When I was 14, heartily singing along to “When I’m 
Sixty-four” with the Beatles as if there was no tomorrow, I never pondered if I’d reach the same ripe old age and share the elderly sentiments it expresses. It is my faavorite song of my favored band, but it was composed and sang by Paul McCartney, who is not my real most wanted Beatle, after all – it is John Lennon.
When I was 14, heartily singing along to “When I’m Sixty-four” with the Beatles as if there was no tomorrow, I never pondered if I’d reach the same ripe old age and share the elderly sentiments it expresses. It is my favorite song of my favored band, but it was composed and sang by Paul McCartney, who is not my real most wanted Beatle, after all – it is John Lennon.
His song, however, sure echoes in my spirit.
Well, I turned 64 recently on January 25 and I assure you I monitored who greeted me, which I did not even care to do when I was 24, 34, 44 and 54. How our values about revelry, remembrance and romance change with the advance in biological years! Sad to share I had more greeters when I turned 61, three years before. I had five birthday cakes!
“When I’m Sixty-four” succinctly captures the gamut of sentiments of people turning senior citizens, their insecurities, simple sources of happiness, the dire need to be reassured they are loved. I spotted them because I have felt these sentiments, and that gives me the qualification to comment.
How did a pre-adult write it? Lifted from my book, The Beatles Extraordinary Plagiarists, as published by Amazon.com of New York for better understanding of my subject, the section on “When I’m Sixty-Four” reads:
“McCartney claimed he wrote the melody of 'When I’m Sixty-Four' (Lennon-McCartney) when he was 16 years old. He supposedly revived the composition in the new album as a tribute to his father, who turned 64 in 1966 when thet started recording the album. Lennon recalled, ‘Paul wrote it in the Cavern days. We just stuck a few more words on it like ‘grandchildren on your knee’ and ‘Vera, Chuck and Dave’.’ But close scrutiny reveals the song is a rewrite of the downbeat The Shirelles hit song ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,’ the B-side of the hit single ‘Boys,’ which was interpreted by McCartney as a swing number.
“If one takes note of the similarity in the theme of insecurity about the future and how McCartney changed its melodic approach, the theme of ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’
is basically what ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’ asks: Will you still love me tomorrow? 'When I’m Sixty-Four' asks: 'Will you still love me when I’m sixty-four?' -- with 'tomorrow' simply converted into 'sixty-four.'
“McCartney constructed his song using the exposition technique and by ending each question like the Goffin-King song. The difference lies in McCartney’s expansion of Goffin-King’s two lines into five lines, retaining the phrasing while diffusing much of the source.
“‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’ reads ‘Tonight you’re mine completely / You give your love so sweetly / Tonight the light of love is in your eyes / Will you still love me tomorrow,’ which was distilled by McCartney as ‘When I get older losing my hair / Will you still be sending me a Valentine / Birthday greetings, bottle of wine / If I’d been out till quarter to three / Would you lock the door? /
Will you still need me? / Will you still feed me? / When I’m sixty-four.’
“The similarity in the question device is more evident in the second verse that asks three questions: ‘Is this a lasting treasure / Or just a moment of pleasure /
Can I believe the magic in your sighs? / Will you still love me tomorrow.’
“The distinct phrasing used by Goffin-King in the last line of the refrain (‘When the night (caesura) meets the mor---ing sun?’) with a melisma between the syllables of ‘morning’ was converted by McCartney as ‘I (caesura) could stay with (caesura) you.’) McCartney used the refrain twice and even quoted the repetition of the same line with vocal harmony in his second refrain: ‘Tonight with words
unspoken / You say that I’m the only one / But will my heart be broken / When the sun meets the morning sun’ to (Oooh-) / You’ll be older too. (aah-) / And if you say the word / I could stay with you.’
“Not contented with the above derivations, he copied from Goffin-King in the last refrain, a demand for an answer for the questions asked: ‘I’d like to know that your love Is love I can be sure of So tell me now, and I won’t ask again / Will you still love me tomorrow me?’ to “Send me a postcard, drop me a line / Stating point of view / Yours sincerely, wasting away / Give me an answer / Fill in a form / Mine forever more / Will you still need / Will you still feed me / When I’m sixty-four?’
“Lennon commented in the 1980 Playboy interview, ‘I would never even dream of writing a song like that.’”
Having used the title for a personal purpose and explained to you its origination and where Paul plagiarized it, now I can inform that I have retitled my book where I quoted it from into The Beatles The Love You Make. The original title had strong negative meaning that turned off many fans, who cannot accept the fact.
Great news is I am serializing in full in my new Facebook page, “ARTlead Books,” for two reasons: It is for free and easily accessible to read. I have sold enough copies in the US to think I’ve been compensated enough for all the hard work and I can give it away.
This act of sharing is largely part of the preparation we, old people, engage in when we’re 64. Life is no longer endless as we feel the coming end so we must leave a legacy, hopefully positively, to be remembered by when we’re gone. This is especially true with single persons like me. Having not passed my genes, we try our best leave something useful that will carry our name through time.