When you come across the word ‘confession,’ you might wonder what we mean by that. The word is self-explanatory, but it still has that mysterious linger that draws you and makes you click on this article. So, the term ‘confession’ might sound dark and solemn enough, and you might wonder what it was that Paul McCartney had to confess about Bob Dylan.
Well, it’s not a dark secret that McCartney had been keeping with him for years, but there sure have been times when people thought that the Beatles icon had connections to dark forces. For instance, some people, mostly TikTokers, claimed that Paul had associations with witchcraft. They believed he was a part of a coven and had written a pretty popular song about his dedication to dark magic.
But Paul’s confession about fellow rocker and songwriter maestro Bob Dylan was not as dark as the theory of him being a warlock. It was more artistically inclined, and it had some jealous undertones to it. You see, it might be expected for anyone to envy other people or their talents, but it’s more than just typical when it comes to rockers wishing they could write like one other.
So, it was fun to see a young Paul, who was climbing the steps of becoming the legend he is today, confessing his jealousy over a Bob Dylan trait in an interview with Flip Magazine in 1966. The then-young rocker was quite self-conscious about songwriting, and he couldn’t hide that he was a fan of Dylan when he was asked about his favorite rockers.
“Dylan is a fantastic composer,” said Paul as he discussed Bob’s talent for songwriting. “At first, I didn’t understand. I used to lose his songs in the middle, but then I realized it didn’t matter. You can get hung up on just two words of a Dylan lyric. ‘Jealous Monk’ or ‘magic swirling ship’ are examples of the fantastic word combinations he uses. I could never write like that, and I envy him. He is a poet.”
So, the confession was not a dark secret that McCartney hid over the years. Instead, it was a great compliment tainted with the slight jealousy of a young Beatle trying to appreciate Bob Dylan and his magic in songwriting. Paul was determined that Dylan was a poet, and luckily, their feelings of appreciation were mutual.
