Let It Be - The Beatles

SONG Let It Be

WRITTEN BY Paul McCartney

PERFORMED BY The Beatles, Carol Woods

APPEARS ON The Beatles Let It Be (1970), Across the Universe (movie, 2007)

I came across this old favorite in a new setting recently and thought I'd feature it here on Just A Song just to prove a point I've been making for years: that the songs of The Beatles are truly timeless and a gifted musician can create a brand new thing of beauty from them long after the original song hit the airwaves.

The original setting of the song takes place in the sad, bitter days of the Beatles falling apart, just after recording the White Album. McCartney says he sensed the break-up coming and was depressed by it all and having trouble sleeping. In his own words:

Then one night, somewhere between deep sleep and insomnia, I had the most comforting dream about my mother, who died when I was only 14. She had been a nurse, my mum, and very hardworking, because she wanted the best for us. We weren’t a well-off family- we didn’t have a car, we just about had a television – so both of my parents went out to work, and Mum contributed a good half to the family income. At night when she came home, she would cook, so we didn’t have a lot of time with each other. But she was just a very comforting presence in my life. And when she died, one of the difficulties I had, as the years went by, was that I couldn’t recall her face so easily. That’s how it is for everyone, I think. As each day goes by, you just can’t bring their face into your mind, you have to use photographs and reminders like that.

So in this dream twelve years later, my mother appeared, and there was her face, completely clear, particularly her eyes, and she said to me very gently, very reassuringly: “Let it be.”

It was lovely. I woke up with a great feeling. It was really like she had visited me at this very difficult point in my life and gave me this message: Be gentle, don’t fight things, just try and go with the flow and it will all work out.

So, being a musician, I went right over to the piano and started writing a song: “When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me”… Mary was my mother’s name… “Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.” There will be an answer, let it be.” It didn’t take long. I wrote the main body of it in one go, and then the subsequent verses developed from there: “When all the broken-hearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be.”

And the rest is history. This went on to be one of the Beatles most popular songs, and in 2004 it was ranked #20 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It's an emotional, heartfelt cry for release from pain and turmoil, and offers a comforting image of peace; no wonder it went right to the hearts of the listening public!

Lyrics

When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree,
there will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see,
there will be an answer. let it be.

Let it be, let it be, .....

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me,
shine until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, .....

Here's a video clip from the movie Let It Be, filmed in studio of the recording of the album:

A lot of musicians have recorded versions of this song, but there's only one that made me sit up and take notice. In 2007 filmmaker/artist Julie Taymor made the movie Across the Universe, taking 30 Beatles songs to make a musical about growing up in the turbulent late 1960s. "Let It Be" was used as the setting for two deaths and funerals, of a young soldier in Vietnam and a child killed in the 1968 Detroit riots. And if it were on stage it would have stopped the show! I don't know whose idea it was to set this song as a gospel tune, with full gospel choir and soloist, but whoever it was was a genius. It could have been one or both of the music producers on the crew - Matthias Gohl and Elliot Goldenthau - but I suspect it was Julie Taymor herself; this is just the kind of daring artistic decision she would make. The vocal begins with young Timothy T. Mitchum as the young boy killed in the Detroit riots, but switches to choir and Broadway/film actress and singer Carol Woods (who won a Grammy for this) in full gospel music mode for the funerals themselves. It cuts right to the heart - I don't know anybody who saw this movie who watched this with dry eyes. It's a brilliant interpretation and should stand side by side with the original Beatles version. Which, of course, is why I've included it here. Enjoy!

The Beatles: Hey Jude

SONG Hey Jude

WRITTEN BY John Lennon and Paul McCartney

PERFORMED BY The Beatles

APPEARS ON Hey Jude (1970); Past Masters, Vol. 2 (1988)

NOTE The 1970 Hey Jude album has not been released on CD. It is sometimes called The Beatles Again.

My family didn't watch The Smothers Brothers, so it must have been the parents of a friend who told me that The Beatles were about to be on television and did I want to see them? My musical consciousness at the time wasn't raised much past the level of junior high band, so I watched more out of curiosity than interest.

The next seven minutes changed my life.

There was Paul McCartney's face filling up the television screen with his voice singing something about taking a sad song and making it better. The lyrics didn't matter; I was hooked. So I began a musical exploration that has traveled through hundreds of concerts and thousands of albums of music from around the world.

The song, of course, was "Hey Jude." It represents Paul at his best -- genuine, heartfelt sentiments evoked by plain language ("remember" is the only word longer than two syllables) and an infectious melody bulwarked by the most famous chorus in pop music. He wrote "Hey Jude" for John Lennon's son to help Julian cope with his parents' divorce. (Typically, John, notably self-absorbed in a business rife with self-absorption, thought "Hey Jude" was about him.)

The avuncular tone of the lyrics evokes a beloved uncle giving life counsel to a favorite nephew. The advice is simple enough, but timeless nonetheless: There's no point in being unhappy, a perspective Julian was unlikely to hear from his father. This adds a gentle, poignant push to the opening lines "take a sad song and make it better," as if Paul wanted to ensure that Julian heard this from somebody.

From this context, Paul moves on to the preoccupation of every teenage boy: Girls. If you want the girl you like, don't be afraid "let her into your heart." Yes, girls can drive you crazy but if you want to "go out and get her" you have to "let her under your skin." It's scary but worth it ("you begin to make it better") because we all need ""someone to perform with."

Paul then restates the overall point, which is don't make the pain of life worse by carrying "the world on your shoulders" before repeating the first verse, thus summing up the song with the same lyrics that introduce it. The unifying chorus then begins and continues its healing for over three minutes, creating such a communal that one can feel it even when singing alone...

In the video below, if you can watch John and George harmonize without a tear coming to your eye, then your email address must be hopelesscase@heartofstone.com...

LYRICS
Hey Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

Hey Jude, don't be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better

And any time you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders
For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder
Na na na, na na, na na na na

Hey Jude, don't let me down
You have found her, now go and get her
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

So let it out and let it in, hey Jude, begin
You're waiting for someone to perform with
And don't you know that it's just you? Hey Jude, you'll do
The movement you need is on your shoulder
Na na na, na na, na na na na, yeah

Hey Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better
Better, better, better, better, better, oh yeah!

Na na na, na-na na na
Na-na na na, hey Jude
Na na na, na-na na na
Na-na na na, hey Jude...

The Beatles: Let It Be

SONG Let It Be

WRITTEN BY John Lennon and Paul McCartney

PERFORMED BY The Beatles

APPEARS ON Let It Be (1970); Past Masters, Vol. 2 (1988) Let It Be...Naked (2003)

John Lennon never liked "Let It Be," the Beatles great song of consolation. He said that he couldn't hear the Beatles in it and guessed that Paul McCartney wanted to write a version of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," which he didn't intend as a compliment. Lennon was partly right about his first contention and all wrong about the second: McCartney wrote "Let It Be" before "Bridge."

"Let It Be" is an atypical Beatles song, in that it is constructed around the introductory piano chords instead of the guitar chords that informed most of their music. But McCartney knew what he was doing: The piano lends a degree of intimacy that he probably couldn't have found in a guitar. Billy Preston's organ enters, quietly at first, to add a gospel element, then Ringo Starr's drums slowly add rock to the mixture. George Harrison adds an anthemic guitar solo and suddenly we do have a Beatles song: A sampling of styles and influences that cohere into an organic whole, perfectly summoning forth the spirit of maternal warmth and consolation at the heart of the song.

And that's what "Let It Be" is about: As troubles mount, set them aside and take perspective. How bad are they, really?

LYRICS

When I find myself in times of trouble

Mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom: let it be

And in my hour of darkness

She is standing right in front of me

Speaking words of wisdom: let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom: let it be

And when the broken hearted people

Living in the world agree

There will be an answer: let it be

For though they may be parted

There is still a chance that they will see

There will be an answer: let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom: let it be

And when the night is cloudy

There is still a light that shines on me

Shine until tomorrow: let it be

I wake up to the sound of music

Mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom: let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom: let it be