The Beatles – Yesterday

Know something about this song or lyrics? Add it to our wiki.
Send "Yesterday" Ringtone to Cell

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday

Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be
There's a shadow hanging over me.
Oh, yesterday came suddenly

Why she had to go I don't know she wouldn't say
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday

Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday

Why she had to go I don't know she wouldn't say
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday

Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm

Send "Yesterday" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by Ice

Track duration: 02:06

"Yesterday" as written by John Winston Lennon, Paul James Mccartney

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Yesterday song meanings
Add your thoughts

115 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment:I love this song so much! What makes it so sad and effective is the mood and the lyrics of the song. It is definitely a break-up or relationship gone bad kind of song, but it can mean so many other things to a lot of people. One movie I always seem to visualize when I hear this song is ``Fox and the Hound''. You know the scene where Tod is abandoned and left out in the woods and has to find somewhere to call his home. That whole scene perfectly captures the feeling of this song. The lyric ``Now I need a place to hide away'', really drives home how lonely the character in the song feels. When I mean character, it could be any of us. You have to imagine yourself as the one singing the song, to really get an idea of where the artist is coming from. The violins also really add a layer of sadness and makes the song all the more melancholy. Such a beautiful song, and the way Paul sings with such sincerity and tragedy, makes the song all the more poignant.
    Flag Disneyfan8on April 26, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I long for yesterday too , but I just hope I'll never feel the same about today !
    Flag Yazardshiron November 15, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Such a simple song, yet beautiful. It's one of the few (very few) songs I like of this band's. I need to research them and the time in history to figure out why and how they changed music (and possibly culture). I don't get it. I just don't get it.
    Flag losethetudedudeon January 23, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this is a really beautiful song, I felt in love with it!!
    John Lennon was the best singer ever!! I wish he was alive <3
    I love him!!!
    Flagged NiickySanArton September 20, 2011   Link
    • 3 Replies
  • 0
    General Comment:++++++++++++++++++++++ ---------------------------------======================================
    Flag ALWAYSYOURS4EVERon July 27, 2011   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:I can't believe it. John Lennon is still releasing songs long after his death.
    Apparently he was working on a song but never finished it and recently someone has released a very similar song.
    Paul McCartney, who has parts of the original song recognised it and is trying to sue the artist that released the copied song!
    Yoko Ono is helping but is already trying to claim rights to the song!
    youtube.com/…
    Flagged TheNewGameBrolldon July 22, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i love this song. and not just because its the beatles... more because i have felt this exact same thing before. sad =( but true.
    Flag kirajoon September 28, 2009   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:"Yesterday" can be applied to many scenarios, but for me it is more specific to heartbreak. When in love you feel like the world is yours. To have your love leave you (through something you said or no fault of your own) is a very crushing thing. You would do anything to get them back. Often you are filled with regret for having ever lost them. What was once happy is now sad, so you end up longing for when things were better... yesterday.
    Flag sir_ralphieon July 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song is about how paul woke up one morning and realized how much he had changed and how life used to be so easy and simple but now he has a shadow hanging over him (like depression) and he has major love troubles cuz he just lost his girl. its my favorite song written by paul cuz any1 can relate to the "wut have i become?" feeling
    Flag happythoughtson June 16, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song is very sad. I agree with the poster about it being about "arriving at a state of depression," and longing for better days of the past. Just think about the lyrics "All my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though there here to stay." And "Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say," could relate to losing anyone-to anything. It makes me think of losing my dad when I was 25 of alcoholism. Why he had to go, I don't know, he never did say. Why he drank himself to death, he never talked about. Of course, I suspect it was depression-even manic depression. Despite being a successful businessman and very popular and active in sports, college educated, and comfortably upper-middle class, he chose that route. I myself am 36 now, and suffer from manic depression and am in recovery from substance abuse. Despite my own successes and being "good-looking" according to many, my life is falling apart now. It has been for awhile. Sometimes I think of suicide. And I long for "Yesterday."
    Flag JustLorion May 20, 2009   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain