What Paul McCartney Told Late Beatles Star John Lennon to Soothe His Worry About Death

Paul McCartney is reflecting on his friendship with his late Beatles bandmate John Lennon — and how he helped Lennon navigate his fear of death.

On a recent episode of his McCartney: A Life in Lyrics iHeart podcast, McCartney opened up about his song "Here Today" that he wrote in honor of Lennon, who was fatally shot at his New York City home on Dec. 8, 1980.

"I remember him saying to me, 'Paul, I worry about how people are going to remember me when I die,'" McCartney shared. "And it kind of shocked me. I said, 'OK, hold on, just hold it right there. People are going to think you were great, you've already done enough work to demonstrate that.'"

McCartney likened his encouragement to being Lennon's "priest," adding, "Often I'd have to say, 'My son, you're great, don't worry about it,' and he would take it. It would make him feel better."

Earlier this month, McCartney and the Beatles released their long-awaited final song, "Now and Then," more than 50 years after their last album Let It Be. Ahead of its release, director Oliver Murray shared a 12-minute film, Now and Then – The Last Beatles Song, telling the story behind the single, which grew out of a late '70s Lennon demo.

The mini doc features clips of old Beatles recording sessions and shots of the surviving members working on the final song after Lennon's death.

"When we lost John, we knew that it was really over. But in 1994, amazingly, an interesting opportunity arose where we could make more music together," McCartney says in the doc.

Lennon started working on "Now and Then" in the late '70s, before his death in 1980. In 1994, Yoko Ono found the demo, an unfinished track featuring his piano and vocals, and gave the recording to McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

"We listened to the track. There's John in his apartment in New York City, banging away at his piano doing a little demo," McCartney recalls. "Is this something we shouldn't do? Every time I thought like that, I thought, wait a minute, let's say I had the chance to ask John, 'Hey, John, would you like us to finish this last song of yours?' I'm telling you, I know the answer would've been, 'Yeah!' He would've loved that."