(Personal reflections inspired by Beatles songs)
Song: “Let It Be”
Album: Let It Be
Release Date: May 1970
Those who have been reading this Fab Foundations series (thank you by the way) are aware that I have been slowly carrying through on my commitment to watching and reviewing all 5 of the officially-recognized Beatles movies in chronological order (a 6th, Anthology, could be considered for inclusion too, but it was released after John Lennon’s death…I may or may not get around to reviewing it). I started with A Hard Day’s Night (Fab Foundations # 7), followed by Help! (FF # 14), Magical Mystery Tour (FF # 24), and Yellow Submarine (FF # 32). Here I will review Let It Be, the fifth and (likely) final review of this Beatles film pentalogy (I just learned this word).
One of the reasons I dragged this movie-review process out was that I was anticipating the remake of Let It Be, which as of this moment is being referred to as Beatles; Get Back. The remake was supposed to have hit the cinemas this past September but has now been delayed to late summer of 2021 (one need not imagine too long what that delay could be for), which is too late for me to include it in my Fab Foundations series. My hope was that I would get energized by the remake in a way that did not happen for me with Let It Be, which I watched many years ago while in college.
My memory of Let It Be was actually more akin to energy drainer. I recall that the movie was dark and disjointed, with a lot of internal squabbling among Beatles. Yoko Ono appeared glued to John Lennon’s hip (even during rehearsals), which annoyed me. George Harrison looked angry. Paul McCartney looked desperate. Ringo Starr looked fried. John Lennon looked distant and unengaged. The basic concept of the movie - that we would all get to see a great band in the studio, creating new music for a new album - was an incredible one (oh, how I wish the Who or the Rolling Stones would have allowed the cameras to roll in the studio for any number of their best albums). But there was no magic. There was no joy.
The Beatles; Get Back remake is supposed to be much more uplifting than Let It Be (the new producers having supposedly captured a number of inspiring moments from the reams of footage that were not captured in the first go around) but with that card off the table, I decided to give the original Let It Be a second chance. Easier said than done. I could not find it anywhere. Not in the library, not on Netflix, not in Red Box (online movie rentals). Not in several other means of cable access. It was nowhere to be found, which may have a lot to do with the Beatles not being all that impressed with the movie either.
I had pretty much given up early this week and was trying to gear myself up to resorting to my memory of the film for this writeup. And then, as I was doing a bit of preliminary research, I stumbled upon a website that was discussing the new film. Lo and behold, posted a few paragraphs deep was a link to the entirety of the original Let It Be ( https://www.videomuzic.eu/beatles-let-it-be-movie/?lang=en ). Alas, I could tackle it fresh. (Side Note: I’m not surprised when these kinds of things happen anymore: They have been happening throughout my 10-plus years of writing these blog entries).
And so, this past Wednesday, I kicked back, put on my headphones and watched Let It Be on my laptop. This time around, I found myself far less critical. Yes, much of that earlier negative reaction was still there in me, but my present-day evolved-Beatles-brain approached it all from a far more enlightened angle, and I can now see why a remake may have promise. First off, Yoko did not bother me nearly as much because I concluded that she did not bother Paul, George or Ringo nearly as much as I’d originally thought -or was led to believe (Paul, in particular, seems genuinely fine with her there).
Ringo Starr’s drumming is professionally excellent throughout. George Harrison creates a highlight moment in the film, leading the band through his love song “For You Blue” (an ode to his wife Pattie Boyd). John Lennon shines on the rooftop with his singing (particularly “Don’t Let Me Down”) wit (“I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we passed the audition”) and overall presence. In fact, the entire rooftop portion of the film is excellent, which eluded me all those years ago (I covered the rooftop ‘concert’ in “Raise the Roof” > Fab Foundations # 8). Despite their growing apathy, George, John and Ringo remained enticed by the Beatles mystique and message. Something as special as what they collectively had can be very difficult to move on from.
But the best moments in Let It Be are Paul McCartney’s. He was running the show by this time, in part because he was still so passionate about the band and in part because the others were losing interest. We see him orchestrating and formulating and reflecting, and brainstorming, all in an effort to generate some more of that Beatles pixie dust. His effort and openness, singing heart-on-sleeve songs like “Two of Us”, “Get Back”, “Let It Be” and “The Long and Winding Road”, are truly courageous in the face of the rolling cameras and more than a touch of adversity emanating from his bandmates. His efforts are also heartfelt and inspiring.
Along with all his orchestrating, formulating, reflecting, and brainstorming, Paul McCartney was bumming out too. He knew the end was near. You can see the anguish in his face and hear it in his lyrics. It’s heartbreaking if you allow yourself to feel it. For example, on “The Long and Winding Road”, which is performed for the very first time in the film, he sings in the refrain:
“Many times, I’ve been alone
And many times, I’ve cried
Anyway, you’ll never know
The many ways I’ve tried”
I hear this as a painful plea to his bandmates to try to get through this estrangement period and carry on (in true McCartney fashion, there is also a hope in “The Long and Winding Road” lyrics that love will eventually conquer all). Clearly, the Beatles were more than a band to Paul McCartney. Way more.
“Oh! Darling” was rehearsed during these sessions (which did not make the Let It Be film or album of the same name, but later appeared on Abbey Road). I’ve always heard “Oh! Darling” as an appeal directly to John Lennon:
“When you told me
You didn’t need me anymore
Well you know, I nearly broke down and cried
When you told me, you didn’t need me anymore
Well you know, I nearly broke down and died”
“The Long and Winding Road” and “Oh! Darling” are heavy, but the title song to the movie, “Let It Be” (one of the Beatles all-time greatest songs) is where we hear Paul McCartney’s anguish the most:
“When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be”
Before I go further with this chain of thought, I need to tackle a specific thought that’s been gnawing at me all year; that being that Paul McCartney has an almost nihilistic way of undermining his deeper-meaning songs. It started with “Yesterday”, where he has stated that the original title was “Scrambled Eggs” (“Scrambled eggs, oh my baby, how I love your legs”). Not many musicians would admit to such lack of early inspiration to one of their most significant compositions. Then there was “Hey Jude”, where McCartney has led us to believe all these years that the song was written primarily about a young Julien Lennon, who was caught in the middle of his parent’s marital unravelling (John Lennon and Cynthia Lennon) after John met Yoko. Yes, this may be at least partly true, but the song takes on a far more profound meaning when the listener hears it as being about his songwriting partner (which John Lennon himself has observed).
(It’s very likely that Paul McCartney is being extremely honest in these reflections, which actually makes it all even more intriguing in a subconscious sort of way.)
Things get really interesting though with his songs that have spiritual connotations. Faith seems to poke up in at least 3 of McCartney’s best compositions, particularly in relation to the Virgin Mary. This starts with “Lady Madonna” where he sings “Children at your feet, wonder how you manage to make ends meet”. Later, in his solo career, he penned the song “Jet” where he sings about “Ah Mater”, which is Latin for Mother Mary: “Ah, Mater, want Jet to always love me” (“Jet” being a veiled reference to his Father-in-Law”).
But the “Mother-load” of Paul McCartney’s Mother Mary connotations is in “Let It Be” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcA-qlMP11s ). Sure, McCartney has stated that the song is about his birth mother, Mary, whose death – when Paul was young – has always weighed heavy on him. Still “Let It Be” simply must go deeper than that. It’s too surreal not to be the case. It’s as faith filled a song as I have ever heard. I have no doubt it’s a prayer; Beatle Paul, traumatized by the Beatles breaking up, was searching for divine answers. Catholics turn to Mother Mary for intersessions in “times of trouble”. McCartney was baptized into Catholicism, although he has never publicly embraced it. Anyhow, there’s too much there for me to ignore it.
Why all the sidestepping about faith? Has Paul McCartney been intimidated all these years by his bandmates far more open faith-centric proclamations (I speak here of George Harrison and John Lennon, neither of whom stuck with their Liverpool Christian upbringing)?
Did Paul McCartney’s prayer-of-a-song work? I’m thinking yes it did indeed. I mean, he did get the brilliant Abbey Road as a final Beatles farewell after the acrimonious Let It Be. It was an inexplicable rebound if you think about it. And yet, it was the only way the Beatles could and should have ended.
In turn we all (including John, George and Ringo) benefitted from Paul McCartney’s appeal for divine intercessions. For that, I’m thankful.
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