John & Ringo to Faul

[ZioMarco]

I think that this song, wrote by John for Ringo's LP "Ringo" in 1973, tells to us Faul's story:




I'M THE GREATEST


When I was a little boy
Way back home in Liverpool,
My mama told me . . . I was great
Then when I was a teenager,
I knew that I had got something going,
All my friends told me . . . I was great
And now I'm a man
A woman took me by the hand
And you know what she told me . . . I was great
I was in the greatest show on earth,
For what it was worth,
Now I'm only thirty-two,
And all I wanna do, is boogaloo.
I looked in the mirror,
I saw my wife and kids,
And you know what they told me . . . I was great.
Yes, my name is Billy Shears,
You know it has been for so many years,
Now I'm only thirty-two;
And all I wanna do, is boogaloo.
I'm the greatest, and you better believe it baby.

[Eggman]

Yes Zio!!!! This song could perfectly match with Faul!!!!

[SAPA]

;DZioMarco great Find ;

fisrt i've heard of that song.
Its probably one Lennons most obvious faul songs ;D

[ZioMarco]

SAPA said:

;DZioMarco great Find ;

fisrt i've heard of that song.
Its probably one Lennons most obvious faul songs ;D

YES SAPA,

with "How do you sleep?" and with Ringo's "Back off Boogaloo".

[IanSingleton777]

Eggman said:

Yes Zio!!!! This song could perfectly match with Faul!!!!

Or, even more in line with the cutting Lennon sarcasm, making fun of Faul and his massive ego...

[MotherNaureSon]

Maybe it's just me, but the line now I'm only thirty two makes me think that he was older before, and now he's only 32. We always have stated that Faul was older than Paul, and I think this could be a reference to it.

[ZioMarco]

Mother said:

Maybe it's just me, but the line now I'm only thirty two makes me think that he was older before, and now he's only 32. We always have stated that Faul was older than Paul, and I think this could be a reference to it.

If Faul was 32 in 1973 when this song was published then he is only one year older than Paul. I don't know when John has written this song.

[MotherNaureSon]

No, what I mean is that since now William is Paul for everybody, suddenly he must pretend he is 32, like the real Paul would be.

That's why he could say "Now I'm only 32"

[ZioMarco]

Mother said:

No, what I mean is that since now William is Paul for everybody, suddenly he must pretend he is 32, like the real Paul would be.

That's why he could say "Now I'm only 32"

OK! I understand now. Sorry MNS I'm not english mother language.

[IanSingleton777]

..excepting the fact that JOHN wrote the song for RINGO.
How old would Ringo have been in 1973?

[MotherNaureSon]

ZioMarco said:

OK! I understand now. Sorry MNS I'm not english mother language.

Don't worry. It isn't mine either

[MotherNaureSon]

IanSingleton777 said:

..excepting the fact that JOHN wrote the song for RINGO.
How old would Ringo have been in 1973?

It doesn't matter who wrote it or who sung it, the important thing is that it matches Faul. Remember "With a ittle help from my friends", they intriduce the singer and Ringo sings, though the real singer is Billy Shears, aka Faul.

[IanSingleton777]

Mother said:

It doesn't matter who wrote it or who sung it, the important thing is that it matches Faul. .

I disagree --that twisting of logic to fit a point is dangerous, and leads to skewered conclusions and false tangents. It DOES matter who wrote it; and for what purpose it was written for. 'Tis elementary logic which is a solid foundation for serious study, which is our mission.

[Scatterdome]

Maybe this song was expected to be heard the most in 1974 (the first whole year after the Ringo albums's release on 11/2/73), the year that James Paul would have turned 32, meaning that it could be poking fun at 1974 Faul, who, in that year, would have been claiming to be 32 and born in Liverpool?

Also, the fact that Ringo, John, George and Klaus all performed on this track could be a strong indication that it's likely to be about Faul.

[IanSingleton777]

I think you're reading too much into it.

If you've ever heard the demos Lennon did of the song for Ringo, you'd notice the conviction and spark in his voice. It could be construed that he is singing about himself just as easily and objectively.

If it is a dig at Faul, it lacks that necessary Lennon spite and vindictive edge totally, in my opinion.

[ZioMarco]

IanSingleton777 said:

I think you're reading too much into it.

If you've ever heard the demos Lennon did of the song for Ringo, you'd notice the conviction and spark in his voice. It could be construed that he is singing about himself just as easily and objectively.

If it is a dig at Faul, it lacks that necessary Lennon spite and vindictive edge totally, in my opinion.

Yes, my name is Billy Shears,
You know it has been for so many years,


Ian,
it seems to me very strange that John calls himself Billy Shears; also the last verse I am the greatest, and you better believe it baby can be read as a threat for who says that Paul is dead, for me.

[beatled]

Bumping a very old thread here, but when John did his version, it was from the Imagine Sessions. My reason for saying this is an Imagine Sessions bootleg collection, which contains this song. (with John singing) That would most likely make it 1971.

Had a thought, "Now I'm only 32" could perhaps mean: only a 32nd.. (degree, if you get my drift)

[unrepentant]

or, half of 64....half what paul was musically?

[byrdsmaniac]

beatled said:

Bumping a very old thread here, but when John did his version, it was from the Imagine Sessions. My reason for saying this is an Imagine Sessions bootleg collection, which contains this song. (with John singing) That would most likely make it 1971.

Had a thought, "Now I'm only 32" could perhaps mean: only a 32nd.. (degree, if you get my drift)

Ringo was born in 1940. He would have been 32.
Move along. Nothing to see here.

[beatled]

The Lennon version. I think the chain of events here was that Lennon intended this song in the beginning to be talking about himself, then things evolved. He handed it over to Ringo, and perhaps Ringo added the Billy Shears part, and the "Boogaloo" mention.

What is Boogaloo though? May Pang had this to say on a usenet Beatles discussion board:

In article <2uljks$[e-mail]> [e-mail] (MPang) writes:
>Those "snipes" at each other started so long ago amongst themselves.
>It started off with "Back Off Boogaloo." Then the buildup started.
>It was "brothers" having a go at each other. John's feud with Paul
>was very public but his love for all 3 guys were very private.

>If John thought at any one time that one of the other 3 needed him,
>he would have been there. Remember this is during the time I lived
>with him. I cannot say what his thoughts were outside of my time.

LINK

[TotalInformation]

Francie Schwartz is/was like a lobotomized Heather Mills. But that's from May Pang, who seems rather bright.

[beatled]

totalinformation said:

Francie Schwartz is/was like a lobotomized Heather Mills. But that's from May Pang, who seems rather bright.

Yeah I got some circuits crossed there, jeez! Let's just modify that post so it makes sense, sorry about that..

Yes, May is on the ball, no question.

[sweetlorettamartin]

I was thinking "I'm only 32" was Bill's age when be became Faul.... IMO