Paul McCartney has detailed the moving way in which he keeps remembering George Harrison, 19 years after his late band mate’s death.
The former Beatle told NPR in a recent interview that Harrison, a “really good gardener” who was “very into horticulture”, once gave him a tree as a present.
“It's a big fir tree, and it's by my gate,” McCartney said. “As I was leaving my house this morning, I get out of the car, close the gate and look up at the tree and say, ‘Hi, George.’ There he is, growing strongly.”
He added of the tree: “As the years go by, every time I look at it I go, ‘That’s the tree George gave me.’ George has entered that tree for me. I hope he’s happy with that.”
Harrison died in November 2001 aged 58 of cancer.
In the same interview, McCartney discussed his memories of John Lennon, who was killed aged 40 on 8 December 1980 in New York City. The recent 40th anniversary of Lennon’s death prompted widespread tributes.
“I’m often thinking of him. I dream of him,” McCartney said.
“It's family. We had arguments – but then, I'm reminded, so do families.
“He was a fantastic guy, and I do sometimes think, ‘Wow! I sat down all those years and wrote songs with John Lennon. And then went on stage and appeared all over the world singing them together.’ Similarly with George.”
McCartney’s latest album, McCartney III, came out on 18 December. The Independent called it “weird, wonderful and whimsical” in a four-star review.
