Music
The lyrics of The Beatles’ “Let It Be” don’t necessarily have a Christian message. Paul McCartney discussed the inspiration behind the tune.
TL;DR:
- Paul McCartney discussed who “Mother Mary” is in The Beatles’ “Let It Be.”
- He was not raised very religious.
- Regardless, he said he has a positive attitude towards faith.
Paul McCartney said The Beatles‘ “Let It Be” wasn’t inspired by religion. Despite this, he feels the lyrics of the song have a spiritual element to them. Notably, the lyrics of “Let It Be” could be seen as contradicting the Christian faith.
Paul McCartney said he’s fine with fans reading religion into The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’
In “Let It Be,” Paul sings about Mother Mary coming to him with a message. In some faith traditions, “Mother Mary” is another term for the Virgin Mary. According to the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul said the tune was inspired by a dream he had about his mother, Mary McCartney. Despite this, he said the lyrics of “Let It Be”still have religious connotations.
“Mother Mary makes it a quasi-religious thing, so you can take it that way,” he said. “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.”
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Subsequently, Paul discussed his opinions of religion in general. “I think it’s a great thing to have faith of any sort, particularly in the world we live in,” he said. “My mother was Catholic and she had me and my brother christened but that was the only religious thing we went through other than school, and occasional visits to church, where I sang in a surpliced choir.
“The first time I ever heard about religion really was when I was in hospital when I was eleven, and the sister on the ward lifted up my case sheet and said, ‘What religion are you? It’s not on here,’” he recalled. “I said, ‘I don’t know.’ She said, ‘C of E?’ I said, ‘Probably.’” For context, “the C of E” is an abbreviation for the Church of England, which was the hegemonic religious organization in England at the time.
The lyrics of ‘Let It Be’ don’t necessarily have a Christian message
The Beatles’ “Let It Be” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming one of the Fab Four’s final No. 1 songs. “Let It Be” might be one of The Beatles’ most popular songs today. It’s not clear if the track’s quasi-religious nature helped it resonate with listeners. Despite this, the tune arguably doesn’t fit with the Christian faith.
In the song, Mother Mary tells the singer to “let it be,” that is, to accept the problems of the world and let them go. Some Christians feel they are called to make the world a better place like Jesus Christ. This attitude is a lot different from “Let It Be,” which encourages blissful passivity.
“Let It Be” is a quasi-religious tune — even if it id doesn’t align with some understandings of Christianity.
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