11:9 Let It Be

Let It Be is a great song, even though it is remarkably straight forward musically. Usually there's a clever concept lurking under the simplest Beatles track (see The Long And Winding Road) but if there's one here I can't find it!

Stylistically Let It Be is a gospel hymn, from the chord changes and the standard piano/electric organ paring,to the elastic timing in the lead vocals and the the celestial BVs. Inspired by a dream of Paul's deceased mum Mary ("Mother Mary" geddit?). It holds out a vague non-denominational hope's which means anyone can claim it as their own - essentially "there is a reason for the suffering you're going through, you will understand one day, so don't worry now"

The reason why the song works so well is that it's a song of comfort that communicates a FEELING of comfort. There's more than the usual amount of repetition of musical themes and lyrics, which is comforting in itself, as is the predictable cadence from the IV (F major) down to the I (C Major) which ends EVERY SINGLE LINE in the verse and chorus and is the basic theme that's extended in the link section (see below).

Here's a couple of cool tricks to try and work into your own writing

First, the way McCartney develops the main lyrical theme. The 3rd and 6th lines in the verse repeat the same two phrases then the chorus reverses them

eg

Verse -
I would like to eat some - Sausage rolls
Chorus -
Sausage rolls, Sausage rolls, Sausage rolls, Sausage rolls
I would like to eat some - Sausage rolls


The next verse is slightly different, giving us a slightly different chorus but we can predict what it will be which gives us a comforting sense of predictability without the drudge of complete repetition

Verse -
Would you please go buy some - Sausage rolls
Chorus -
Sausage rolls, Sausage rolls, Sausage rolls, Sausage rolls
Would you please go buy some - Sausage rolls

This makes the chorus almost like folk style refrain.

Secondly, the way Paul creates a link (twice before the solo and once at the end) out of the little descending chord pattern that ends the verse. This is a masterclass in Ticket 4. Check out the way he

• develops the theme doubling it's length
• takes it out of key briefly simply by continuing the line downwards in the same way (F E D C repeated down a fourth Bb A G F )
• takes something that was in the background in the verse and puts it front and centre in the link
• adds lead guitar and organ to change the timbre

So, thumbs up, moving on...