Recent articles about John Lennon’s ‘Grow Old With Me’ - Spring 2026

There were eight mentions of John Lennon’s ‘Grow Old With Me’ in articles that crossed my desk this spring. As before, I will discuss each article. Note that, in cases, I am doing so to clarify the record.

ARTICLE 1: 4 Songs Brothers-in-Law, Ringo Starr and Joe Walsh Co-Wrote From 1983 Through 2019. American Songwriter. March 20, 2026

This article, as the title indicates, is about songs written by Ringo Starr and Joe Walsh. It talks about Starr’s 2019 album What’s My Name? and states:

What’s My Name also features a return performance by Paul McCartney, who appears on Starr’s cover of John Lennon’s Milk and Honey track ‘Grow Old With Me,’ one of the last songs the late Beatle wrote before his death in 1980.

ARTICLE 2: Remember When: A Posthumous Album Unearthed John Lennon’s Final Sessions in 1984. American Songwriter. April 10, 2024.

This article is about the John Lennon and Yoko Ono album Milk and Honey. It states:

Ono made the decision to present the Lennon recordings pretty much as they were. She refused to try and guess what he might have done with overdubs. She also included ‘Grow Old With Me’, a touching ballad that Lennon had only recorded in solo demo form.

ARTICLE 3: John Lennon’s most heartbreaking song Paul McCartney called beautiful — and why it cuts so deep. MSN. May 1, 2026.

This is an article about John Lennon’s song ‘Beautiful Boy.’ The article makes brief mention of ‘Grow Old With Me’ in a list of Lennon’s most “enduring” songs:

John Lennon delivered some of the most celebrated songs in music history, both during his time with The Beatles and throughout his solo career. Among his most enduring solo works are ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over),’ ‘Woman,’ ‘Jealous Guy,’ ‘(Just Like) Starting Over,’ ‘Give Peace a Chance,’ ‘Grow Old with Me,’ ‘Nobody Told Me,’ ‘Watching the Wheels,’ and arguably his most universally beloved composition, ‘Imagine.’ Yet among the many songs Lennon wrote, one held a particularly special place in the heart of Paul McCartney. That song is ‘Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy),’ a deeply personal track from Double Fantasy, his fifth collaborative studio album with Yoko Ono. 

ARTICLE 4: ‘John Lennon: The Last Interview’ Review: Steven Soderbergh Says All You Need Is Love… and AI. The Wrap. May 15, 2026.

This article is about Steven Soderbergh’s documentary focused on John Lennon’s final interview on December 8, 1980, hours before he was assassinated. The article states:

At times like this, things turn unbearably elegiac, and Soderbergh slows down the frenetic pace of the imagery to take a cue from the songs you just knew he was going to use in the homestretch. There’s ‘God,’ with its soft coda that proclaims, ‘the dream is over,’ and then Lennon’s version of the healing ballad ‘Stand by Me,’ then his song to his soul mate, ‘Grow Old With Me.’

ARTICLE 5: John Lennon: The Last Interview. Dirty Movies. May 16, 2026.

This article is also about Soderbergh’s documentary. It states:

‘Grow Old With Me’ – an unfinished Lennon demo that expressed his undying love for Ono – plays in the closing moments.

ARTICLE 6: Two Lennon Ballads: 180 Out. Culture Sonar. May 19, 2026. 

This is a continuation of a series of articles about John Lennon’s songs. It makes brief mention of ‘Grow Old With Me’ in a list of songs, stating:

Certainly, John could write a song from one or two chords…or one or two notes. John’s ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ fits that bill, as does his tender confessional, ‘Julia,’ with its pattern of slight variations on C. Paul McCartney does the same thing with ‘Helter Skelter’ (using transitions around F) or ‘Rocky Racoon’ (built on transitions around C). But the far-too-pat evaluation of John’s work as based on one-chord or one-note does not apply to scores of Lennon songs penned throughout two decades of unforgettable Beatles and solo melodies including ‘It’s Only Love,’ ‘In My Life,’ ‘Goodnight,’ (which he gave to Ringo Starr to sing), ‘Because,’ ‘No. 9 Dream,’ and ‘Grow Old With Me.’

ARTICLE 7: The Heartbreaking Last Words John Lennon Said to Paul McCartney. Mental Floss. May 29, 2026.

This article is about the purported last words that John Lennon said to Paul McCartney. Of ‘Grow Old With Me,’ it states:

Alternatively, and perhaps even more sadly, according to Ono, the last song Lennon ever wrote was a sweet love song called ‘Grow Old With Me,’ undoubtedly dedicated to his wife. The song was supposed to be on Lennon’s album Double Fantasy, but it had been shelved and reserved for his upcoming album, Milk and Honey, which he was never able to complete. The album was later released posthumously by Ono, and stands as a bittersweet reminder of a legendary talent and a body of work the world will never get to hear.

As I have written elsewhere, it is incorrect to state that ‘Grow Old With Me’ is the ‘the last song that Lennon ever wrote.’ Lennon’s lyric sheet for the song is dated July 5, 1980. Other lyric sheets from that summer have later dates, such as ‘Real Love’ (July 9, 1980) and ‘Cleanup Time’ (July 20, 1980). Rather, the recording of ‘Grow Old With Me’ was the last demo Lennon made of the song. It is among his final recordings.

The other statements made in the article regarding ‘Grow Old With Me’ are correct.

ARTICLE 8: A Complete Ranking of Post-Breakup Beatles Collabs. The Ringer. June 8, 2026.

This article by Ben Lindbergh ranks all of the collaborations by the Beatles as individual artists. First off, let me just say that I love articles like this. It’s a fun read.

Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney’s collaboration on ‘Grow Old With Me’ on Starr’s 2019 album What’s My Name? slots in a number 55. Lindbergh writes:

Ah, the other end of the aging curve. The Threetles didn’t record ‘Grow Old With Me’ for the Anthology, even though Lennon’s demo was one of the tapes Yoko delivered. Instead, Ringo and Paul covered it together 25 years later, after they had grown old together. Lennon wrote the song during the Double Fantasy sessions in 1980, and it appeared on the posthumous 1984 album Milk and Honey. Jack Douglas, who produced both of those records, also produced Ringo and Paul’s version, and he snuck a subtle ‘Here Comes the Sun’ reference into the string arrangement to represent George. Harrison had reportedly rejected the song as an Anthology prospect because it made him so sad. As tragic as it is that Lennon (and Harrison himself) didn’t get to grow old, this cover accentuates the positive: Paul and Ringo did. The arrangement may be a bit mawkish, but—wait, why is my screen suddenly so blurry? 

I have a few minor factual quibbles with this. The article states, “Lennon wrote the song during the Double Fantasy sessions in 1980.” This is incorrect. As detailed elsewhere, Lennon wrote ‘Grow Old With Me’ in Bermuda in 1980. His lyric sheet is dated July 5, 1980. The Double Fantasy sessions did not begin until August.

It continues, “…and it appeared on the posthumous 1984 album Milk and Honey. Jack Douglas, who produced both of those records, also produced Ringo and Paul’s version…”

‘Grow Old With Me’ did, of course, appear on Milk and Honey. However, Douglas only produced parts of that album, specifically, the songs that Lennon had performed in the studio during the Double Fantasy sessions.

Ono produced her songs that were recorded in 1983. Lennon and Ono are listed as producers of Milk and Honey. Douglas subsequently sued Ono for royalties related to Double Fantasy and Milk and Honey. (NB: Douglas later worked with Ono on the Double Fantasy Stripped album, which was released in 2010.)

Additionally, Douglas did not produce Starr’s version of ‘Grow Old With Me.’ Rather, Douglas did the string arrangement. Starr is listed as the producer of What’s My Name?

The article also states, “Harrison had reportedly rejected the song as an Anthology prospect because it made him so sad.” The line links to the ‘Attempted Beatles version’ section of the Wikipedia page for ‘Grow Old With Me.’ (I wrote this section of the song’s Wikipedia page as well as most of the rest of the page.) “Reportedly” is the key word. As I’ve noted in this space, the notion that Harrison rejected the song is just rumor. The only references to this come from a single writer, Rip Rense, and Rense himself notes it as rumor.

That’s all for Spring 2026!