[ ]   [ ]   [ ]                        [ ]      [ ]   [ ]
The Beatles — Let It Be
Album: Let It Be
Avg rating:
8.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2445









Released: 1970
Length: 3:59
Plays (last 30 days): 0
When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be

And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be

''(Ooh)'' Let it be, let it be
A-let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

And when the broken-hearted people
Living in the world agree
There will be an answer
Let it be

For though they may be parted
There is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer
Let it be

Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Yeah, there will be an answer
Let it be

Let it be, let it be
A-let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

Let it be, let it be
A-let it be, yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

And when the night is cloudy
There is still a light that shines on me
Shine until tomorrow
Let it be

I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be

Yeah, let it be, let it be
Let it be, yeah, let it be
Oh, there will be an answer
Let it be

Let it be, let it be
Let it be, yeah, let it be
Oh, there will be an answer
Let it be

Let it be, let it be
Let it be, yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be
Comments (365)add comment
Ppopp said: “I adore the songs these guys churned-out so effortlessly. This one however, is one of those which I do not play very often. Paul repeats himself too much, and the lyrics are very pithy.” So being “pithy” as a songwriter is bad?
 timmus wrote:

When I find my code in tons of trouble,
Friends and colleagues come to me,
Speaking words of wisdom:
"Write in C."

Write in C, write in C,
Write in C, yeah, write in C.
Only wimps use BASIC.

Write in C.
 
-----------------
 
An old joke song from 1980s BBS culture that always comes to mind.



this is now indelibly etched into my brain.
Joan Baez cover anytime
i often wondered if george wrote this one.
When I find my code in tons of trouble,
Friends and colleagues come to me,
Speaking words of wisdom:
"Write in C."

Write in C, write in C,
Write in C, yeah, write in C.
Only wimps use BASIC.
Write in C.
 
-----------------
 
An old joke song from 1980s BBS culture that always comes to mind.
 MrsTom wrote:

What a feeble voice



What a feeble comment.
 BCarn wrote:

Not too many "9's" here. 
10, easy. 



Plenty of "9"s from where I sit and listen...and a fair number of "10"s...but this song stands very tall among those "10"s.
 Canlistener wrote:
30 people recognize this tripe for it is{#Nyah}

1000+ 10 ratings (over 50% of total ratings). Follow the wisdom of the crowd.
The BEST version of this song with George's amazing solo.
And now we'd like to do Hark The Angels Come....
 Canlistener wrote:
30 people recognize this tripe for it is{#Nyah}


Tripe it may be. The most popular tripe in music history.
 Canlistener wrote:
30 people recognize this tripe for it is{#Nyah}
 
The 30 people are clueless.
 DaveInVA wrote:
Let it pee
Let it pee
Let it pee all over thee... 


….and now please all join in to welcome little Davie  to his first day in pre-school

make him welcome...he is very scared….  






 


I can still remember my mom and older sister crowded around our little AM radio when this song came on, writing down the lyrics. This song instantly transports me back to the 70s. Powerful.
Always thought this is was one of the Beatle's most overrated songs. Sounds great but the lyrical content/message is ho-hum at best. Still -rate it as an 8.   
30 people recognize this tripe for it is{#Nyah}
Fond memories of my summer busking in Brussels and Amsterdam for my dinner money...
 DaveInVA wrote:
Let it pee
Let it pee
Let ir pee all over thee... 

 
Asshole as thou be, so entertaining..
Not too many "9's" here. 
10, easy. 
{#Smile}
10^2

Say no more!

 
great song always a great song {#Tongue-out}
Let it pee
Let it pee
Let it pee all over thee... 
Thank you for this, I needed a little bit of this today.
{#Angel}
This is one of the time-and-place songs for me, I remember exactly where I was and who I was with the first time I *really* listened to this song. It was an emotional time, and that's probably why it stuck with me. Not my favorite Beatles tune, but still worth a 9. Happy Friday!
 stegokitty wrote:

Coming from a guy with over ten printed pages of songs rated with 10.
How do you take yourself seriously? 

 
Oh, so that's what ratings envy looks like.  
i just recently learned that Mother Mary in this song was not the mother of Jesus but McCartney's mother
like Lennon's mother McCartney's mother also died when he was a teen but they didn't have the weird relationship like Lennon did
Mary McCartney was a nurses assistant and/or midwife, he said he remembers his mother going out at all hours of the night on her bicycle to help women give birth 
lovely transition from Wailin' Jennys
 MrsTom wrote:
What a feeble voice
  {#Drunk}
Always a peep that even though 1660 ratings give it a 9 AVERAGE LOL  thanks for your "insight" MrsTom lol 
I adore the songs these guys churned-out so effortlessly. This one however, is one of those which I do not play very often. Paul repeats himself too much, and the lyrics are very pithy.
We REALLY need an 11.
This song brings me to a happy place.
rdo wrote: 

I can't see what people see in this song.


james_of_tucson replied:

That's ok. It's not important what people see in the song. What's important is what YOU see in it. If that's "nothing", then that's ok. Maybe nobody sees anything. Why would that be an issue for you in the first place? 

I  know rdo already replied himself. I hadn't seen that when I wrote the following and don't want to put words in his mouth, just felt like stating my feeling.

I *HAVE* to jump in: I really know why this would be an issue: when I like a song/music etc. AND it is liked by a lot of people, it feels GOOD. It feels like I'm connected to a lot of people. It is comforting, it is reassuring to know I share a feelimg with a wide community. When I'm attending a concert, a large part of the thrill comes from sharing the experience with the other members of the audience.
When I totally get off on something and find nobody who likes it too, it won't make me reconsider my feeling, but there'll be a tiny sting of sadness about that now and thn.
I think rdo was saying,that it bothered him, even if just a little, that so many people liked this song and he couldn't share that liking with them. But that's just my interpretation.
 
My favorite version is determined by the "first heard" factor. My older brother made me a Beatles tape and put the singles version in it, I was about 13 years old.
think i was pas twenty when I heard the album version for the first time. It simply was way too late.
My perception was one of perfection regarding the singles - where the solo is just much better and the guitar sound much better integrated with the sound of the whole song. I'm not convinced with Goerge's "answers" at the end of the album version. There also is a BIG problem with the mix, the guitar is way too much up front.
I always thought the album version sounded like a rough cut and the single version like the one that should have been on the album.
 rdo wrote:
Let what be?  What nonsense.
 
Coming from a guy with over ten printed pages of songs rated with 10.
How do you take yourself seriously? 
And the Totally Unnecessary Orchestration award goes to Phil Spector.

 This is, however, the superior version.
Everybody in my homeless camp loves this song...  and this great album...
What a feeble voice
Poignant -- in so many ways.
{#Bananapiano}  "Godlike song from a "Godlike" album
Let what be?  What nonsense.
 gjr wrote:
george wanting to put a guitar solo on "hey jude" also
 
I don't think that's true. George wanted to play answering lines in the verses, and Paul said no. I think Paul was probably right in that case.
 mash001 wrote:
Thanks to my godless ex I truly cannot stand the Beatles...and I'm entitled to my feelings.I just can't listen to them.Sorry
{#Eek} 

 

if it werent for your godless ex - would you STILL not like them?  

 
Thanks to my godless ex I truly cannot stand the Beatles...and I'm entitled to my feelings.I just can't listen to them.Sorry
{#Eek} 
i give this "guitar solo" version a 14.....the "paul" version a 10
{#Roflol}
 palad1 wrote:
I was stressing out at work against a nasty piece of code, running out of ideas, fearing a deadline and Bill plays Let It Be...

 

 

it usually does with music..........
Beatles is Godlike synonym.
 WonderLizard wrote:

I prefer the singles version. This version is one time I think Spector got it wrong.

 
it had nothing to do with spector.  if you watch the movie "let it be" you see (painfully, i might add) paul and george getting into a bitter argument about whether or not the solo belonged in the song.  i assume that this led to the two different releases.  watching "living in the material world" a few months ago, paul was talking about george wanting to put a guitar solo on "hey jude" also and he added "george, well, you know, thought there should be a guitar solo everywhere."   
history has come down on the side of george:  the solo works perfectly in this song.  mccartney had become a despot by that point 
 Proclivities wrote:
"So repetitive" many here may say - I'm surprised no one else has written it.  I've always preferred this version (with the guitar solo) to the single version.

 
I prefer the singles version. This version is one time I think Spector got it wrong.
I completely agree with you! I've always felt the single version (which contains an organ solo) just doesn't have the same feeling as this guitar solo. 

Proclivities wrote:
I've always preferred this version (with the guitar solo) to the single version.

 



marvelous...  love this song...  love this album...
 
 kingart wrote:
Because this is one of the closing anthems for the Beatles, I've always found it a bit of a downer, like the end of a long and wonderful relationship. It's a lovely, beautiful but wistful song but it's almost a lament about what is missing. 

 
Agree, definite feeling of closure and end. But still a great song. 
 phlattop wrote:
Nice transition from the Wailin' Jennys Long Time Travell!

 

Yes, both repititious and boring. Although I do like both bands.
Paul.wrote it for his mother
 ThePoose wrote:
Paul's mother was named Mary.

 

Nice transition from the Wailin' Jennys Long Time Travell!

Everybody in my church loves this song...  and this great album...
I like this version best. Seems to exude the "happening" between musicians in the studio.

Has anyone seen the movie "Across the Universe"? The version of this song sung in the movie is very powerful. This song swept across a nation, and a time, and will last forever.
 jberko wrote:
We were all so much younger then.  Where has the time gone?
 
I'm still that young in mind which is all that matters, I guess!    This is a better version.{#Cool}
"So repetitive" many here may say - I'm surprised no one else has written it.  I've always preferred this version (with the guitar solo) to the single version.
We were all so much younger then.  Where has the time gone?
Yes, the "naked" version is far cleaner. Spector threw a lot of slop in this version. A shame.
Spector's version is not my personal favourite, but the song survives to it. {#Angel}
A lil more of that Billy Preston we just heard on keyboards. vg
Paul's mother was named Mary.
Because this is one of the closing anthems for the Beatles, I've always found it a bit of a downer, like the end of a long and wonderful relationship. It's a lovely, beautiful but wistful song but it's almost a lament about what is missing. 
 james_of_tucson wrote:

That's ok.  It's not important what people see in the song.  What's important is what YOU see in it.  If that's "nothing", then that's ok.  Maybe nobody sees anything.  Why would that be an issue for you in the first place?

 

There is no issue - just a comment.  It has mainly to do with the high rating, which surprises me.  It's not a bad song at all.  I just checked the rating on my favorite Beatles song, Rain.  That is 8.3.  I think that is a really great song.  If we are going for popular McCartney Beatles, then I'd take Yesterday over this.  I would give that a 10.  I don't find this to be a very edgy or moving song.  Like I said, it's not bad.   9.1 puts it among the highest rated songs on RP. I am wondering why, that is all.

calypsus_1 wrote:
 
AvoidingWork wrote:

Ringo has to be thinking "I hate caricatures."  I'm sure he would approve of this drawing when the artist said, "Let me take the most obvious feature on your face and blow it out of portion until it's humiliatingly gross."   And I don't think his nose is large to begin with.
And yes, I think my nose is large as well and will NEVER have a caricature done.
 
 
But at least while looking at this picture, Ringo could take comfort in hearing George say, "Crikey, he's really highlighted me fangs!"  Or Paul freaking out over his Jack Nicholson eyebrows or John thinking: "I look like an anorexic rabbi!"

As far as the song itself goes, it's not bad, but I think it's one of the most overrated of the Fab Four oeuvre.  And I actually prefer "Long and Winding Road".  This piece sounds tired to me, whereas in "Road", you really get the sense of Paul's panic over the breakup.  ("Don't leave me standing here"  indeed!)


Sorry ppl, but i did not click this link to join in an useless fight about which of a band members was more important or how that other musicians rate vs this group. Doesn't the word band imply that all of them matter? They were a great group and i think we liked the unity they showed at the time! Doesn't the top 100 song list for each year compare 1 musician to another? Didn't they top this list in their day? Rather then do that enjoy the music! As for more foolish squabbles, "Let it BE!"  ;-P

i thought we were all here to post our own thought(s) on the music. you got to think for yourself. in the long run, you will like who you are more if you do just that! forget about fitting in to an ever changing society. history shows us society is wrong most of the time! learn how to make yourself happy and others around you will also be more happy. =D

Still of all the posts below, i think this was the most funny . That has to count for something, non?

 
Poacher wrote:

Well. Can I just drop in here there are occasions over the years when I have seen other members ratings have none in '10 godlike'. 

I have a strong suspicion it is because they are religious and can't bear to click something 'Godlike' or they will be expelled from THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AND BE CAST ASUNDER TO THE HELLFIRE OF DAMNATION!

Me? Fuck it - I'll see you in damnation. 
 
Poacher, don't count on it. I'm not making plans that far ahead! Besides, if the bible said that we are all made in the image of god, doesn't that logic make us all "god" like? With this logic, a Ford has 4 wheels. This makes a Ford, Porsche like, but it's not a Porsche! It's the little things that would matter, like the handling, acceleration and oh yeah, who makes it that makes a car Porsche like! =) Have fun. Catch you later...


 rdo wrote:

I can't see what people see in this song. 


 
That's ok.  It's not important what people see in the song.  What's important is what YOU see in it.  If that's "nothing", then that's ok.  Maybe nobody sees anything.  Why would that be an issue for you in the first place?

 LPCity wrote:
I love a lot of what the Beatles did, but this song is not one of those things.

It's like a funeral dirge.
 
It does, after all, take an abbreviated form of Pachelbel's Canon, which is not infrequently literally used as funeral music. 

 jktravl wrote:
I just listened to Jackson Browne's Late forthe sky album, cam in turned on RP, and this was on.  It almost sounded like Jackson Brown could have wrote it and Paul stole it.  Lots of the same riffs.  I don't like the beatles or McCartney much at all. Thay are way overated.  A solid 5
 

Did Jackson Browne have a time machine?  "Late For The Sky" was released about five years after this album.
 Poacher wrote:

Well. Can I just drop in here there are occasions over the years when I have seen other members ratings have none in '10 godlike'. 

I have a strong suspicion it is because they are religious and can't bear to click something 'Godlike' or they will be expelled from THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AND BE CAST ASUNDER TO THE HELLFIRE OF DAMNATION!

Me? Fuck it - I'll see you in damnation. 
 
I rarely give "10's" to anyone living.  And to get "Godlike" from me (which I realize is indistinguishable from a regular "10"), I have to believe you're playing in the band either in Heaven, Hell, Mount Olympus, or Telluride or someplace like that, or else your sphere of influence has to be far greater than simply your expression as an artist.

Artists who I know personally get "9's", even those who have passed to the next life, and even those with whom I have had personal and professional disagreements. 

Personally I don't care which afterlife I reach, because I think they all have an awesome house band by now.

 gjr wrote:
sad to think that a junkie like keith richards out-lived john and george
 
Your ignorance is not becoming.  John and George were both junkies at the same time that Keith was one.  Eric Clapton was one too but he lives on just like Keith.  Who knows, maybe they all booted up together back in the day.

 dmax wrote:

And only 1962-1970 !
Amazing. Peter Gabriel would've only released two albums in that amount of time, and certainly wouldn't have changed the world's culture doing it... 
 

OR:

  • Peter Gabriel 3 (Melt) (1980)
  • Ein Deutsches Album (1980)
  • Peter Gabriel 4 (Security) (1982)
  • Deutsches Album (1982)
  • Birdy (1985)
  • So (1986)
  • Passion (1989)

  • nothing say Justin Beiber like "Let it be" {#Lol}
     dmax wrote:

    And only 1962-1970 !
    Amazing. Peter Gabriel would've only released two albums in that amount of time, and certainly wouldn't have changed the world's culture doing it... 
     

  • From Genesis to Revelation (1969)
  • Trespass (1970)
  • Nursery Cryme (1971)
  • Foxtrot (1972)
  • Selling England by the Pound (1973)
  • The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974)
  • Peter Gabriel 1 (Car) (1977)
  • Peter Gabriel 2 (Scratch) (1978)

  • The PETE BEST BAND...


    Matthew Fisher on the organ!


    I love a lot of what the Beatles did, but this song is not one of those things.

    It's like a funeral dirge.
     dmax wrote:

    And only 1962-1970 !
    Amazing. Peter Gabriel would've only released two albums in that amount of time, and certainly wouldn't have changed the world's culture doing it... 
     

    Peter Gabriel achieves musical nirvana, Beatles make me yawn
    I just listened to Jackson Browne's Late forthe sky album, cam in turned on RP, and this was on.  It almost sounded like Jackson Brown could have wrote it and Paul stole it.  Lots of the same riffs.  I don't like the beatles or McCartney much at all. Thay are way overated.  A solid 5
    It's a long way but a short road from I Saw Her Standing There to Let it Be, from elated youth to aching adult. Art sure does move in mysterious ways. 
     lemmoth wrote:
    How is this anything other than God like?
     
    Well. Can I just drop in here there are occasions over the years when I have seen other members ratings have none in '10 godlike'. 

    I have a strong suspicion it is because they are religious and can't bear to click something 'Godlike' or they will be expelled from THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AND BE CAST ASUNDER TO THE HELLFIRE OF DAMNATION!

    Me? Fuck it - I'll see you in damnation. 
    How is this anything other than God like?
     keller1 wrote:


    I give most of the Beatles stuff 8+, but The White Album and especially this one have a lot more 5s and 6s.  They were running out of ideas and the amalgam of Lennon and McCartney that made their other stuff so transcendent was melting down.  So yeah, I agree with you.
     

    I am starting to think that it was Lennon I love, and not the Beatles.
     gjr wrote:
    sad to think that a junkie like keith richards out-lived john and george
     

    Keith has been free from Heroin for 30 years and hasn't touched cocaine since he fell out of the tree.
     gjr wrote:
    sad to think that a junkie like keith richards out-lived john and george
     
    Keith Richards was a close friend to all the Beatles, especially to Paul and John, and I doubt they would agree with your thinking.
    I was stressing out at work against a nasty piece of code, running out of ideas, fearing a deadline and Bill plays Let It Be...

     
    The most downloaded Beatles song on iTunes!  Also, a great version of this song is in the movie "Across the Universe."
     WonderLizard wrote:
    And John needed Paul.
     
    Too true! The whole was definitely greater than the sum of its parts.


    ...it gets a bonus point for the instrumental break; nice touch!..

    ...so that makes a two... 
    Probably my favorite Beatles tune.
    Godlike is an understatement!!!
     jagdriver wrote:
    Why Paul needed John. (Thanks, hippiechick!)
     
    And John needed Paul.

     calypsus_1 wrote:

    Beatles "Let It Be" by ~JSaurer
    ©2008-2010 ~JSaurer

    the fab 4, taken from their "Let It Be"-cover,
    fineliner & pencil, 1999
     
    Ringo has to be thinking "I hate caricatures."  I'm sure he would approve of this drawing when the artist said, "Let me take the most obvious feature on your face and blow it out of portion until it's humiliatingly gross."   And I don't think his nose is large to begin with.
    And yes, I think my nose is large as well and will NEVER have a caricature done.
     


     bschwartz12 wrote:

    i think it is Free Bird
     

    Nope, don't think thats it.{#No}
    Why Paul needed John. (Thanks, hippiechick!)

    10!!!!!!!  {#Kiss}


     dmax wrote:
    I'm finishing up college, working in a movie theater, circa 1980. I'm sitting there waiting for the midnight movie to let out, chatting with some high school kid that's on shift with me. Let it Be comes on the radio. The kid knows I love music, and offhandedly comments

    "This is the Kinks, right?"

    NO. IT'S THE NUMBER TWO SELLING SONG IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD SECOND ONLY TO "WHITE CHRISTMAS." IT'S THE DAMNED BEATLES!

    he's not convinced. "Sounds like the Kinks."

     
    {#Lol} BTW, I much prefer the single version over this one, the Phil Spector version.


     dmax wrote:
    I'm finishing up college, working in a movie theater, circa 1980. I'm sitting there waiting for the midnight movie to let out, chatting with some high school kid that's on shift with me. Let it Be comes on the radio. The kid knows I love music, and offhandedly comments

    "This is the Kinks, right?"

    NO. IT'S THE NUMBER TWO SELLING SONG IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD SECOND ONLY TO "WHITE CHRISTMAS." IT'S THE DAMNED BEATLES!

    he's not convinced. "Sounds like the Kinks."

     
    {#Lol}

    Of course if you asked a high school student today that question, he would tell you that he hasn't heard of the Beatles or the Kinks.

     smackiepipe wrote:
    I never could figure out the name of this song!
     
    i think it is Free Bird


    I never could figure out the name of this song!
    I always thought he was singing "Let it pee, let it pee"....
    Given the number of Beatle bashers around, I'm somewhat surprised this scores so highly.

    Beatles "Let It Be" by ~JSaurer
    ©2008-2010 ~JSaurer

    the fab 4, taken from their "Let It Be"-cover,
    fineliner & pencil, 1999



     gjr wrote:
    sad to think that a junkie like keith richards out-lived john and george
     
    Who says he have a life, I doubt it.
    sad to think that a junkie like keith richards out-lived john and george
    {#Sunny}{#Daisy}
    Takes me back to family vacations to the Maritimes when I was little and my parents would play this album the whole way down.

    {#Bounce}{#Roflol}{#Bounce}{#Roflol}
    paul was wrong - and george was right................the guitar solo DOES belong in there.  sorry paul,  he was (and still is) right..    its so painful to watch the two of them bicker about it in the film and then release two versions.  paul had become a despot by then 
     Propayne wrote:
    Wish they would release the DVD.
     
        This track, however, has always bored me to tears.
    I can only honestly give this one a 27; just caused I have heard it so much.{#Wink}
    My brother's high school class sang this at graduation - I think it was 1969 - the teachers were appalled.  It was great, a true transcendent moment. 
    Godlike indeed {#Meditate}
     romeotuma wrote:


    absolutely awesome...
     

    True that, brother. True that.
    Wish they would release the DVD.