McCartney: One night during this tense time I had a dream I saw my mum, who’d been dead 10 years or so. And it was so great to see her because that’s a wonderful ting about dreams: you actually are reunited with that person for a second; there they are and you appear to both be physically together again. It was so wonderful for me and she was very reassuring. In the dream she said, ‘It’ll be all right.’ I’m not sure if she used the words ‘Let it be’ but that was the gist of her advice, it was, ‘Don’t worry too much, it will turn out OK.’ It was such a sweet dream I woke up thinking, Oh, it was really great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing the song “Let It Be.” I literally started off ‘Mother Mary’, which was her name, ‘When I find myself in times of trouble’, which I certainly found myself in. The song was based on that dream.
McCartney: Mother Mary makes it a quasi-religious thing, so you can take it that way. I don’t mind. I’m quite happy if people want to use it to shore up their faith. I have no problem with that. I think it’s a great thing to have faith of any sort, particularly in the world we live in.
Lennon: That’s Paul. What can you say? Nothing to do with the Beatles. It could’ve been Wings. I don’t know what he’s thinking when he writes “Let It Be.” I think it was inspired by “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” That’s my feeling, although I have nothing to go on. I know he wanted to write a “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
(It should be noted that John was way off here because “Let It Be” was actually recorded well before “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was released. Also I think George’s beautiful guitar solo is an important part of the song. I sense jealousy in this quote.)
Good point about this being about Paul's mother. However, your statement about John's being way off might not be correct. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was released as a single in January 1970. "Let It Be" was released in March of 1970.
Good point about this being about Paul's mother. However, your statement about John's being way off might not be correct. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was released as a single in January 1970. "Let It Be" was released in March of 1970.
@Dresden89 Let It Be doesn't hold up as well as Hey Jude, Penny Lane, Paperback Writer, Eleanor Rigby, Helter Skelter, We Can Work It Out, I'm Down, Things We Said Today, Here There and Everywhere, You Never Give Me Your Money, Two Of Us, I've Got A Feeling, She's A Woman, Oh! Darling, It's Getting Better...
@Dresden89 Let It Be doesn't hold up as well as Hey Jude, Penny Lane, Paperback Writer, Eleanor Rigby, Helter Skelter, We Can Work It Out, I'm Down, Things We Said Today, Here There and Everywhere, You Never Give Me Your Money, Two Of Us, I've Got A Feeling, She's A Woman, Oh! Darling, It's Getting Better...
@LisaPetrolo I know this is nearly five years after your post and maybe it has been noted elsewhere. A rare demo of Let It Be was recorded in the summer of 1968 and was included on the deluxe edition of The Beatles aka The "White Album", which was recently released November 2018 to mark the LP's 50th anniversary. So after all these nearly 5 years we can conclude “Let it be” was written and recorded nearly 2 years before “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was released.
@LisaPetrolo I know this is nearly five years after your post and maybe it has been noted elsewhere. A rare demo of Let It Be was recorded in the summer of 1968 and was included on the deluxe edition of The Beatles aka The "White Album", which was recently released November 2018 to mark the LP's 50th anniversary. So after all these nearly 5 years we can conclude “Let it be” was written and recorded nearly 2 years before “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was released.
McCartney: One night during this tense time I had a dream I saw my mum, who’d been dead 10 years or so. And it was so great to see her because that’s a wonderful ting about dreams: you actually are reunited with that person for a second; there they are and you appear to both be physically together again. It was so wonderful for me and she was very reassuring. In the dream she said, ‘It’ll be all right.’ I’m not sure if she used the words ‘Let it be’ but that was the gist of her advice, it was, ‘Don’t worry too much, it will turn out OK.’ It was such a sweet dream I woke up thinking, Oh, it was really great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing the song “Let It Be.” I literally started off ‘Mother Mary’, which was her name, ‘When I find myself in times of trouble’, which I certainly found myself in. The song was based on that dream.
McCartney: Mother Mary makes it a quasi-religious thing, so you can take it that way. I don’t mind. I’m quite happy if people want to use it to shore up their faith. I have no problem with that. I think it’s a great thing to have faith of any sort, particularly in the world we live in.
Lennon: That’s Paul. What can you say? Nothing to do with the Beatles. It could’ve been Wings. I don’t know what he’s thinking when he writes “Let It Be.” I think it was inspired by “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” That’s my feeling, although I have nothing to go on. I know he wanted to write a “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
(It should be noted that John was way off here because “Let It Be” was actually recorded well before “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was released. Also I think George’s beautiful guitar solo is an important part of the song. I sense jealousy in this quote.)
Good point about this being about Paul's mother. However, your statement about John's being way off might not be correct. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was released as a single in January 1970. "Let It Be" was released in March of 1970.
Good point about this being about Paul's mother. However, your statement about John's being way off might not be correct. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was released as a single in January 1970. "Let It Be" was released in March of 1970.
@Dresden89 Let It Be doesn't hold up as well as Hey Jude, Penny Lane, Paperback Writer, Eleanor Rigby, Helter Skelter, We Can Work It Out, I'm Down, Things We Said Today, Here There and Everywhere, You Never Give Me Your Money, Two Of Us, I've Got A Feeling, She's A Woman, Oh! Darling, It's Getting Better...
@Dresden89 Let It Be doesn't hold up as well as Hey Jude, Penny Lane, Paperback Writer, Eleanor Rigby, Helter Skelter, We Can Work It Out, I'm Down, Things We Said Today, Here There and Everywhere, You Never Give Me Your Money, Two Of Us, I've Got A Feeling, She's A Woman, Oh! Darling, It's Getting Better...
@LisaPetrolo I know this is nearly five years after your post and maybe it has been noted elsewhere. A rare demo of Let It Be was recorded in the summer of 1968 and was included on the deluxe edition of The Beatles aka The "White Album", which was recently released November 2018 to mark the LP's 50th anniversary. So after all these nearly 5 years we can conclude “Let it be” was written and recorded nearly 2 years before “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was released.
@LisaPetrolo I know this is nearly five years after your post and maybe it has been noted elsewhere. A rare demo of Let It Be was recorded in the summer of 1968 and was included on the deluxe edition of The Beatles aka The "White Album", which was recently released November 2018 to mark the LP's 50th anniversary. So after all these nearly 5 years we can conclude “Let it be” was written and recorded nearly 2 years before “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was released.