The Story Behind Paul McCartney’s Song: “Let It Be.”
I was going through a really difficult time around the autumn of 1968. It was late in the Beatles’ career and we had begun making a new album, a follow-up to the “White Album.” As a group we were starting to have problems. I think I was sensing the Beatles were breaking up, so I was staying up late at night, drinking, doing drugs, clubbing, the way a lot of people were at the time. I was really living and playing hard.
The other guys were all living out in the country with their partners, but I was still a bachelor in London with my own house in St. John’s Wood. And that was kind of at the back of my mind also, that maybe it was about time I found someone, because it was before I got together with Linda.
So, I was exhausted! Some nights I’d go to bed and my head would just flop on the pillow; and when I’d wake up I’d have difficulty pulling it off, thinking, “Good job I woke up just then or I might have suffocated.”
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.”
I thought it was special, so I played it to the guys and ’round a lot of people, and later it also became the title of the album, because it had so much value to me, and because it just seemed definitive, those three little syllables. Plus, when something happens like that, as if by magic, I think it has a resonance that other people notice too.
Not very long after the dream, I got together with Linda, which was the saving of me. And it was as if my mum had sent her, you could say.
The song is also one of the first things Linda and I ever did together musically. We went over to Abbey Road Studios one day, where the recording sessions were in place. I lived nearby and often used to just drop in when I knew an engineer would be there and do little bits on my own. And I just thought, “Oh it would be good to try harmony in mind, and although Linda wasn’t a professional singer, I’d heard her sing around the house, and knew she could hold a note and sing that high.
So she tried it, and it worked and it stayed on the record. You can hear it to this day.
These days, the song has become almost like a hymn. We sang it at Linda’s memorial service. And after September 11 the radio played it a lot, which made it the obvious choice for me to sing when I did the benefit concert in New York City. Even before September 11th, people used to lean out of cars and trucks and say, “Yo, Paul, let it be.”
So those words are really very special to me, because not only did my mum come to me in a dream and reassure me with them at a very difficult time in my life – and sure enough, things did get better after that – but also, in putting them into a song, and recording it with the Beatles, it became a comforting, healing statement for other people too.
- Paul McCartney
Hi ~ Just read your post about the meaning behind Paul’s song “Let It Be.”
Last night I was driving home from a seminar for people who are in the Arts (mine is writing)it was given by an actress named Tanya Wright. My dream is to become a published author. I have been struggling with not knowing if I’m wasting my time or not with a novel that I’m writing. The seminar was fantastic and as I was driving home, I thought to myself that this seminar was just what I needed to boost my confidence. Then I couldn’t help but wonder if Tanya even liked me or thought that I had any talent as a writer at all…when all of a sudden Let It Be came on the radio. I am a firm believer in signs and quickly looked up the meaning of this song on the internet. That’s when I found your post! Thank you!
Sunday
July 29, 2010 at 4:36 am
Hi, Sunday! I’m glad you liked our post on the meaning of the song Let It Be. The truth is: it is the most read post of our blog… Wishing you all the best. I hope you will realize your dream to be a published author.
- Matt
mattandjojang
July 29, 2010 at 1:06 pm
I had a most difficult time sleeping last night due to a very stressful confrontation with my husband over our teenage daughter. As a mother, I am deeply suffering from my husband and daughter’s alienation. My husband is very unforgiving and insistent in his position. As I attempted and struggled to fall asleep I just could not find any comfort or resolution. As a Catholic I just started to pray. I don’t even know, but I found myself saying Hail Marys. Then the song LET IT BE popped into my head and I just sang it a little bit. Well, I wasn’t able to sleep, but when morning came I turned on the computer and typed the words of the song so I could sing a few more lines and then…. I found your website which only confirmed that perhaps I had found an answer in LET IT BE.
I’ll never know if was Mother Mary or not, but I will consider it a personal message for me and in my hour of darkness I wish to believe she is standing right in front of me, too. Yes, thank you for the post and thank you, Paul!
Miss Maggie Lonely Heart
February 23, 2011 at 8:55 pm
Hi, Maggie! We hope you’re feeling better. We’re glad that you like our post on Paul McCartney’s song: “Let it be.” We’re also happy that you found comfort in the song.
We’d like to share with you that we found out that one of the best ways to cope with the challenges we face in life is to learn to let go (“let it be”) and trust in God. In our darkest moments we can turn to Him, and expect that He will be there for us.
We’d like to leave you with this verse from Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.Therefore we not will fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.” And may the Blessed Mother guide and protect you in your endeavors.
~ Matt & Jojang
MattAndJojang
February 24, 2011 at 10:54 am
Let it be. The first words of Jesus in the Bible in the book of Matthew.
Blake Cumbers
April 9, 2011 at 6:42 am
I loved to know about the song Let It Be. Paul McCartney is a genius who can translate feelings for all people in the world.
Maria Amélia Hosken
May 22, 2011 at 2:15 am
Paul McCartney is indeed a genius. He has the talent for writing songs which resonate with most people’s deepest feelings. His song, “Let it Be,” is one of his best compositions and has brought inspiration, comfort, and hope to a lot of people (including myself)…
~ Matt
MattAndJojang
May 22, 2011 at 9:59 am
Its about Paul’s mom.
Tracey Kays Baker
June 18, 2011 at 9:58 pm
After all the years of listening to EVERY Beatles song, EVERY Paul McCartney creation, loving almost all to the point of obsession, this information makes it even more beautiful to listen to. Every song has a story, sometimes in the lyrics only, most times it is the inspiration behind it. Thank God for the Fab 4!!!! Always hits the spot.
Cherrel Fredenburg-Smith........ Puddephatt
December 28, 2011 at 1:19 am
It’s always good to know the story behind the songs that we love; especially, in this case, the story behind “Let It be” – a song which has touched and inspired a lot of people (including us). It really helps us appreciate the song each time we listen to it.
We’re glad that you enjoyed the post. Thank you, Cherrel, for taking the time to read our blog. We wish you a Grace-Filled New Year. God bless!
~Matt & Jojang
MattAndJojang
December 28, 2011 at 4:53 pm