TWO OF THE BEATLES BIGGEST HIT SONGS WERE ACTUALLY DERIVED FROM DREAMS.
PAUL MCCARTNEY WAS THE DREAMER IN BOTH INSTANCES.
IN 1964, PAUL AWOKE FROM A DREAM ONE NIGHT WITH A BEAUTIFUL MELODY IN HIS HEAD.
HE KNEW IT WAS A GREAT TUNE, BUT HE THOUGHT SURELY HE HAD UNINTENTIONALLY STOLEN OR BORROWED THE TUNE FROM SOMEBODY ELSE.
HE PLAYED THE SONG TO SEVERAL FRIENDS AND FELLOW MUSICIANS AND ASKED THEM IF THEY WERE FAMILIAR WITH THE IT - NO ONE HAD EVER HEARD OF IT.
PAUL PUT WORDS TO THE MELODY AND CALLED IT "SCRAMBLED EGGS". THE ORIGINAL LYRICS WERE "SCRAMBLED EGGS, OH BABY HOW I LOVE YOUR LEGS".
NO, PAUL THOUGHT, I CAN DEFINITELY IMPROVE ON THAT.
HE DID. HE CHANGED THE TITLE TO YESTERDAY. THIS WAS A VERY LONG, DRAWN-OUT PROCESS THOUGH.
FROM WHEN PAUL CAME UP WITH THE SONG IN 1964, IT WASN'T ACTUALLY GIVEN NEW LYRICS, RECORDED AND RELEASED (ON THE HELP! ALBUM) UNTIL ALMOST A YEAR LATER. THE OTHER THREE BEATLES ACTUALLY VETOED THE SONG BEING RELEASED AS A SINGLE IN THE U.K. BECAUSE IT SOUNDED SO DIFFERENT THAN THE USUAL BEATLES SONG OF THAT TIME. PAUL USED AN UNPRECEDENTED STRING QUARTET TO RECORD THE SONG.
NONE OF THE OTHER BEATLES PLAY ON IT.
IT WAS ACTUALLY DISCUSSED, BECAUSE THIS WAS 100% PAUL'S SONG, WHETHER OR NOT PAUL SHOULD RECEIVE A SOLO CREDIT FOR "YESTERDAY", BUT IT WAS AGREED ALL AROUND THAT IT SHOULD STILL BE A "BEATLES SONG".
PAUL ACTUALLY FIRST OFFERED THE SONG TO SINGER CHRIS FARLOWE, WHO TURNED IT DOWN BECAUSE HE THOUGHT IT WAS "TOO SOFT", SO MATT MONRO GOT TO DO THE FIRST COVER VERSION.
YESTERDAY IS GENERALLY AGREED TO BE THE SINGLE MOST RECORDED SONG IN THE HISTORY OF MUSIC. OVER 3,000 DIFFERENT VERSIONS HAVE BEEN RECORDED.
YESTERDAY WAS THE MOST PLAYED SONG ON AMERICAN RADIO AN INCREDIBLE 8 YEARS IN A ROW. ACCORDING TO BROADCAST MUSIC INC., YESTERDAY WAS PLAYED OVER 7 MILLION TIMES IN THE 20TH CENTURY ALONE.
PAUL'S OTHER BIG "DREAM SONG" WAS LET IT BE, ONE OF THE BEATLES LAST HITS.
PAUL AWOKE ONE NIGHT AFTER HAVING A DREAM ABOUT HIS DECEASED MOTHER. PAUL'S BELOVED MOTHER, MARY, HAD DIED OF BREAST CANCER IN THE YEAR 1956, WHEN PAUL WAS JUST A 14-YEAR-OLD KID. AT THE TIME OF PAUL'S DREAM (1969), THE BEATLES WERE FIGHTING, ARGUING AND SQUABBLING OVER EVERY MATTER, FROM MUSIC TO BUSINESS DEALS TO YOKO ONO'S CONSTANT PRESENCE AS JOHN LENNON'S "SOULMATE". AFTER A TYPICAL TENSE DAY, PAUL WENT HOME TO BED AND DREAMED A DREAM OF HIS MOTHER REASSURING HIM AND COMFORTING HIM.
IN THE DREAM, MARY MCCARTNEY TELLS HER SON DON'T WORRY, IT'S OKAY. IT'LL BE ALRIGHT. LET IT BE. IT WAS, ACCORDING TO PAUL, ONE OF THOSE BEAUTIFUL, JOYOUS DREAMS WE ALL LOVE HAVING. REFERRING TO HIS MOTHER, PAUL SAID, IT WAS GREAT TO VISIT WITH HER AGAIN.
"LET IT BE" - THE PHRASE, STUCK IN PAUL'S HEAD. HE WAS TO USE TO USE IT FOR THE BASIS OF THE SONG. LET IT BE WAS ANOTHER NUMBER ONE HIT FOR THE BAND, AS WELL AS THE TITLE OF THEIR LAST ALBUM THEY EVER RELEASED TOGETHER.
THE FINAL BEATLE MOVIE, A SAD DOCUMENTARY OF THE BAND PLAYING (AND ARGUING) TOGETHER, WAS ALSO CALLED LET IT BE.
DREAMS ARE A FASCINATING STUDY. AS STRANGE AND WEIRD AS THEY SOMETIMES SEEM, IF ONE LOOKS VERY CAREFULLY, ONE CAN OFTEN FIND SOME KIND OF DEEP TRUTH CONTAINED WITHIN THEM.
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