The Love-Triangle Behind the Song
Pattie Boyd: source
It wasn’t difficult for Paula to recognize what was happening. The love of her life had exploited her. The nineteen-year-old had fallen head over heels for the guitarist with magic fingers and locks of brown hair the moment she laid eyes on him. He was a friend of her brother-in-law, drifting between bands, a musical vagrant. Within a year, the couple had moved in together, sealing themselves into their own bubble of creativity. Paula doted on her very own guitar god, watching as he scrawled away, composing song after song. His latest composition was a love song.
“Please don’t say I’ll never find a way
And tell me all my love’s in vain
Layla, you’ve got me on my knees”
His wails of agony seemed to shake the earth, dripping with heartache and anguish, saturated with love in its most painful form. Paula’s heart sunk as her eyes scanned the lyric sheet and the pieces began to come together. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks, her lip quivering as she stuffed dresses and stockings into a suitcase. She ran out into the sweltering Miami heat, determined to never lay eyes on him ever again. That love song wasn’t about her. It was about her sister.
~
“Prisoners?”
This is the line that introduced Pattie Boyd to the world. Dressed in a British schoolgirl’s uniform, her blonde hair curled up at the ends and her big eyes peeking out from under her bangs, Boyd had made her big break. She had only one line and barely ten minutes of screen time, but none of that mattered - she was in The Beatles’ first-ever motion picture.
The movie was record-breaking, thrust into acclaim by the Beatlemania that had infected the world. What’s more, it changed the trajectory of Pattie’s life for good. Somewhere between filming and doing promotional photoshoots, she had won the heart of one George Harrison. His quick wit and chiseled cheekbones were no match for Pattie. They quickly became a celebrity it-couple, a Vogue model and the quiet Beatle. By 1966, they had married in City Hall, dressed in matching fur coats and surrounded by family and friends, including Pattie’s fifteen-year-old sister Paula.
Wedding Day : source
Pattie would introduce George to things like meditation, and George would introduce Pattie to things like LSD and his best friend, Eric Clapton.
Having played with both The Yardbirds and Cream, Clapton’s prowess as a guitarist had taken the world by storm. His guitar playing was held in awe by anyone who dared to listen, an exciting and fresh performer giving new life to music. The phrase “Clapton is God” christened bathroom walls and construction sites as the cult surrounding him only continued to expand. He was a rock and roll bad-boy whose track record proved he could have any woman he wanted - save for one.
Between The Beatles and his love for spirituality, George began to grow distant. His marriage, it seemed, had taken a backseat to his desire to create a better future for himself. Pattie was left in the cold, only the constant presence of George’s friend Eric to ease her mind. He showered her with attention and compliments, salivating over her every move.
“It was hard not to be flattered when I caught him staring at me or when he chose to sit beside me. He complimented me on what I was wearing and the food I had cooked, and he said things he knew would make me laugh. Those were all things that George no longer did.”
Pattie was able to dodge most of Eric’s advances with a giggle or a smile. She could hide his letters and pretend she was oblivious to what was going on. She had even introduced Eric to her little sister Paula, and they had hit it off, they were even going to move in together. Things, she thought, would be fine.
~
As the summer of 1970 dawned, Eric had returned to England from Miami. The trip to America with his new band, Derek and the Dominos, had done little to quell his feelings for his best friend’s wife. He had tried to settle for her sister Paula, convincing himself that the teenage girl was a good enough substitute. They looked similar enough. His plan, however, had not worked and had only ended in even more heartbreak. He couldn’t take the torture anymore. He pulled out a pen and scribbled away hastily, with no time for punctuation or capital letters.
“dearest, as you have probably gathered, my own home affairs are a galloping farce, which is rapidly degenerating day by intolerable day . . . it seems like an eternity since i last saw or spoke to you!”
He begged for answers - did she still love George or was there a chance that her heart belonged to him?
“please do this, whatever it may say, my mind will be at rest . . . all my love, e.”
Pattie’s eyes darted back and forth as she scanned the letter, delicately cradling the parchment between her manicured fingers, more confused than anything else. She showed it to George, her friends, and anyone who would listen to see if they could decipher it. They all laughed and dismissed it. It was probably just some crazed fan. It wasn’t until the phone rang that the haziness surrounding the letter cleared.
“Did you get my letter?” A familiar voice asked. Eric begged Pattie to come to his home, insisting he had something urgent to show her.
Pattie covered her face as she ventured to Eric’s South Kensington apartment, determined to keep this meeting a secret. He opened the door and pulled her inside, sitting her down in front of a tape machine. He pressed a button and cranked up the volume as the tape spun and the most luxurious guitar riff flooded the room. He scanned Pattie’s face for a reaction as the song filled the atmosphere - the tale of a man hopelessly in love with the one woman he cannot have. His voice raw and rugged, his guitar howling in misery, teetering between a riff and a scream. The song was thick with emotion and torment, the most beautiful cry of agony Pattie had ever heard.
“I tried to give you consolation
When your old man had let you down
Like a fool, I fell in love with you
Turned my whole world upside down”
Eric played the song three times, and each time Pattie’s cheeks grew redder as she thought, “Everyone is going to know this is about me.”
~
That evening, Pattie was set to see a production of Oh! Calcutta! with a friend before heading to Robert Stigwood’s home for a party. She watched as the actors commanded the stage before the curtains closed for a brief intermission. She filed out of the theater with the rest of the crowd, stretching her legs until the lights flickered, signifying that intermission was almost over. By the time she had found her way back to her seat, a familiar figure had filled the one directly beside her - Eric.
Once the show ended, Pattie bid Eric adieu and left for Stigwood’s party, where, of course, they would meet once again. Pattie had been deeply moved by "Layla," by having inspired such passion and creativity, but a feeling of guilt gnawed at the corners of her mind. If George knew what was happening, it would break his heart.
image: source
It was well into the night when Pattie and Eric, engrossed in conversation, slipped away from the noise of the party and into the garden, the only light being that of the moon, hung high in the sky. They sat in the serenity of the garden, blissfully unaware that at that moment, George had arrived. Morose and frustrated, George traversed Stigwood’s entire home, asking anyone who was coherent if they had seen his wife. His mood soured further, as no one seemed to have any idea where she had gone. He slunk towards the door, just about to leave before something in the garden caught his eye.
The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon when George approached Eric and Pattie.
“What’s going on?”
Pattie’s stomach lurched, but before she could get a word out, Eric’s voice drilled into the air. “I have to tell you, man,” he said, “that I’m in love with your wife.”
She was horrified, the magic of "Layla" vanishing in one fell swoop. She wished she could simply disappear, to evaporate right then and there. George was incensed.
“Well,” he said, “Are you going with him or coming with me?”
Pattie smiled, “Of course, I’m going with you, George.” She intertwined her fingers with his and somberly head home. She tried to push Eric and "Layla" out of her mind and make amends with her husband. But before long, Eric was back, declaring his love once more. He pleaded for Pattie to run away with him - if she didn’t, he said, he would take “this,” and held up a small packet of powder. Pattie still refused, and Eric held up his end of the deal. He spent the next four years holed up in his apartment, alone and becoming increasingly addicted to heroin.
By 1974, Pattie and George had officially split. A string of infedilities and frustrations with one another culminated in their divorce, and it would come as no shock that Pattie ran right into the arms of Eric Clapton. Clapton had finally won his Layla, but without the thrill of the hunt, Layla became just another notch in his belt.
image: source
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