The 1965 hit "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" remains one of the most memorable tracks in The The Beatles .
In an interview with the magazine Rolling Stone in 1971 John Lennon told what inspired him to write a song from the album Rubber Soul , which reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart in January 1966. Lennon told the publication that he tried to make the lyrics to "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" ambiguous to hide the fact that he had been unfaithful to his first wife and the mother of his eldest son, Julian, Cynthia Lennon , whom he divorced in 1968.
«"I was trying to write about an affair without telling my wife I was writing about it, so it was very chaotic. I was writing from my own experience, about girls' apartments and things like that," Lennon, who died in 1980 at the age of 40, said in an interview. Rolling Stone .
Paul McCartney spoke about John Lennon's motivation for writing the song "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)".
Showbiz Cheat Sheet reported that Lennon's bandmate, Paul McCartney, spoke about his motivation for writing the song "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" in an interview for his biography «"Paul McCartney: Many Years Later", written Barry Miles .
«"John was trying to seduce a girl, it was about cheating," McCartney said in a book published in 1997.
According to the Showbizz Cheatsheet, McCartney claimed to know why the song was called "Norwegian Wood", despite Lennon saying he was unsure why he gave the song that name.
«"John said Playboy, who has no idea where the name came from, but I do. [Singer] Peter Asher "I paneled my room with wood, and a lot of people decorated their homes with wood too. Norwegian wood. It was pine, cheap pine. But the name 'Cheap Pine' isn't such a good name," McCartney, now 83, joked in an interview with Miles for the biography.
This article was originally published by Parade on May 31, 2026, in the Entertainment section. Add Parade to your list of recommended sources by clicking here.