Paul McCartney Lost Mom at 14 & Saw Her in a Dream Decade Later He Named Daughter after Her

Posted by Zora Stowers on Tuesday, May 21, 2024
  • Paul Mccartney, 80, never got over his mom's death, whom he lost at 14.

  • His late mom came to him in a dream and helped overcome the Beatles' break up.

  • He named his first daughter after his mom and raised her alone after his wife of 29 years died, just like his mom.

While Paul McCartney has lived a seemingly charmed life throughout his years in the music industry, something has always been bothering him. The event happened many years ago, yet it still plagues him.

McCartney, one of the members of the legendary band The Beatles, suffered a traumatic loss in his early teen years. Although there have been many happy moments since then, he has never been able to share them with one significant person.

Sir Paul McCartney was born on June 18, 1942, to Jim and Mary McCartney in Liverpool. Jim worked as a cotton salesman, and Mary was a nurse. Four years after his birth, his brother was welcomed into the family.

Although McCartney didn't grow up in a wealthy family, he said his parents did the best they could. He reflected:

"I had a very nice family. Dad had trouble paying the bills occasionally, but it was never 'Go and pick blackberries, son, we're a bit short this week.'"

Beatle-to-be Paul McCartney at the age of six in front with his eight-year-old brother Mike circa 1948 | Source: Getty Images

However, the family dynamic changed entirely when Mary died at 47. McCartney was 14 at the time and said everyone held their grief in around others. He

it as "a quiet, private kind of grief."

McCartney said he was never told what his mother had died from as she had just passed away, and nobody told him why. He confessed that it was strange to hear his father crying in the next room as he had never heard him cry before.

Paul McCartney and his father at home on 28th December 1967 | Source: Getty Images

The musician said they all grieved on their own and didn't talk about their mother after she passed away. Unfortunately, this would not be the only untimely death McCartney would face during his life.

McCartney's Mother Came to Him in a Dream and Told Him to "Let It Be"

McCartney has often admitted that the death of his mother is something he will never get over. Shortly after she passed, he wrote the lyrics to "I Lost My Little Girl" and said it was his first musical direction.

Ten years after his mother had died, McCartney had a strange experience in which his mother came to visit him and inspired him to write one of The Beatles' most successful and famous songs.

McCartney said he was particularly tired one day, and when he fell asleep, he had a dream in which his mother came to him. Talking about the experience, he said he felt, just for a few seconds, like she was really there with him.

He said seeing his mother's face in the dream was comforting to him, but it was the words she spoke to him in the dream that held the most weight and changed his life for the better without him even knowing it.

Paul McCartney with his father and brother Mike circa 1960 | Source: Getty Images

The musician said he worried about what was going on in his life and stressed about how to move forward; his mother could sense that. She therefore

"Everything will be all right. Let it be."

Bassist Paul McCartney of the rock band "The Beatles" poses for a portrait sitting on a bed in circa 1964 in London, England circa 1964 | Source: Getty Images

These words stuck with

, and he went on to write The Beatles' "Let It Be." The song became wildly popular worldwide. He paid homage to his mother by using her words and name in the music.

McCartney Named His Daughter Mary and Raised Her Alone after His Wife's Passing

Although McCartney admitted he could never entirely come to terms with the death of his mother, he lived a relatively normal life. He met Linda Eastman and made her his wife in 1969. The couple had four children together.

Paul and Linda McCartney with their children James, Mary and Stella at London Airport in September 1974 | Source: Getty Images

Eastman came into the

with one daughter named Heather. McCartney adopted Heather, and the couple then began expanding their family. Their first shared daughter is named Mary, after McCartney's mother.

They then welcomed another daughter, Stella, and a son, James. It was said that they barely spent any nights apart during their marriage, and McCartney wrote many songs for his beloved wife.

The couple married just before The Beatles broke up in 1970, and McCartney said that his wife had helped him overcome all the heartbreaking emotions he was feeling due to losing a part of his life.

Paul McCartney and his American wife Linda with their daughter Mary at the reception at Cafe des Arts after the wedding of Mick and Bianca Jagger in St Tropez, France on 12th May 1971 | Source: Getty Images

Tragically, Eastman passed away in 1998. She was 56 at the time, and McCartney reflected on the fact that both his wife and mother had died too young and both from breast cancer. He confessed that he grieved his wife much more openly than his mother. He

"I cried a lot. It was almost embarrassing, except it seemed the only thing to do."

McCartney revealed that he cried for almost a year when his wife passed away and shared that he kept expecting to see her walk into the room simply because he was so used to seeing her around.

The couple did their best to raise their children with a somewhat normal childhood, despite their father's enormous fame. McCartney's daughter, Mary, said she didn't even know her parents were world-renowned until she was older.

Mary said it's difficult to know your parents are famous when you're a child because you only see them as your parents. She also said her father always encouraged her to chase her dreams. She reminisced:

"He said just follow your heart and try not to be swayed too much by what people think of you. Have confidence in yourself and believe in yourself."

Arthur Donald, Mary McCartney and Sir Paul McCartney attend a special screening of "My Generation" at the BFI Southbank on March 14, 2018 in London, England on March 14, 2018 | Source: Getty Images

Mary followed her father's advice and chased her dreams of becoming a

and publishing cookbooks. She is now a 53-year-old woman with four children of her own. Her children are Arthur, Elliot, Sam, and Sid.

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