getting divorced and there's no such thing as joint custody over the entire world."

It was a definite that each lads was going to have their own solo career. All four were too in love with music to give it up that easily. Just because they weren't Beatles anymore didn't mean they couldn't be musicians. I knew for a fact that George had a backlog of songs, perhaps enough to fill up an album or two. John and Yoko had made their own band already and even released a few records. Even Ringo had an idea of a solo album in the works. Only Paul remained attached to the band that no longer existed.

"Mum once told me all good things come to an end, that's why they're the good things," Jane said, "If they lasted forever, then they wouldn't be good things."

I smiled, "Maybe then they'd be great things."

"There is such a thing as too much of a good thing."

"Janie, love, you're as smart as you are cheeky."

Jane chuckled. We both eyed the television as the reporter interviewed hysterical Beatles fans. I wondered how many girls were rushed to the hospital once the news broke. They had all just gone out and bought the new Beatles album only to discover it was the last.

"They're gonna sign the papers on Monday," I sighed, "Linda and Paul both said they want me to come, mostly because someone needs to help keep John and Paul from killing each other."

"You've had experience with that," Jane giggled.

I smirked, "Ah, only about twelve years."

Jane laughed. I glanced at the window, watching as gray clouds slowly crawled across the sky. The story began underneath that very same sky, with the same sun gazing down upon a church fete way back in 1957.

It all began when two best friends met underneath a blue sky and ended with a divorce underneath gray clouds. 

(Photo- Jane, 1969. Taken by Amelia McCartney.)