For me, love is summed up in 46 seconds.
La la la la la the lovely Linda,
With the lovely flowers in her hair
Paul McCartney sings in 1970 and we know he is saved. His homemade album, titled McCartney is the ode to Linda, the woman who pulled him out of the post-Beatles depression and gave him a reason to go on.
“Let me lie with my loved one tonight, I am home.” We hear in another song, as Linda joins in with harmonies. “Home” she says sweetly. They’re home. They are safe.
I have loved Paul and Linda since I saw their photograph from the late 60’s. Paul used to really love her, right until her death, my mum told me with some admiration. She wasn’t considered beautiful, some called her plain and unworthy of him, but it never mattered – they were in love.
As I grew older, this timid Linda changed before my eyes – there was a picture of her casually smoking weed with her husband, another one of her with a mullet and body hair. Linda, in her colorful stockings or a sweater that was too big for her, Linda with animals. This woman was no doll or saint. She was herself and unapologetic at that. She rocked. After going through all the Beatles girls or girl names in their songs, I chose mine – Linda. In all my imaginary encounters with the Fab Four, I was her. A friend, a lover, a wife. I had my Paul and I was his Linda.
And then I grew even older. Paul’s appearances in my head became rare, it was quite crowded with other people, younger, more real but surely not cooler than him. His songs stayed. Songs written for and with Linda. Linda’s voice in the background or her singles with her on leads. Wherever I took the McCartney love, Linda was there, unapologetic and cool as ever.
The epiphany comes to me in a taxi. Paul isn’t playing, but Viktor Tsoi is. And it drowns on me that if anyone inspires my view of a strong, genuine woman it is Linda McCartney. Linda, who captured love on camera, who raised a family, campaigned for animals before it became a thing and sang in the band. Linda, who gave life to the lost man. Linda, who, after decades since her death still guides her husband and children.
“L is for Linda – Stella’s mother and forever muse, whose elevated yet effortless style and activist values are where our brand began and continue to influence our vision and direction.” Stella McCartney’s latest campaign reads. The picture is my desktop background. Linda, in it is wonderful. Almost 25 years old now, I realize how strong of an inspiration she has been all along. Her quirks helped me accept what was odd in me. Her ability to be herself in the limelight showed me how to navigate my my life. Linda, the ultimate freer.
“I want a Paul so I can be his Linda.” – I text my friend. Wasn’t it obvious all along? I seek the kind of love I have idealized – that between a lost man of immense, loud talent and an eerie, warm woman of immense but silent talent.
Bonus for anyone who reads this: Linda’s photographs, a world worth discovering.
The Palace of King Alcinous 