For any artist that’s been around for a while, songs practically become time capsules. Regardless of how many times people are asked to sing the same track at every gig they play, there’s a good chance that they will be reminded of that day they went into the studio and tracked or how the tune has affected millions of people around the world. However, when it comes to Paul McCartney, over half his discography has that effect on people, and out of all his tunes, he thinks that one of his later Beatles tracks never left his side throughout the years.
At the same time, no member of the Fab Four will ever be able to truly separate themselves from their old band. Although the distance between their breakup and the modern day is long enough for most people to open up a retirement account, albums like Sgt Pepper and Revolver mean much more than interesting rock and roll. They changed how people understood music, and it was all due to them having fun in the studio.
Looking through some of their later tunes, most might consider a track like ‘Hey Jude’ to be one of McCartney’s crowning achievements. It’s remained a staple in his live set for years and there’s rarely an audience member who doesn’t have a smile on their face when he kicks into that ‘na-na-na’ section.
Others may also point to ‘Yesterday’ as the tune that has seen the most mileage. Outside of being one of the most covered compositions in history, McCartney’s first truly melancholic tune works because of how many people can relate to a love that has gone sour and wanting to trade back everything to take back that one yesterday they had.
In terms of longevity, it’s all about songs that exist almost outside of time, and ‘Let It Be’ hasn’t aged a day since it was released. Though the recording sessions behind the album of the same name sound like hell on Earth for any creative person, McCartney’s light optimism and telling everyone to let everything be is so comforting it could pretty much be used in any place of worship and still work.
When asked about what Beatles song he had revisited the most, Macca said that ‘Let It Be’ was the track that he always ended up coming back to, saying, “I would probably say ‘Let It Be’ because it’s sort of the most ubiquitous and it’s got everywhere. From the Latin, ubique, meaning ‘everywhere’.”
Despite having a multitude of fans covering Beatles tunes, ‘Let It Be’ might actually be more prevalent in people’s lives than any one of their songs. Most of their tunes had their fair share of love songs to relate to, but even if someone has never been in love in their entire life, everyone goes through hardship, and it always helps to have someone around to tell them that everything will be alright.
And for all of John Lennon’s sloganeering throughout his Beatles years and into his solo career, McCartney matches him in terms of universal truth on ‘Let It Be’. It’s a tough world out there for everyone, but once Mother Mary comes by in this song, it’s like watching the sunshine part through the clouds.
