Paul McCartney reminded his fans once again of how The Beatles got high with Bob Dylan and had the time of their lives. He also shared the story of him chasing George Harrison while he was high, and apparently, it was like a scene from a cartoon.
The Beatles members and Bob Dylan were hanging out in the hotel back in 1964, drinking and partying. Back then, the band members and Dylan were in their 20s, and that was when they tried weed for the first time in their lives. The laws weren’t that strict about the consumption of marijuana during that time, and the musicians took advantage of that.
McCartney began telling the story by mentioning that the 1966 Beatles song, ‘Got to Get You Into My Life,’ was written for the entrance of marijuana into their lives. Before that day at the hotel in 1964, they would only get drunk at parties but this time, when they saw that Dylan was smoking pot in the bathroom, the band wanted to try as well. Ringo Starr informed the band that he had weed so, they all joined in on the high.
Here is how he began telling the story:
“‘Got to Get You Into My Life,’ what we had to get into our lives, it seems, was marijuana. Until we happened upon marijuana, we were drinking men. We were introduced to grass when we were in the U.S., and it blew our tiny little minds. Exactly what happened is we were at our hotel suite, maybe in New York, around the summer of ’64.
Bob Dylan turned over with his roadie, the kind of guy who is more than a roadie – an assistant, a friend, a sidekick. He just released ‘Another Side of Bob Dylan,’ and we were just drinking, as usual, having a little party. We ordered some drinks from room service – scotch and coke, and French wine were our things back then.
And Bob disappeared in the backroom, we thought maybe he’d gone to the toilet, but then Ringo came out of that backroom looking a bit strange. He said, ‘I’ve just been with Bob, and he’s got some pot!’ And we said, ‘Oh, what is it like?’ And he said, ‘Well, the ceiling is sort of moving, coming down.’ And that was enough.”
Since they were still inexperienced with the substance, they thought that it wasn’t working on them so, they kept on smoking until it hit each one at once. The whole experience was fun for the band and Dylan because instead of the hardcore partying they usually do, they had fun like children. McCartney stated that he ran after George Harrison to catch him because he was getting away and resembled the situation to a cartoon chase.
Here is how he recalled partying like children:
“After Ringo said that, the other three of us lept into the backroom where Dylan was, and he gave us a pot from a joint. We expected something instantaneous so, we kept puffing away and saying, ‘It’s not working, is it?’ And suddenly, it was working. And we were giggling, laughing at each other.
I remember George trying to get away, and I was sort of running after him. It was hilarious, like a cartoon chase. We thought, ‘Wow, this is amazing, this stuff.'”
You can watch the full interview below.
