In the quiet town of Èze, on the French Riviera, a forgotten photo from 1972 has recently been restored — and what it reveals is sparking international intrigue.
The photo shows two silhouettes standing on a moonlit balcony, guitars in hand. One unmistakably resembles Neil Diamond, the soft rock icon at the height of his fame. But the second figure — a little taller, with narrow shoulders and round glasses glinting in the dark — bears a striking resemblance to John Lennon.
There’s no official record of the two ever meeting in France. No song, no press photos, no interviews. And yet, locals claim they remember “two musicians, both American-sounding, strumming quietly after midnight” at a coastal villa just outside the village. One waiter, now 81, recalls hearing them from below:
“It was one song… gentle and haunting. Not quite rock, not quite folk.
And then one of them said: ‘Let the wind carry it away.’”
The phrase has since become a source of endless speculation among fans and historians. Was it just a fleeting moment of inspiration? Or was it the birth — and death — of a song that the world never got to hear?
Music historians point to 1972 as a turbulent year for both men. Lennon was reeling from the breakup of The Beatles and facing immigration battles in the U.S. Diamond, though commercially successful, was struggling with fame’s emotional weight. Both were known for introspective writing. Both had reasons to disappear, even briefly.
The grainy image — enhanced by modern AI restoration — shows them in profile, heads bent toward each other, guitars overlapping. A wine glass sits on the railing. Beyond them: the dark Mediterranean.
For fans, it’s less about proving whether the second figure was John Lennon and more about what the moment means. Two musical giants, stripped of stage lights and studios, sharing an unrecorded song beneath the stars. A secret, perhaps, that was never meant to be kept — or never meant to last.
“Let the wind carry it away,” one whispered.
And maybe… it did.