Many time melodies come to your mind with a voice. And when one can’t and shouldn’t sing (you gotta hear me to understand), it is very likely that the voice is coming from some singer that you fancy. And you hear the lyrics interpreted by that person that for some reason you identify the song with.
The main melody from John & Joe, accordion and piano at the end, was sung to me by Bob Dylan one day when I was working. And Lennon showed the rest of the song to me later that day. Suddenly The Band and The Plastic Ono Band got mixed in my mind, what a thrill.
And everything was going alright until in the middle of the recording Strummer and his Mescaleros claimed their part. Strummer’s cover impressed me almost as much as his Redemption Song cover from Bob Marley.
So I recorded the track, easy part, but then I had to decide who was going to sing this, Joe or John.