A Singer Thought Her Brother Wrote The Beatles’ ‘Martha My Dear’

Considering how much The Beatles impacted children, it makes sense some kids would come to some silly conclusions about them. A star revealed she once thought her brother penned The Beatles’ “Martha My Dear.” She explained why she thought that was the case. In actuality, Paul McCartney wrote and recorded “Martha My Dear” with no help from the other Beatles.

Learning about The Beatles’ ‘Martha My Dear’ got a singer interested in Paul McCartney

In 2022, Stereogum released an article in honor of Paul’s 80th birthday. In the article, 80 artists named their favorite song Paul wrote. The musicians interviewed included classic rock stars such as Elvis Costello and Billy Joel, rappers Erick the Architect and Channel Tres, and funk icon Nile Rodgers. In the article, folk singer Kate Bollinger discussed her experience with The Beatles’ “Martha My Dear” from The White Album. 

“When I was young, my oldest brother played the same music hall piano tune constantly and over the course of many years, which I much later recognized as ‘Martha My Dear,’” she recalled. “I’ve chosen this song not because it’s my all-time favorite (there are so many) or even because it’s my favorite at the moment, but instead because it’s the melody that scored my childhood. Once I realized that my brother hadn’t composed the nameless song I’d known for so many years, I became aware of and fell in love with the infectious songwriting of Paul McCartney.”

What Kate Bollinger said about some of The Beatles’ other music

Bollinger went on to discuss her feelings about the cute Beatle. “Even before I was old enough to be aware of it, his songs were all around me in different ways,” she recalled. “My best friend, Maddie, sang an a cappella rendition of ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ for our fifth-grade talent show and my dad and I rode around countless times listening to Help! (as it was often one of albums we could agree on).”

In Bollinger’s opinion, it’s difficult to overstate Paul’s impact. She looks forward to growing old with his music. She concluded her interview by wishing the singer a happy birthday.

What George Harrison thought about the lyrics of ‘Martha My Dear’

According to the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul wrote “Martha My Dear” and recorded it without help from the other Beatles. It started as a piano exercise where Paul was trying to play above his skill level. The phrase “Martha my dear” just popped into his head and he built the song around it.

The real Martha was a dog that Paul owned. While “Martha My Dear” is a love song, Paul emphasized that his relationship with the dog was “Platonic.” However, Paul felt the woman in the song was a fictional character akin to Molly from The Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” Upon hearing “Martha My Dear,” George Harrison commented that he could never write a similar song that was pure fiction.

Fiction or not, “Martha My Dear” celery mattered to Bollinger.