What is the Beatles song “Let it Be” about?

Paul McCartney wrote this song. It was inspired by his mother, Mary, who died when he was 14. Many people thought “Mother Mary” was a biblical reference when they heard it.

McCartney had a dream one night when he was paranoid and anxious. He saw his mom who had been dead for ten years or so; she came to him in his time of trouble, speaking words of wisdom. This brought him much peace when he needed it. It was this sweet dream that got him to begin writing the song.

The conventional wisdom is that Paul wrote it for his mother who died when he was young. But that isn’t quite true. An image of his mother talking to him inspired him to write the song. But the song isn’t about his mother. It’s about the breakup of the Beatles.

At the time he wrote this, Paul was a very anxious and worried man. He had also become very insensitive and judgmental, in large part in response to Lennon’s sarcasm and growing bitterness. Afraid to confront Lennon directly, he took out his frustrations on the junior members of the band, Harrison and Starr. At times, he was unspeakably rude or insulting to them, as captured in many of the outtakes from the Let it Be film sessions. They resented it and Harrison at least pushed back. Paul felt bad but couldn’t help himself and the cycle began anew. Paul was cracking up under the pressure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iwok7XHIYs

“Let It Be” was his attempt at catharsis and it worked. In the end, it was Lennon who succumbed to bitterness and envy.

The dream itself was impressive, his dead mother appearing to him and told him not to get so worked up about everything. It was all very supernatural.

Not one of the Beatles greatest numbers artistically and Lennon often mocked it, saying things like “Are we supposed to giggle during the solo?” He also placed it between a soundbite of him as a young boy saying ‘Now we’d like to do Hark the Angels Come’ and a raunchy bit about a Lime Street whore. Lennon really was an unbelievable jerk during this period.

Let It Be hasn’t aged all that well but it’s principal creator has and that really was the point of the whole thing from the start. It was cheaper therapy. Harrison by the way does manage to contribute one of his more blistering solos.

“Paul was meditating day one and had a vision in which I was just  standing there saying “let it be, let it be…” – and that’s where the song came from… and one night after a session at 3 o’clock in the morning, it was raining, dark in London, and Paul was telling me about this and said I’ve written this song, it’s gonna be instant.. it was gonna be Brother Malcolm comes to me, but I’ve had to change it in case people get the wrong idea!”

McCartney said he had the idea of “Let It Be” after a dream he had about his mother during the tense period surrounding the sessions for The Beatles (the “White Album”). McCartney explained that his mother—who died of cancer when McCartney was fourteen—was the inspiration for the “Mother Mary” lyric. He later said, “It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing ‘Let It Be’.” He also said in a later interview about the dream that his mother had told him, “It will be all right, just let it be.”

This song was really inspired by the Bible. The time when the Beatles are looking for inspiration, Paul Mc Cartney turned to spirituality. Paul one day entered a church which happens to be a Catholic church. There he saw people praying before the statue of Mother Mary. Wondering why people pray before the mother of Jesus, he asked the priest for answer. People pray to Mother Mary to ask for her intercession with the Lord Jesus and his Father. Mary can mediate to Jesus on behalf of the people who ask her intercession. Paul also began reading the Gospel about the birth of Jesus. He read that when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she will be the mother of the son of God, Mary responed, ” I am the handmaid of the Lord, LET IT BE done to me according to your word” So Paul inspired by the loving trust of Mary to God wrote the song LET IT BE. There will really be an answer to those who truly trust in God. The song has a religious theme to it and not a song about Marijuana as was the popular rumor back then. Peace

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