Decades after their breakup, the Beatles released a final piece for their fans to remember them with. On November 2, 2023, the Beatles released “Now and Then,” their most recent track in over a quarter of a century.

The track includes all four members of the Beatles, even though two have passed away, making this song really special since it’s released after the deaths. 

The Beatles, who took the world by storm in the early sixties and seventies, have made their mark in history as one of the greatest bands of all time. Consisting of four members: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, the Beatles started their careers in Liverpool, England, playing in small pubs. As their fame began to grow, their music became more popular, and they released their first hit track “Love Me Do” in 1962. 

Soon after, they began to release hit song after hit song, traveling the world as the most popular band at the time. Their fan base, known as Beatlemania, loved the Beatles and their moppy haircuts. By the 1970s, however, there was a lot of tension between the band members. 

The Beatles broke up in 1974 after Paul McCartney won a lawsuit against the other three members. McCartney moved to sue the Beatles because he was the only one of the four who didn’t want to make Allen Klein their business manager in 1970, and he claimed that his financial and artistic freedom was infringed because of their eventual contract with Klein. 

After breaking up, the four members started to make their own music, though none of them were ever as popular individually as they were together.

Since the messy break up of the Beatles, both John Lennon and George Harrison have passed away. John Lennon was assassinated in 1980 after the release of his controversial album “Imagine,” and George Harrison passed away in 2001. Paul McCartney began to release and perform with his band “The Wings,” and Ringo Starr did the same with his band. It seemed, for the most part, that the Beatles were just a thing in the past. 

In early November, “Now and Then” was released as a single for the Beatles, and the song had been in the process of being released for years. It all started with a demo with vocals and a piano that John Lennon made in 1978 in his New York home. The track was given after Lennon’s death to the living Beatles and then was expanded on and edited by McCartney and Starr over the past couple of years. 

“Now and Then” is not the only posthumous song released by the Beatles. In 1995 and 1996, the Beatles released two singles, their first two pieces of music released by them after the death of Lennon since 1970’s “The Long and Winding Road.” The more popular of the two, “Free as a Bird,” is very similar to the sounds of “Now and Then,” with subtle instrumentals along with a gloomy vibe. 

All of the Beatles’ posthumous songs include demos of Lennon that he created before his death. After his passing, his wife, Yoko Ono, passed the demos onto McCartney, who then created the tracks. 

Even so, “Now and Then” is the first released Beatles music since 1996, and it’s very special to McCartney and Starr, the two living members of the once-worldwide boyband. 

Something interesting about the recent release is that AI was used to create the song, since parts of the song were missing, such as some verses. Not only that, Lennon’s voice was often masked by the loud piano in the background, and when the Beatles first got ahold of the demo in the 1990s, they had no way of clearing the piano or enhancing the voice, so they laid the demo to rest for decades. The AI software created by a director of the Beatles’ documentary allowed for the Lennon demo to be enhanced and to bring out Lennon’s voice. The experience and initial reaction was magical for McCartney and Starr. 

“It was the closest we’ll ever get to having him back in the room,” Starr said in a documentary about the song. 

The song itself is a tribute to all the great times the Beatles had together. The title, “Now and Then,” refers to the Beatles’ relationship and good times while they were together and now. The lyrics also talk about how Lennon thinks about the Beatles’, specifically McCartney, often. It was mainly Lennon and McCartney who started and sang for the band, and their relationship was one main reason why the Beatles broke up in the first place. In the song, Lennon refers to his and McCartney’s relationship. 

“Now and then, I miss you,” Lennon said in the track. “Oh, now and then, I want you to be there for me.” 

Lyrics like this and others provide a melancholy tune that builds a message of how Lennon misses the Beatles just like the Beatles miss him. 

Another emotional line from the song implies that Lennon and McCartney would have a different type of relationship if they were to “start again.”

“If we must start again, well, we will know for sure, that I will love you,” Lennon says in the first verse. 

Many critics believe that “Now and Then” is a better track that either of the two other posthumous songs, partly because it’s more emotional.

“[‘Now and Then’] definitely packs a greater emotional punch,” reporter Alexis Pedritis said for the Guardian, “if you want to be moved, the lyrics provide ample space to do so.”

Although critics seem to agree that “Now and Then” is a better song than the other two posthumous songs, they also can all agree that it is not better than the other Beatles songs that came before it. 

“‘Now and Then,’ the song billed as The Beatles’ final single, can’t possibly live up to ‘Let It Be,’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ or whatever happens to serve as your personal favorite Beatles song,” reporter Stephen Thompson said for National Public Radio (NPR), “‘Now and Then’ could never live up to the body of work that precedes it.”

Although Lennon is the lead singer in this track, the three other Beatles are included and get a line in the song. McCartney is the first to speak in the song, giving the “One, two, three” count at the very beginning. Harrison sings the bridge towards the end, while Starr gives the outro at the very end. 

Over the years, the Beatles have released many different types of music: happy rock, sad pop, and mellow music. “Now and Then” is a slower song with both minor and major keys, though the song has a melancholy feel that simply feels sad. The song is catchy yet wistful, and though it was released decades after the era of the Beatles, it should be included and remembered along with their other legendary pieces of music. 

LINKS TO THE MUSIC:

“Now and Then” Music Video

“Free as a Bird” Music Video

“Now and Then” Lyrics