This week’s podcast episode of A Life in Lyrics features Sir Paul McCartney reflecting on one of his best-loved Beatles tracks, Hey Jude.

Macca admitted he likes it when fans mishear his lyrics, saying: “I like my songs to be [for] every man or every woman, because I know people are going to listen to them.

“And I like the fact that they put their own interpretations on them and I’m always glad when the lyrics get a bit screwed up and when they mishear them, because it’s yours now. 

“I’ve let it go, and so now you should make of it what you will.”

The recording of Hey Jude famously features accidental swearing if you listen carefully.

Podcast host Paul Muldoon said: “[McCartney] had accidentally begun the song while Ringo was out of the room but Ringo managed to return from the toilet at just the right moment, hitting his drum entrance perfectly. 

“It was the most spirited take, though not without mistakes. If you listen really carefully, you may hear one of the band members swearing. When Paul flubs the piano part, remember.”

The 81-year-old Beatles also shared how he came up with Hey Jude for John Lennon’s son Julian, after his father left his first wife for Yoko Ono.

Recounting the events, Macca dispelled the rumour that he was in love with Cynthia Lennon.

He said: “I was travelling one day to see Julian Lennon and his mother, Cynthia, and I used to call him Jules. So the song started off when I was in the car driving out, which was a 45 minute drive out of central London.

“And people had sort of suggested, oh, you know, I fancied Cynthia and we were going out. Well, people can suggest anything they like, but I didn’t. I was just going out just as a friend to sort of see them. And so in my mind… ‘Hey, Jules, don’t make it bad. I know this is tough for you, but take a sad song and make it better. Your dad’s just left you.’ So it was like trying to be encouraging. So it was an encouraging song.”

Paul McCartney: A Life in Lyrics is co-produced by iHeartPodcasts and Pushkin and can be listened to here.