18 Days of McCartney Day 12- Martha My Dear

 "Take a good look around you

Take a good look you're bound to see

That you and me, were meant to be

For each other, Silly girl."

When people talk about The Beatles Girls (Beatlettes) names like; Cynthia Powell, Pattie Boyd, Maureen Cox, Jane Asher, Yoko Ono, Olivia Trinidad, Barbara Bach, and Linda Eastman come to mind. But what about Martha? The other girl in Paul's life, with her dark brown, soft eyes, and wavy, multi shades of hair, who even was McCartney's muse to write  "Martha My Dear" from The Beatles (White Album). The girl who from 1965 to The Beatles break-up in 1970, can be spotted in some of the groups greatest photo shoots, for example their Mad Day Out. The girl who was living with Paul while he was dating long-time girl friend, Jane Asher; some may say, "Martha, you dog". This post is all about Martha.

13 April, 1965 Paul McCartney was now owner of a three-story Regency town house in St. John's Wood, London at 7 Cavendish Avenue. It was in March of the following year after having renovations done to his new home that Paul had officially moved in; that same year on 16 June a little Old English sheep dog pup was born.After moving into his new home Paul had decided to by his first pet, he had picked up that little Old English sheep dog pup later on in the year and called her Martha.

Ringo Starr, Martha, Paul McCartney, John Lennon

Martha can be seen throughout her stay with Paul in 1965 up until The Beatles last photo shoot on 22 August, 1969 at Tittenhurst Park. She had become part of the group showing up even for the promotional video for The Beatles "Strawberry Fields Forever". It's been photographed over and over again of Paul walking his dog, hugging her, and even driving her around in his car. Now, it's no shock that Paul and Martha had taken a liking to each other, Paul being the animal lover he is.

"She was a dear pet of mine. I remember John (Lennon) being amazed to see me  being so loving to an animal. He said, 'I've never seen you like that before.' I've since thought, you know, he wouldn't have. It's only when you're cuddling around with a dog that you're in that mode, and she was a very cuddly dog."- Paul McCartney

Martha, Paul, and Heather McCartney

 Early October (4th and 5th), 1968 The Beatles had gone to record at EMI Studios, Abbey Road to record McCartney's tune, "Martha My Dear", a song that most fans thought were written about Jane Asher or a girl named Martha whom Paul knew, but in 1997 McCartney had released that the song was purely about his beloved dog.

"When I taught myself piano I liked to see how far I could go, and this started life almost as a piece you'd learn as a piano lesson. It's quite hard for me to play, it's two-handed thing, like a little set piece. In fact I remember one or two people being surprised that I'd played it because it's slightly above my level or competence really, but I wrote it as that, something a bit more complex for me to play. Then while I was blocking out words - you just mouth out sounds and some things come - I found the words 'Martha My Dear'."- Paul McCartney

Martha and Heather photographed by Linda

"'You silly girl, look what you've done,' all that sort of stuff. These songs grow. Whereas it would appear to anybody else to be a song to a girl called Martha, it's actually a dog, and our relationship was platonic, believe me."- Paul McCartney

When Paul married his first wife, Linda Eastman, on 12 March, 1969, Martha had developed a bond with animal activist Linda and after The Beatles break up The McCartney's would live in Kintyre Scotland on a farm with many other pets, including a black lab named Jet, which inspired Paul McCartney and Wings (read about Wings History here and Wings Tours here) "Jet", although the song is not written about the dog. They also had a yellow lab named Poppy, a dalmatian named Lucky, and Martha's offspring which was called Martha II or as Arrow.


It was in Kintyre 1981 when Martha McCartney passed away peacefully and surrounded by love at age fifteen. Martha II would appear on Paul's 1993 album, Paul Is Live. The following video is The Beatles "Martha My Dear";

"You can judge a man's true character by the way he treats his fellow animals."- Paul McCartney

"Martha My Dear you have always been my inspiration 

Please,

Be good to me.

Martha my love

Don't forget me

Martha my dear"