Let It Be (song)

let it be
The Beatles
publication	March 6, 1970
length	3 min 50 s (single version) 4 min 3 s (album version)
Genre (s)	Pop , rock , ballad , gospel
Author (s)	Lennon / McCartney
album	let it be
Cover version
	look here

Let It Be ( German  "Let it happen" ) is a 1969 song by the Beatles , composed by Paul McCartney , but as usual ascribed to the Lennon / McCartney team of authors .

admission

The title was recorded by the Beatles during the filming for the film Let It Be on January 31, 1969. On April 30, 1969 and January 4, 1970, George Harrison added more guitar solos to the recording. Also on January 4th, the wind and string arrangements by George Martin were recorded.

On the recording, Paul McCartney took over the lead while John Lennon and George Harrison contributed harmony vocals. McCartney played on a Blüthner - wing , Lennon played six-string electric bass and Harrison played lead guitar. Ringo Starr's drum sound was given reverb and echo effects. Billy Preston played the organ as a guest musician .

McCartney had the idea, the last sound of Let It Be to even transpose it . He tried to sing this, but the note was out of his vocal range. So he asked his wife, Linda , to sing this note. During the overdub recordings on January 4, 1970, Linda supported McCartney and Harrison with the backing vocals . The version with Linda McCartney's vocal part was only used for the single version . For the album version , Phil Spector emphasized the orchestral arrangement in the mix .

The song appeared on the album of the same name Let It Be . An alternatively mixed version of the piece had already been released as a single two months earlier on March 6, 1970, on which there is also another guitar solo by Harrison.

Text reception

Let it be is an idiom that means "let it happen". McCartney processed in his text the quarrels that prevailed between the band members at the time. The lyrics sparked speculation as to whether the song might be a hymn to Mary , the mother of Jesus . Only later did McCartney say that during this difficult time for him he had a dream in which his mother, Mary, who died young, appeared to him. In the dream she is said to have said to him that everything would be fine. This gave him a lot of support.

“Yeah, I had a lot of bad times in the 60s. We used to lie in bed and wonder what was going on and feel quite paranoid. Probably all the drugs. I had a dream one night about my mother. She died when I was fourteen so I hadn't really heard from her in quite some while, and it was very good. It gave me some strength. In my darkest hour, Mother Mary comes to me. "

“Yeah, I had a lot of bad times in the 60s. We'd often lie in bed wondering what's going on and feeling pretty paranoid. Probably because of all the drugs. One night I had a dream about my mother. She died when I was 14 so I really hadn't heard from her in a while and it was very good. It gave me some strength. In my darkest hour, mother Mary came to me. "

- Paul McCartney in Musician magazine , October 1986 issue

Hit parade placements

• USA : from March 28, 1970 to May 22, 1970: eight weeks, highest ranking: 1st place on April 11, 1970 for three weeks
• Great Britain : from March 14, 1970 to April 17, 1970: five weeks, highest ranking: 2nd place on March 21, 1970 for two weeks
• Germany : from April 4, 1970 to July 3, 1970: 13 weeks, highest ranking: 2nd place from April 1, 1970 for four weeks
• Switzerland : from March 3, 1970 to June 23, 1970: 17 weeks, highest ranking: 1st place on March 10, 1970 for seven weeks
• Austria : from April 15, 1970 to October 15, 1970: 24 weeks, highest ranking: 1st place on May 15, 1970 for one week

Cover versions (selection)

• Joe Cocker played the song in 1969 for his album Joe Cocker! a.
• José Feliciano sang it on his album Fireworks in 1970 .
• Aretha Franklin recorded it for her album This Girl's in Love with You in 1970 .
• Manfred Krug sang it in 1971 on a concert tour with the Klaus-Lenz-Band , of which there is a recording from the Hygiene Museum ( Dresden ).
• Tina Turner performed the song in 1971 in an arrangement by Ike Turner on the album Workin 'Together .
• John Denver sang it on his 1971 album Poems, Prayers & Promises .
• Bill Withers recorded Let It Be for his album Just as I Am in 1971 .
• Joan Baez recorded the song in 1971 for her album Blessed Are… .
• Ray Charles sang it on his 1977 album True to Life .
• Ferry Aid recorded Let It Be in 1987 on the occasion of a ferry accident in which almost 200 people died.
• The Kelly Family recorded it in 1993 for their album The Very Best Over 10 Years .
• Nick Cave recorded it in 2001 for the soundtrack to the film I'm Sam .
• Chris de Burgh recorded it in 2011 for the album Footsteps 2 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Mark Lewisohn: The Beatles Recording Sessions. The Official Abbey Road Studio Session Notes 1962-1970. Harmony Press, New York 1989, ISBN 0-517-57066-1 , pp. 170, 175, 195
2. ^ Ian MacDonald: The Beatles. The song lexicon . Bärenreiter, Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-7618-1426-7 , p. 357 .
3. ↑ Interview with Paul McCartney on the Anthology DVD
4. ^ Mark Lewisohn: The Complete Beatles Chronicle . Hamlyn, London 2006, ISBN 0-600-61001-2 , p. 342
5. ↑ golyr.de/: Let It Be Translation
6. ↑ Barry Miles : Paul McCartney. Many Years From Now . Rowohlt, Reinbek 1999. ISBN 3-499-60892-8 , p. 670
7. ↑ hitparade.ch
8. ↑ austriancharts.at
9. ↑ Booklet for the compilation album Manfred Krug Anthology (1997)