This NYC Building Inspired The Last Beatles’ Song Ever Written
Whether you’re a Beatles fanatic or an NYC history buff, you’ll want to hear this!
In case you weren’t aware, John Lennon resided on the Upper West Side for seven years, up until his tragic death in 1980. He lived in the Dakota with his wife, Yoko Ono, where the pair actually owned five units spanning a total of 6,000 square feet. It was this NYC building that actually inspired “Now and Then,” what’s considered the final song ever written by the English rock band.
Lennon originally began writing the song in the 70s while living in the Dakota. He went on to even record a demo there, but the song remained unfinished until its 2023 release. More than a decade after his death, Ono had passed on the unfinished song to her late husband’s former band mate, George Harrison, where it was intended to go on “The Beatles Anthology Project,” an album collection.
“Now and Then” was never finished in time to make the project after McCartney, Harrison and Starr faced technological obstacles in separating Lennon’s vocals and piano, reports New School Free Press. It wasn’t until nearly 30 years later that an AI system was able to aid the remaining band members (McCartney and Starr) in completing the song.
McCartney and Starr did much to contribute to the final track; however, a majority of the lyrics on “Now and Then” came directly from Lennon back when he was living in the Dakota. He had wrote them down years after the band split, and the meaning of the lyrics are still analyzed and debated today.
And though there’s no explicit confirmation that the Dakota was the only source of inspiration to Lennon in his year’s as a resident, environments are commonly considered a crucial impact in a songwriter’s process.
If you want to explore the very building that once housed one of the most famous musicians and visionaries of all time, you can find it at 1 W 72nd Street overlooking Central Park. While you’re in the area, you may as well take a stroll to Strawberry Fields, a memorial to the legend himself.
Curious about other landmark’s that inspired famous songs? This road a five-hour drive from NYC was the inspiration behind John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
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