December 8: Forty-Five Years Without John Lennon
December 8 marks 45 years since the world lost John Lennon — one gunshot that ended the life of a 40-year-old artist whose influence reshaped modern music. With 25 U.S. No. 1 hits and more than 600 million records sold with The Beatles, his achievements are staggering. Yet the most haunting part of his legacy isn’t the numbers. It’s the silence that followed, and the dreams of peace, art, and collaboration that were left unfinished.
Lennon once remarked, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” On December 8, 1980, that line became tragically literal outside his home in New York City. Every year since, fans gather at Strawberry Fields to sing Imagine — while Paul McCartney chooses a quieter, more private way to honor his friend.
A Quiet Ritual of Remembrance
Stories shared by those close to McCartney describe a deeply personal tradition he has kept for years: each December 8, he writes a handwritten letter to John Lennon. No typing, no revisions — just ink on paper. Sometimes only a few lines, sometimes an entire page.
According to these accounts, when Paul is in New York, he often walks to the Imagine Mosaic in Central Park. He waits for a solitary moment, kneels, and leaves the note there — a message to someone who can no longer respond. One witness recalled Paul standing silently afterward, as if listening, before slipping away quickly, not wanting attention during his grief.
While the contents of the letters remain private, a friend once remembered Paul reflecting: “John always answered me in music. Now I write questions I know will never be answered.”
A Loss That Never Fully Heals
The world mourned Lennon the icon. Paul McCartney mourned a childhood companion, collaborator, rival, and brother in song. Over the years, Paul has shared small glimpses into that grief:
“There were things I wanted to say to John earlier… but I thought we had more time.”
Perhaps the clearest expression of his regret came in Here Today (1982), a song written as the conversation he never got to finish — a quiet admission of love left unspoken.
Now at 83, McCartney remains one of the last Beatles still living. Yet he often speaks about John as if he’s only a room away — still present, still part of the story. When The Beatles released the restored final song Now and Then in 2023, Paul admitted he cried while recording:
“It felt like singing with John again… like we were talking one last time.”
Letters No One Will Read — But Millions Can Feel
No one knows how long Paul will continue writing these December letters. Perhaps for the rest of his life. Perhaps until he feels the conversation has come to an end.
A fan who once witnessed Paul leaving a note at Strawberry Fields said:
“He didn’t look like a legend. He looked like an old friend visiting someone he still misses.”
Maybe that is why Lennon’s legacy continues to burn so brightly — not only in the voices of crowds singing Imagine, but in the heart of the man who once stood beside him onstage, dreaming of a world they hoped to build together.