Work Text:
Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner
But he knew it couldn't last
Paul sings as he sees the invisible words splayed in front of his eyes, brows furrowed in concentration with the hopes that this would be the last take they would have to do. He pans over everyone else’s face and confirms that they probably think the same.
Jojo left his home in Tucson, Arizona
For some California grass
Ringo seems to be enjoying it, George looks like he wants to bolt out of the studio as soon as possible, and John’s shoulders were tense, only meaning he’s also giving his full concentration.
Get Back, Get Back
Back to where you once belonged
He quickly side-glances to the long, raven-haired woman at his feet, who’s stare could burn a hole through the awful green carpeting. Fortunately (or unfortunately), her eyes were fixed on her boyfriend, who happened to once also be Paul’s boyfriend as well.
Paul wants nothing more than to block her stare and redirect it to somewhere else. Perhaps a book, or a wall...or a door.
Get Back, Get Back
Back to where you once belonged
The music stops for a beat with the cymbals ringing through the room. Paul finds himself staring at Yoko as he says the last line and for a brief second, he swore she looked back at him.
Get Back, Jo
He closes his eyes while Billy presses on the organ keys for the solo as he finds himself starting to seethe in anger. The long days, the bickering, the multiple takes, and the...Yoko, was starting to pile up and while playing together was starting to become a headache more than something he loved, music was still his great escape and what better way to flush all that anger out than with louder singing and harsher strumming? After all, this song was half emotional frustration. So here it is, Paul thinks.
It also didn’t help that when he was writing the song, he half-jokingly had it originally say “get back, Yoko” until stupid George Martin peered over his shoulder and told him off. So Paul, begrudgingly, replaces it with “Jojo” as a compromise.
Sweet Loretta Martin thought she was a woman
But she was another man
Why was she here anyway? The room was already cramped as it is with cords and instruments everywhere. It was also an unspoken rule that wives and girlfriends weren’t allowed in the control room, let alone the actual studio.
Maureen wouldn’t have done it, Pattie wouldn’t have done it, Linda would have never done it...So why did Yoko?
All the girls around her say she's got it coming
But she gets it while she can
Unfortunately, Paul knew the answer. It was screaming at the back of his mind and no amount of shoving, keeping, and locking it there was gonna make its clarity any foggier:
Not only is Yoko a persistent and manipulative woman, John was too stupidly in love with her. Thus, making it uncomfortable for everyone and their mother to be at work...especially Paul.
His jealousy engulfs into flames, it’s arms stretching and stifling the air of of Paul as he remembers how John looked at him liked that once, too. Yoko was no special flower and while he is most certain no man or woman could replace what he and John had, he can’t help but see red when he sees them shamelessly make out or waltz around the room, pretending like he wasn’t there, forced to see their flagrant display of affection.
Get Back, Get Back
Back to where you once belonged
Paul looks at her with more conviction now. I can be pushy too, Yoko, he thinks as he sings the words with more fervor. Her eyes were still stuck on John but he enunciates every word to make sure the gloom-like figure near him knew what he wanted to say.
Stick to your place. Go away. Never come back.
His anger gets the best of him as he strums a little too hard, causing a string to snap and he groans in frustration, almost wanting to whack the floor with his instrument.
“Fuckin’ hell!” Paul loudly curses, burying his head in his hands in annoyance. He hears the band abruptly stop playing; Ringo’s cymbals, once again, echoing through the studio before they fall into silence.
A couple of seconds pass as Paul tries to calm himself down, before he hears George Martin’s voice cut through and say something along the lines of “let’s take a break” from the control room.
Paul straightens himself and mumbles a soft apology to everyone as guitars were put down and cigarettes were lit. He doesn’t even notice a crew mate has taken his guitar to get it fixed as he sees John staring at him with an unexplainable expression.
He looked like he was angry but confused. Like someone has told him the earth really isn’t round or that the concept of reality is all a lie. He was upsettingly puzzled and Paul flashes a fake smile as he tries to rack his brain for any witty remarks to throw at him.
“Just broke a string, is all” he says before John sets his guitar down and gets up to drag him away from the room, muttering a “I need to talk to you”. Paul sees Yoko abruptly stand in the corner of his eye but John flashes her a stern look and tells her to not come with them, making her sit back down and them, disappear into a hallway and through an exit.
“What’s the matter with ye? I know what yer upto, you git...”
Paul blows out a puff of smoke as he tries to ignore his friend’s ranting. Apparently he wasn’t very subtle with his staring and now he’s getting reprimanded by mommy. He rolls his eyes as he finds it funny how the tables have turned; sweet and innocent Paul was being reprimanded by the reckless man who once accidentally tripped on acid.
“She’s me girlfriend, Paul! Ya can’t do things like that and for the record, I like having her ‘round-“
“And you think we do?” Paul says, cutting the other off with a blunt tone and a stare that was only used once or twice in their entire friendship. John stares at him, almost glad to finally be hearing everything unfold. “John, she has no business being here-“
“She doesn’t bother anyone!-“
“-George called her a bitch! and Ringo is just too nice to say anything!-“
“I love her!”
“You loved me too!” Paul shouts and he suddenly wants to crumble on the ground. And so there it was, the truth laid bare in front of both of them, ready to be feasted upon by two Beatles. Yoko’s presence is a constant reminder that John picked her over him. That half of John’s heart was personified, walking on two feet with long hair and it wasn’t Paul.
“So that’s what this is about...” John says, hoping to get some sort of weak confirmation from the other but Paul holds his stare. “Yer mad that I moved on” he adds and the other scoffs in annoyance.
“You got married first, Lennon.” Paul said, his heart slightly breaking for using poor Cynthia and Jules, who he loved, for their argument. But all walls have tumbled down at this point and it was every man for himself. He’ll just say a silent prayer or repentance later.
John looks at him in disbelief before he shuts his mouth and Paul knows he’s won because it was true; their relationship was perfect until John announced out of the blue that he had knocked a woman up and had to get married. Paul knew that very afternoon that it was the beginning of the end for them.
And once again, they were wrapped in an identical silence from the one in the studio. Paul takes a long drag from his cigarette before flicking it onto the pavement. There was no point in debating this anymore. They’ve both “moved on”. He takes a step closer to his bandmate, who watched him with a hawk-like stare. Both men were emanating such powerful tension that you could cut it with a knife.
“If ya want to fuck every woman in England, feel free to do so. ‘m not gonna stop ye...” Paul says clearly, making sure he gets his message across.
“But stop bringing that bitch into the studio.” Paul says with so much pent-up rage that John could almost feel him shake. “Tell her to get back, or I will” he adds before turning and storming back into the building, leaving a wide-eyed John alone with a discarded cigarette and half a broken heart.