(Credits: Far Out / Mark Spowart / Alamy)
Mon 5 January 2026 19:29, UK
Through his long career with The Heartbreakers, Tom Petty became noted as one of the most successful songwriters of his generation. However, in a classic case of imposter syndrome, Petty very nearly did not release one of his most popular tracks, deeming the lyrics of the song “embarrassing”.
Petty was an archetypal rock and roll star, raised on a healthy diet of Elvis Presley and The Beatles. In fact, the songwriter claimed that it was The Beatles’ noted performance on the Ed Sullivan Show that provided his musical awakening, setting him on the path that would see him rise to the top of rock and roll.
In what must have been a serious ‘pinch-me’ moment, Petty later forged a friendship with Beatles guitarist George Harrison. Forming the Traveling Wilburys alongside Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison in the late 1980s, Petty was part of potentially the biggest supergroup of all time, alongside his childhood hero.
Reportedly, it was the influence of George Harrison that convinced Petty to release his seminal track ‘I Won’t Back Down’. The lead single from the songwriter’s debut solo record, Full Moon Fever, Petty was in two minds about the release of the single. “It was a little embarrassing,” he said. “I thought, ‘Should I put this out?’ It’s so damn literal, there’s nowhere to hide in this song. Jeff [Lynne] and Mike [Campbell] liked it.”
That hesitation speaks to a recurring tension in Petty’s writing. He was at his most comfortable when cloaking emotion in character or narrative, allowing listeners to meet his songs halfway rather than confronting them head-on. A lyric as plainspoken as ‘I Won’t Back Down’ stripped away that safety net, forcing the sentiment to stand on its own without irony, allegory, or disguise.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. (Credit: Alamy)
Yet that directness was precisely what gave the song its power. By saying exactly what he meant, Petty tapped into something universal, a quiet resolve that listeners could project their own struggles onto. It was less a declaration of defiance than an affirmation of self, and in trusting that simplicity, Petty stumbled upon one of the most enduring statements of his care.
Speaking on his unique friendship with The Beatles’ guitarist, Petty revealed, “George really said everything that crossed his mind. I used to say, ‘You really can’t get a thought to your brain without it slipping out your mouth.’”
Continuing, he told Rolling Stone, “It was an endearing trait, but sometimes you hoped that he wouldn’t be quite as honest as he was going to be.”
So, when the ever-honest Harrison gave his views on Petty’s ‘I Won’t Back Down’, it provided a sense of reassurance to the conflicted songwriter. “It was George Harrison that put it over the top,” Petty explained. “He played guitar and sang on it, and he took me aside and said, ‘This is really good, I really like this song.’ And then I thought, ‘Well, if all of them like it, then I’m going to put it out.’”
Upon its release, ‘I Won’t Back Down’ provided Tom Petty with one of his most successful tracks. Charting in both the UK and US, the release of the song acted as a reminder of Petty’s songwriting talent. “That makes you realise that maybe sometimes it’s right to say it and not to worry too much about metaphor,” the singer later shared.
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