"Brother John" in the song "Let 'em In"

Does anyone know if the reference to "Brother John" in Paul's 1976
song, "Let 'em In" refers to Lennon? I always believed it did, since he
refers to other real people in his life, like Brother Michael, Auntie
Gin and the Everly Brothers.

I've never seen in print any comment on this from Paul. Has anyone
else? John and Paul were meeting occasionally at the Dakota during this
period and were no longer feuding. I feel it may have been an olive
branch to John from Paul. Anyone else think so, or has read that
Brother John was JL?

Jeff...

I believe on the "Get back Rehearsals"...Paul is refering to Michael
Lindsey (sp?) Hogg
when they are rehearsing "Let it be" and he also refers to Brother
Malcom..their road
manager of course. You didn't ask about this..but I'm just telling ya.
:-)

ontherocks...

It's Linda's brother John Eastman

BibsBro...

I always thought so too. I think it was for "Let 'em In" to America during
his deportation battles. Didn't Paul mutter "let him into America" on the
live album "Wings Over America" at the end of "Let 'em In" ?

ontherocks...

Denny Laine is just saying:
Happy Birthday America!
at the end of the song.

Remember USA was 200 years in 1976.
Maybe the song was recorded on 4th July?

BibsBro...

Oh........... my mistake

kevinlee...

I beleve Paul has said in interviews this was a reference to John
Lennon

globalsearch...

I'm sure I heard him say that in one interview.

ontherocks...

Sources please...?

Jeff...

Why does there always have to be a source? Can't people just enjoy
talking about the Beatles without having to back up everything with
facts? Why not just read books on the facts of the Beatles..and forget
the discussion? Once you find out the facts..what is there left to

globalsearch...

I don't mind someone asking for a source, but your point is well taken.
In a similar discussion on another message board (normally very
civil), one poster became so contentious that another pointed out,
"This isn't a court of law."

dicuss? It kind of turns it into an impersonal conversation..IMO.

globalsearch...

I'm sorry - the best I can do is to say it was an audio interview.

Someone online wrote
"I read an interview where Macca said that while he was writing the
song he imagined the people he would like to see if his door bell
rang."

What we DO know (but can't "prove" what he meant) regarding a few names
in the song":

1. Paul's only brother was named Michael
2. Paul had an Aunt Gin
3. Paul's close friend and songwriting partner from Liverpool was named
John
4. Phil and Don were a music duo Paul had admired for many years
5. Paul's brother-in-law was named John (but hadn't been in Paul's life
for many years at the time the song was written).

I searched the web for the song and found a couple of other facts possibly relevant
to the lyrics. Paul's "Uncle Ernie" is commonly believed to be a
reference to Ringo because in 1972, he was Uncle Ernie in a recording
of the Who's "Tommy" with the London Symphony Orchestra (excerpts of a
later release of this recording are on Amazon; Ringo's are
#'s 12 and 23, "Fiddle About" and "Tommy's Holiday Camp"):

There are many references to Paul's Aunt Gin in biographies and
interviews, as you probably know, e.g.,
"...147 Dinas Lane, Liverpool...where Paul McCartney's Aunt Gin and
Uncle Harry lived...where the first colour photograph of the
Beatles...was taken in the back room. Paul's 21st birthday party was
also held here. At that bash Paul had a fight with Bob Wooler in the
garden."

"George...plays here with John and Paul at Auntie Gin's house for a
wedding."

The writer at the site I previously referenced speculated that Paul's
"Martin Luther" may have been George: "It is not hard to draw a
conclusion as to who Martin Luther could have been...George was a
disillusioned ex-Catholic and made no secret of it."

That's a lot of history / trivia to make this point: In light of the
historical context of names in the song who had been part of Paul's
life for so long, how likely is it that "John" in "Let 'Em In" is a
reference to a New York brother-in law he'd known only for about six
years? Not too likely, would be my guess.