The Comforting and Supportive Meaning Behind “Hey Jude” by The Beatles

The Beatles released “Hey Jude” in 1968 as the first single on their own label, Apple Records, and the song became a huge hit. It was the best-selling single in UK, the US, Australia, and Canada and has sold over eight million copies worldwide. With a runtime of seven minutes and 11 seconds, it was the longest single ever released at the time.

“Hey Jude” came at a tumultuous time for both the band and John Lennon personally. He had just life his wife, Cynthia Powell, and Paul McCartney wrote “Hey Jude” as a way to comfort the couple’s young son, Julian, who was five years old at the time. Although McCartney wrote all of the lyrics, the song is still credited to Lennon-McCartney.

From “Hey Jules” to “Hey Jude”

The idea for “Hey Jude” came to McCartney while he was on his way to visit Cynthia and Julian. It was originally titled “Hey Jules,” addressing Julian more directly, but McCartney decide to change the name. “Jude” was inspired in part by the character of Jud in the musical Oklahoma!

“I thought, as a friend of the family, I would motor out to Weybridge and tell them that everything was all right: to try and cheer them up, basically, and see how they were,” McCartney once said of the song. “I had about an hour’s drive. I would always turn the radio off and try and make up songs, just in case… I started singing: ‘Hey Jules – don’t make it bad, take a sad song, and make it better…’ It was optimistic, a hopeful message for Julian: ‘Come on, man, your parents got divorced. I know you’re not happy, but you’ll be OK.’”

The lyrics to “Hey Jude” are uplifting from the start, as the singer encourages Jude to remain positive and reminds him that everything will be okay. The lyrics also encourage Jude to pursue the woman he’s interested in.

Hey Jude, don’t make it bad,
Take a sad song and make it better.
Remember to let her into your heart,
Then you can start to make it better

That sentiment continues through the following verses.

Jude, don’t be afraid,
You were made to go out and get her.
The minute you let her under your skin,
Then you begin to make it better

And anytime you feel the pain,
Hey Jude, refrain,
Don’t carry the world upon your shoulder

Finally, the speaker reminds Jude that he doesn’t need anyone else—as much as he may want someone alongside him, he alone has the power to move forward.

So let it out and let it in
Hey Jude, begin
You’re waiting for someone to perform with
And don’t you know that it’s just you
Hey Jude, you’ll do
The movement you need is on your shoulder

Despite McCartney’s inspiration, Lennon initially thought the song was about him, and the lyrics could support his interpretation.

“He said it was written about Julian,” Lennon explained in 1980. “He knew I was splitting with Cyn and leaving Julian then. He was driving to see Julian to say hello. He had been like an uncle. And he came up with ‘Hey Jude.’ But I always heard it as a song to me. Now I’m sounding like one of those fans reading things into it… Think about it: Yoko had just come into the picture. He is saying. ‘Hey, Jude’ — ‘Hey, John.’ Subconsciously, he was saying, ‘Go ahead, leave me.’ On a conscious level, he didn’t want me to go ahead. The angel in him was saying, ‘Bless you.’ The devil in him didn’t like it at all, because he didn’t want to lose his partner.”

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