#old mclennon ask

[crepesuzette2023]

Hi! I love your fic recs <3

Do you have any old!mclennon recommendations? or old!beatles in general.

Thank you!!

I'm glad you enjoy them, and thanks for trusting my taste.

Old!McLennon is one of my favorites as well, so your ask made me very happy. Just recently, I made a list of fics "in which John is old and happy" in honor of John's birthday, and there are quite some Old Men in Love favorites on there. (The first, second, & seventh one count more as middle-aged, I think—but they're great regardless!)

Here are some additional stories you might enjoy:

Tomorrow may rain so I'll follow the sun (@mothmanmademedoit). AU in which Paul becomes a bookseller. "Paul feels lost after Linda's death, so he decides to leave his book shop and travel to New York for a month to see her city. He meets John there, a writer with a complicated marriage. Or: Old men falling in love again." Simply lovely...and sexy!

And when I go to town, I wanna see all three. (@dovand). Old Men Beatles Polycule — live on stage in Australia. Funny, hot, and so beautiful it hurts. The descriptions of them playing music together, in particular...! "In a world where the Beatles' breakup didn't last, 2025 kicks off in good fashion: with a concert."

everything to discover (@backbenttulips). This writer has so many great middle-aged/old Mclennon fics! In this one, "John and Paul exploring a romantic relationship with each other during the 2000s-2010s, and navigating life as famous old people and grandparents."

Stuck in the Middle With You (@toovirgins). "Lost in a corn maze and on a time crunch, eighty-year-old Paul and John Lennon-McCartney let grief-stricken disagreement take the reins." [Ends on a hopeful note though!]

our house is a very fine house (@friendofgeorgeharrison). Quiet story that reads like a poem, about Paul bringing home flowers for John, and two old men who made a home together.

[pauls1967moustache]

Paul would’ve never even implied Now and Then was about him if John were alive. Doesn’t that make people even just a little suspicious? That he’s pandering to shippers rather than actually telling the truth?

If John were alive, he and Paul would be having raw nasty old man sex, so I don’t see why it matters.

[lord-pain]

I think a lot of how Paul was more phisically willing to touch John in their early days (or that's just what it seems to me). I can't stop thinking of how he was extra flirty and didn't seem to care about coming across as gay, until he started to look completely afraid of touching men. I like to think young Paul knew that John found him atractive and he loved it

[eloeloanna]

Hi! I love your content 🫶

I have always feel that Real Love and Grow Old With Me were for Paul, so I wonder if you can find something about them.

Thanks!!

Real love: Context. The cards said that it was a very difficult time for John, where he "had" to be passive...like he didn't have a choice. The only thing he could do it was to work on something. He thought that working on this he could have some peace of mind and having this relationship that he is talking to in a good place, like, he would do the "correct" thing making this song. Also, he wanted to state that this relationship was important to him, that he didn't want to "let it go". But it was like his love was something...I don't know, like...bad? Toxic? It was like something was wrong by loving this person. But anyways, he wanted to state that he really loved and enjoyed being with this person. Was "Real Love" a song for Yoko?

It seems to me that Yoko could be the answer. Because the cards are explaining all the stuff that happened before this song was made. Like all the toxic behaviors, all the bad situations, how Yoko dealt with all of this, and how John did. Also, the gap of time before they got together again, the hope for something new to happen, new beginings, etc. Was "Real Love" a song for Paul?

I don't think so. The cards are also explaining a moment in the timeline where John thought was happy to see Paul, but it was like the reality hit him. It was like, everytime he was near Paul during that time was...fake. Because all the people around them, it was like it wasn't worth it, it was like Paul didn't give it all...so John around this time was confused about this. But didn't act on it.

Was "Real Love" about someone else? Nope. About everybody else John felt like he could have a lot of chances, but never really wanted to do anything about it. Just the sex and leave. Grow Old With Me Context. I think when John wrote this song, he didn't like very much the life that he had. I mean..."the established" part. Everybody could see him "put together" and with the happy family, but it seems to me that he was looking for another chance. The things suddenly moved to another direction, where he could lose a lot, but it was like John wanted for this to happen, even in a intelectual level. This new direction was something that made him proud, but also he had the pain of knowing what would happen. Was "Grow Old With Me" a song for Yoko?

The cards start with the acknowledgement of the value of the relationship and the responsabilities that come with it, but also, how difficult it is to keep going with it. When John wrote this song, he really tried to stay in this relationship, but he really didn't know what to do. He was starting to feel miserable with it, even when he knew how "much" Yoko did for him. Was "Grow Old With Me" a song for Paul? For me, Paul is one of the options. Why? The cards start telling me about how the past is left behind, and how things now seem to be better, it was like all was starting over. One thing that John didn't reflect enough was that probably these new feelings were fulled because of past feelings, and not present. The "new" feelings made John happy for a long time, but also very doubtful. It was like Paul was again being arrogant with him, and that "broke" John's heart. It is showed that later Paul reached John but it was very difficult to communicate, until...it happened, and it was a new begining. Was "Grow Old With Me" a song for someone else? For me this also could be an option. It was like John wanted to reach someone, but it took a lot of time to get an answer. When he had an answer...well, he didn't like it? HAHA. It is like..."Well, that's what you are going to say? NOTHING ELSE?"

[beatlesmenrock]

Yay! <3

[saint-mona]

how did you first come to love the beatles?

My dad was always into them, but I suppose it was watching the Anthology on ABC when I was thirteen that ignited the passion.

I’ve been hooked ever since! Though it went by the wayside during college, career & kids. I got back into them in 2017 and this is how I discovered Tumblr and Ao3.

I wrote Beatles fan fiction in high school before I knew it was a thing. Very grateful for the endless amount of content out there.

Unfortunately, a lot of my scrapbooks and magazines from the 90s have disappeared.

[menlove]

Hey have you read any good McLennon fix-its

OH BOY HAVE I. i love mclennon fix-its they genuinely heal my soul & they're for sure my favorite i'm ngl. here we gooooo. just pulling from my bookmarks in no particular order...

favorites have a 💖 next to them!

blood on the tracks by mynamesbetty

gen-mature. 66k modern au, 11 part series, eventual fix-it. He was a grown man, a rock star, richer than Croesus, emotionally stable, and more than capable of handling a surprise visit from his ex-husband. Paul married John when he was eighteen and divorced him at twenty-nine. Two years later, John pays Paul a visit.

'til touchdown brings me round again to find by wardo_weditit

explicit. 12k. It was one thing when he was doing this for Elton—yeah, because of a bet, but mostly because Elton is his friend and he wants to support him. It was just a one-off thing that seemed like it could be fun, or cool, or maybe even memorable. But now, if Paul’s going to be there, it takes on a hell of a lot more meaning because that’s the way it goes, that’s what things with Paul always do. Or, Paul comes to see John's surprise appearance at Elton's show, and grand gestures abound.

here you come again by harmonising

mature. 16k. (take this one w a grain of salt i can't remember if it's a full fix it? but well. john's alive, so) 1982. John comes back to England. He and Paul spend a weekend together.

Grow Old With Me by inherownwrite 💖

explicit. 8k. Paul breaks his arm, and John panics.

and when broken bodies are washed ashore (who am i to ask for more) by wardo_wedidit 💖

mature. 39k. “Jesus, took you long enough,” John says, adjusting the duffle over his shoulder. “Thought I might be out here til morning at this rate.” For a second he wonders if he’s drunker than he thought, but no. As far as he can tell, it is still 1980, and he hasn’t seen or so much as spoken to John in ten years. Or, John comes to stay with Paul in Scotland to ride out the press storm of his divorce to Yoko, and Paul learns to stop running away.

i was a younger man then (now) (post hoc) by fingersfallingupwards 💖

mature. 27k. (i'm not kidding i think this one is my favorite ever mclennon fics. it's only 27k but it feels like an entire novel. this lives in my head rent free forever. this is my heartstopper or whatever the kids are saying) John’s twelve when a bloke appears from a flaming pie and says, “From this day forward you are Beatles with an ‘a.’” The bloke is Paul. Or: paul and john meet at all ages and eras and john is the time-traveler’s wife the way only john lennon can be

Stop all the clocks by javelinbk

mature. 30k. For the following kink meme prompt: ‘1967. After Brian dies, Paul decides not to go ahead with MMT, and takes John up to Scotland for a month instead.’ Also based on the following comment on said prompt: ‘pls someone let them fuck tenderly in 1967’

I Need My Love to Be Here by notgrungybitchin

explicit. 8k. After John gets his first panic attack in Hamburg, he starts to realize that Paul might be the only person who can bring him back to himself.

[keanakooki]

I made friends with this guy at the carehome where my grandad is at, because he loves The Beatles. The overwhelming urge I occasionally get to ask him about McLennon, but then I stop myself because he's like literally a 70 to 80 year old man with a wife and kids, and I don't want to loose that friendship-

[raylangivins]

Thank you @coyotesuspect for tagging me to do a fic writer interview!!! I love shiteing on about writing :)

How many works do you have on ao3?

41 and like half of that is from the Beatles boom of the last couple years 🫣

What’s your total word count?

242,272

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

live through this and you won’t look back (check please, jackparse); if being afraid is a crime, we hang side by side (wolf 359, kepcobi); baby, it’s all relative (beatles, mclennon); i thought i knew you, what did i know (beatles, jane pov mclennon); slip of the tongue (beatles, mclennon)

Do you respond to comments? Why/why not?

Yes!! Although I’ve gotten bad about getting back to comments on old fic bc i always open it in a new tab to respond later and then I forgor. But I’ve turned on the ao3 inbox so i can get better about finding them again. I love receiving comments and I genuinely appreciate all of them. Be rude not to reply!

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Any ‘68-‘69 era beatles fic I’ve written tbh, but i think the worst of them is one and one and one is three where I forced poor Paul to endure a threesome with John and Yoko :)

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Oh god idk, one of the angst-less pwps probably. tune me up and turn me out I wrote with the express purpose of depicting John and Paul being horny and in love so maybe that one. Also I have a forever soft spot for wouldn’t it be nice? because the ending is so 🥰🥰🥰 ROMANCE!!!

Do you write crossovers?

Wrote one this year about Don Draper hooking up with Paul McCartney :) plus this oldie about Jean-Ralphio from parks and rec becoming the 11th doctor’s companion.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Only from troll accounts

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Brother I write any kind. I’ll write kinks I don’t even like if the muse demands it.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No but I’ve had someone finish a fic I abandoned years ago on ff.net and then they message me about it being like “can I finish this” and then I checked he fic and they’d already posted it and only asked permission bc someone asked them if they did lol.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

I think I did in the ff.net days but I can’t remember if anyone’s done it since

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No :( I’d love to. I have no idea if I’d be any use though, I have such a self-contained writing process.

What's your all-time favourite ship?

Raylan/Boyd or Pacey/Joey probably, neither of which I’ve written anything for lmao

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

There’s a jackparse fic that I’ve been trying to write since the summer of 2020, and tbh I’m still delusional enough to think I will get it done eventually even though I’ve written almost nothing for it. Never give up, never surrender!

What are your writing strengths?

This sounds dumb but I’m good at capturing vibes. I like to be concise so I try to pack a lot of emotion in the fewest words possible.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I don’t care for physical descriptions so I don’t do them as much as I probably should. I think this, again, goes with my desire to be concise lol

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If it’s a word or line here and there fair enough but if you’re writing a whole exchange that I don’t understand, my eyes are just gonna glaze over it. Dawg, I cannot read that! And also I think there’s such nuance to the way people switch languages when they’re bilingual and a lot of not bilingual people writing bilingual characters do not understand that. It’s both more and less casual than the way most people depict it.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Gossip girl :)

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

Idk I don’t usually go into a fandom expecting to write for it, it’s more that I join and sometimes the desire strikes and a lot of the time it doesn’t. In terms of beatles which I am consistently writing for, I really want to write a Paul/George fic which I haven’t done yet. But I love a little childhood friendship moment <3

What's your favourite fic you've written?

I love all my children equally, but stuff from this year I’m particularly delighted with are a great threat just because the universe of Paul being the girl beatle was so delicious to play with and also toxic yuri >:), and The McCartney Issue cause it hit me while I was in the midst of struggling with sort of writer’s block and a bit of a confidence dive in terms of writing, and it came to me so fully formed so it was nice to know that spark was still there, and I had a lot of fun with it.

Tagging, if you’d like @javelinbk @crepesuzette2023 @jeanharlowseyebrows @wurmzirkus @planetaire ❤️

[bambi-kinos]

Sorry, long ask.

Do you think that Paul really remembers John? Like his John that he fell in love with because John's been dead for more years than he's been alive, they cut ties in the later twenties then like 10 years Paul had new memories and great success with Wings and a family and he didn't play Beatles songs then. But it was more than 40 years ago and Paul at least at some point has said that he doesn't remember the 60's + he seem quite unsure of John and his true feeling about each other, he quite often said like he asking himself if "we hated each other or if it was true" like he's needed to see "McLennon" videos and pictures of themselves to really see, yes it was real. So I'm asking this because I know Paul is a genius and almost super human but he is human and most people actually don't remembers things that long.. So what do you think? I must say I do hope he does.

How much do we remember the people we love after they've passed?

My grandfather died last year. Peacefully, he was surrounded by people who loved him. My memories of him are of taking care of him in his last days. Visiting him, talking to him, telling him we loved him. He was ready to go and we knew that. He was tired and wanted to go on to the next step. So those are my predominant memories of him. He was very worn out. It wasn't until I witnessed the decline that I realized what it means to be a "shadow of yourself."

He wasn't always like that. I knew him when he could get around on his own, before the damage from the polio came back. I knew him when he taught me chess. I knew him when he made popcorn for me and taught me how to tune a radio. I remember hugging him when I wasn't even up to his hip. But those memories are very faded. When my oldest sister lived at home, he came by our house and he hung up her ceiling fan in her bedroom. I remember walking in and seeing the new fan sitting on the floor but I don't remember him being there. My mom had to confirm that for me.

And I wonder, what other things did I do with my grandfather that I don't remember? What all did we do? Where did we go, what was it like? He took us to the ocean once but I only have photos. I don't remember it happening.

But I know he loved us. He was an excellent grandfather, he was so well suited to the part. He liked being with us, he taught us new things, he took care of us. He loved us, he was so proud of us whenever we did anything.

So if you don't remember someone or you rediscover memories you forgot....that doesn't mean you stop loving them. Memory is fallible but love is just as much an act as it is a feeling. Paul reviewing photos, seeing the remastered video, watching John dance his silly dances. It all came back to him. That John loved him, even if Paul doesn't remember every little thing. Paul can love John without needing to remember every little thing. He's made his entire career a monument to loving John.

Paul's uncertainty regarding John is in part a reaction to what everyone around him has been screaming at him for decades and because of John himself. He's been taunted and blamed and told repeatedly, for decades, that John hated him from the moment he saw him and that he was only useful to John as a business partner. John himself created and drove a great deal of this narrative. Hence his dismay that Paul took him seriously when John told him to stop coming around. "I didn't mean it like that." John had to put this out in a media interview because he was so scared of talking to Paul (because he understood his part in the whole thing) that he couldn't call on the phone and tell Paul that he was sorry. Paul wasn't lucky like me, he didn't have more good memories to overwrite the other good memories.

Paul is old and human memory is fallible. His last interactions with John were terrible. How does he square that with Yoko telling him "no, John really did love you" and interviewers saying "he missed you, it was so obvious." It was obvious to everyone but Paul who only get a hostile angry John who wanted hurt him.

But that's why the videos and photos matter. It will happen to all of us someday. That's why we need to take photos, take videos, everything. There needs be a record of love so we can remember love. That's why Paul released Eye of the Storm, so he can remember the time when John loved him. The stage interviews with Conan are an exercise in watching a man wrapping memories around himself like a blanket.

Paul does remember bits and pieces of the 1960s. He remembers writing "Mr. Kite" with John. He remembers tripping with John. It's the mundane stuff that he misses I bet. Age takes those memories away first, the little things.

Paul may only remember bits and pieces of the John he fell in love with, the John who took care of him and loved him back. But he has the photos. He has the videos. Even if he doesn't remember them exactly, he can look at them and he can know that John loved him once. He's holding on to that as tightly as he can.

And like Paul always says: he can feel John's presence. John is with him in one way or another. That in of itself must be very comforting.

[crepesuzette2023]

hey really loved your list of ‘weird’ beatle fics! Is there any chance you know any more that fit in that same category (and also have ships outside of mclennon?)

Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked that selection of weird fics.

I also have a list of my favorite writers and their most 'underrated' fic, which contains some weird stuff, and pairings outside mclennon, with minimal overlap with the first selection—perhaps you'll find something you enjoy there? And I made a specific rare pairs list, also with little overlap to the above (or I wouldn't mention it here).

But you were primarily asking for more weird fic! Let's see.

@greatsaladavenue pointed out Insect Farming (DoeInTheHeadlights). I stopped reading after the first chapter, because it was too much for me to handle, but it gets a lot of love in the comments. Check it out.

@skylikeaflame mentioned deflower a flower (NamPhuong). Summary: George is a bee. He wants to suck the nectar of Paul, John's flower. Poetic and unusual!

Two fics about Tiny Paul: Now in Authentic Beetle Size! (sleeprettydarling), and I'll Pretend That I'm Kissing the Lips I am Missing (yaggerdangs_jumpsuit). The alternative ending to Help!, and: John and Paul always find ways to get off.

Also by sleeprettydarling: Wild (John is a wounded mershark; Paul finds him, stranded) and Dear Friend (Paul tries to write his and John's story in a magic diary that makes everything he writes reality).

But as the words are leaving his lips, a noise comes from behind (hootiepgh). The Beatles accidentally kill Allen Klein. It brings them closer together. Starts out absurdly hilarious, then dives into the sweet angst of their emotions. From the Summer of Love Fanworks-a-thon.

Five Nights at Johnny's (innitmarvellous). Paul is a succubus.

Monkberry Moon Delight (goodbody). Early Days. John and Paul's ritual. Not wanking as mates: nursing as mates. I love this one a lot.

bedtime story (two sleepy people) (Anonymous). 1968. John and Paul need each other to sleep.

love like ghosts (@backbenttulips). Summary: "When Yoko marries John and moves with him into a grand house in the country, she doesn't expect the ghost of his old flame to follow them. A Rebecca AU."

The Nordic Prince (@skylikeaflame). Erik Bruhn/Rudolf Nureyev meets John Lennon/Paul McCartney.

This is probably going to be my final fic rec list in a while, because I have to finish stuff, and summer is coming, so: enjoy! <3

[m1ssunderstanding]

4 FAB totally unrelated questions:

Can you make your favorite Beatle and solo song list ?

I really enjoy reading your Mclennon fic, are you planning to write more ( I hope so)

What is your favorite McLennon theory, thing they did or photograph?

I also really enjoyed your Get back / understanding Lennon-McCartney series, can you make more? Your captions and details are so good.

me when I read this

I abhor favorites, so here's some lists as of RIGHT NOW in this current moment. It will be very different in about three seconds. My toddler's is much easier. I Have to sing Maxwell to him before he goes to bed or he will cry.

Top 5 Solo(upbeat): 5. Crackerbox Palace 4. Just Like Starting Over 3. Getting Closer 2. Old Siam Sir 1. Monkberry Moon Delight

Top 5 Beatles(upbeat): 5. Baby You're a Rich Man 4. I Wanna Hold Your Hand 3. Rocky Raccoon 2. I've Just Seen a Face 1. Dont Let Me Down

Top 5 Solo (downbeat): 5. Vanity Fair 4. I Don't Know 3.Jealous Guy 2. Isn't it a Pity 1. Junk

Top 5 Beatles (downbeat): 5. Strawberry Fields Forever 4. Blackbird 3. You Never Give Me Your Money 2. Eleanor Rigby 1. While My Guitar Gently Weeps

2. Thank you so so much and yes! I post new chapters of my series every Monday. Right now they're in Hamburg and things are Very Messy. I do want to write more after this fic wraps, but I've got other things I want to do first, see question 4.

3. As far as my own actual mclennon theory I swing to both sides of the spectrum (they fucked on the regular the whole time just without any secret committed romantic relationship ---- they literally never did anything it was all just mutual pining and maybe Paul didn't even understand what he was feeling until it was too late) depending on what evidence I've read or watched recently. My favorite thing to think about right now is all the secretiveness of the seventies. Like why do we have so many conflicting accounts of when they last saw each other and the same thing about the amount of time they spent together during the lost weekend?

4. Thank you for saying that, you're too kind! Yeah I do want to do more of those. I want to do the fifth parts of ULM and I have thought about doing Two of Us and other Beatles movies, but here's my list of to-dos. 1. Finish my current fic 2. Answer two big deal asks that are sitting in my drafts 3. Write my claimed prompt for the summer of love 4. Do more reactions

I super appreciate this ask anon it was so much fun! As always I'd love to hear your thoughts too if you feel like sending them in asks or messages or whatever:)

[buttahpie]

hi!! i've been reading your timeloop fic and it's absolutely fabulous! made me tear up a couple of times and i'm only on chapter 7 i think. a couple of weeks ago i was like "i wish someone would write a mclennon timeloop thing that would deal with mental health" and how happy i was to see that there indeed IS a fanfic like that being posted at this very moment :) besides the mclennon aspect which is of course super wonderful, i really love the other paul's relationships you explore in your work, how you let your version of paul be messy and insane and flawed, but also deeply caring. i hope you get infinite inspiration and i hope you're having a great day, thank you for your hard work :)

me when i kick my feet and blush and giggle.

THANK YOU!! if you’ve teared up that early on… i am so sorry for what’s to come haha (based on my other readers experiences lmao)

also the mental health is SUCH an important aspect of Under the White Magnolia Blooms. while I was crafting my idea for this fic, I knew I wanted to take the issues of mental health and recovery head on. and i wanted to try and portray it in a way that was accurate and respectful. so hopefully i’m doing justice for you all. i’ve experienced my fair share of the tumblr-users-mental-health-plethora and so a lot of it is drawn from personal experience.

if there’s anything I can gab about for HOURS, it’s mental health, mclennon and God. so i just wrote a 100k word fanfic based on all those things and here we are :)

also— i love paul. i love my characterization of paul. writing real people is far more challenging than writing characters because real humans are infinitely more complex than characters. We can’t quite headcanon things as easily as we might with fictional characters. i don’t know paul, i don’t act like i know him, but i know humans. i know people recovering from mental health battles. i know people blinded by love. i know so many 18 year old little shits who are so talented and maybe a little (or a lot) egotistical (im getting a BFA in theatre rn so you can imagine). but i know their hearts are good. they have endless potential but are held back their families or their obligations or own personal concerns.

tbh i was one of them.

i just wanted paul to be really relatable. i wanted him to be flawed. because we are all flawed when we’re 18.

consider me infinitely inspired! this was the best ask the wake up to my day will go great!

[beatles-luvr]

Jos(elyn’s) Intro Post !

• 20 years old, She/Her.

• Mexican American

• No opinion about mclennon do whatever you want

• Fan since April 2024, known about them from friends. I watched Eight Days A Week and got hooked. Being a Chicana Beatles fan is really fun.

• Music; The Beatles, Fall Out Boy, Nirvana, the entirety of the La La Land Soundtrack, Ritchie Valens.

• Aspiring actress just like half of the world but if you see me in any projects no you don’t

• Autistic but i’m usually okay with understanding commonly made jokes/ will make some of my own. I will sometimes ask if it’s serious or not! Esp if it’s over the internet!

• I’ll probably only repost and not do many posts, but messages/ ask box is always open.

• Typical DNI: Homophobia, racism, xenophobia, sexism, eating disorders accs.

[got-ticket-to-ride]

I want to ask you this cause it seems like you’re the lyric person here in the fandom. I was listening to Paul’s ‘driving rain’ album and I just wanted your opinion on it Mclennon wise. Lonely road I’m sure is a definite Mclennon song with lyrics like

“tried to get over you

I tried to find

something new

But all I could ever do

was fill my time

With thoughts of you

I tried to go

somewhere old

To search for my pot of gold”

aka that dream that John and Paul both shared when they were younger about them finding gold in the dirt or something. But what I want to really know is about ‘riding into Jaipur’. It just feels Mclennon to me? And I did some research and found out that Paul recorded ‘lonely road’ and ‘riding into Jaipur’ On the same day…. Thoughts ? ( sorry I hope this all came out clear English is not my first language)

Hey Anon,

thank you for your message! I am also a Mclennon-newbie and in no way an expert (having only read 3 books so far because of laziness lol). I hope I will make sense with this. Feel free to correct me or add any additions @/everyone.

"Driving Rain" being the album title song, is probably the theme of the album, the song suggests that Paul's mental health has been dwindling. I guess due to Linda's death in 1998 at the same time, George Harrison had been struggling with his health around the same time this album is being created. So those are probably triggers.

Letting sunshine in the darkest places When I've been going there again

I think John's influence and memories will always be a huge thing in Paul's songwriting.

Here are my thoughts on the songs you mentioned:

Lonely Road Paul himself said that pot of gold was used to just rhyme with old and that it is half imagination/half reality. "He does not need gold anymore". But I think gold is more of a metaphor for "love" in this sense.

"I hear your music and it's driving me wild Familiar rhythms in a different style I hear your music and it's driving me wild again"

"Paul went into his past". Especially this latter part sounds like something he is saying to John. I guess even listening to new music makes him think of John. It was their thing to listen to LPs, so that's just intensely sad.

Riding to Jaipur According to Paul this song was not written in India but during his vacation with Linda in Maldives. (Though Paul had visited Jaipur in 2001).

Weirdly enough, Jaipur is called the Paris of India. Connecting these two places of significance to the Beatles. This might actually be a Beatles dedicated song.

The guitar he used sounds like a sitar and that's George's thing and then Jaipur being the Paris of India would connect it to John.

[pauls1967moustache]

4. 🧭An alternative title to your/ one of your WIP(s)?

8. ♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP

i'm obsessed with ideas that may have never come to fruition/2 roads diverged in a wood

(-@aquarianshift)

hi lovelyyy 😘

4. 🧭An alternative title to your/ one of your WIP(s)?

there's a mclennon fic that i haven't really done much for yet that i know i want to title after no children by the mountain goats but i have not yet decided whether it'll be i hope you blink before i do or past the last exit, but one of those is the alternative i guess. i think i'm leaning towards past the last exit but also i could change my mind and use a lyric from old college try or alpha rats nest instead (if i ever write it). it's a very the mountain goats' alpha couple themed fic in general.

8. ♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP

i'm currently trying to write a crossover with mad men where paul hooks up with don draper and i had two ideas for it: one set in india and one set during paul's dirty weekend. i'm scrapping the india one though cause it seems like more work, which is what i base almost all my outlining decisions on.

wip asks