Pop Music Dog Names

In 1968, at the height of The Beatles’ fame, the group released a song named, “Martha, My Dear”. People loved the song, and it became a hit. In the song, McCartney tells Martha that she has always been his inspiration, and he asks her not to forget him. They are beautiful lyrics, but they immediately stirred gossip. Who was Paul singing about? Was he singing about his ex-girlfriend, Jane Asher, who had recently split up with him? Or was he singing about a new girlfriend? The public was mystified, and The Beatles were quite amused by the reaction to the song.

While the public looked at love interests past and present, the object of the song was featured in many photos with Paul and the other Beatles. She was present at most of their shows, and even lived with McCartney in his house on Cavendish Avenue. Who was she?

Paul McCartney was signing about none other than his beloved English sheepdog, Martha. He got her as a puppy soon after he moved into his house on Cavendish Avenue. She had been born two years prior to the popular song. Martha was featured in hundreds of photos with The Beatles, and was especially dear to Paul. John Lennon remarked on their closeness, stating that he was surprised to see Paul so loving with an animal. He also remarked that she was a cuddly dog.

She would accompany the band to photo shoots, and was behind the scenes for a lot of the band’s big moments. In fact, you can be sure that Martha was probably there when they recorded some of their biggest hits.

Paul confirmed that the song was about Martha when he said, “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.”

Martha lived to the ripe old age of 15 and died in 1981 at McCartney’s farmhouse in Scotland. Her offspring, Arrow, was kept by McCartney and even featured on the cover of Paul’s 1993 album, Paul is Live. She may be gone, but Martha had a big part in The Beatles’ history. She is one of the most influential females of their career. Martha was the very cuddly Old English sheepdog who inspired Paul McCartney.