Let It Be

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"THE LYRICS

The lyrics of the song titled ‘Let It Be’ will be analysed in this study. This song belongs to the twelfth and
the final studio album by the Beatles released on 8th May 1970, almost a month after the group's break-
up. The name of this album was also called ‘Let It Be’. ‘Let It Be’ was a number one album in many
countries, including both the US and the UK. The album was conceived as a get back, a return to the
Beatles’ earlier, less complicated approach to music. It was recorded and projected for release before
their album Abbey Road (1969). For this reason, some critics and fans considered ‘Let It Be’ as the
group’s penultimate album.

For the ease of analysis and to facilitate subsequent references to the verses, the full lyrics are given
here, labeled by small letters.

‘Let It Be’

[Verse 1]

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

[Chorus]

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

[Verse 2]

When all 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

[Chorus]

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

There will be an answer,, let it be

[Verse 3]

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

There will be no sorrow

Let it be

[Chorus]

(The Beatles, 1970: Apple Records, UK)

The general theme of the song is around the idea of keeping hope alive. But does it speak of the Virgin
Mary? Although McCartney typically answers the question by assuring his fans that they can interpret
the song however they would like, he admitted he knew Christians would think of the Mother Mary.
However, he is always careful to say that the literal genesis of the song was a particular event. During
the final days of the Beatles, their business was not in a good state because of a bitter managerial
dispute, and the four guys who had been close friends for years were coming unglued. One night, Paul’s
deceased mother Mary,appeared to him in a dream and comforted him, telling him to let go and
everything will be alright.

During the 1960s, John Lennon had told a reporter that the Beatles were probably more popular than
Jesus was. This comment sparked record burnings and death threats. Lennon should not have said it, but
the lesson had been learned by Paul and he was understandably wary of making any reference to
religion.

DATA ANALYSIS: STYLISTIC DEVICES

SOUND PATTERNS

Although the lyrics of this song are primarily conceptually driven, we can still find sound patterns in the
form of rhyming, alliteration and assonance in different places in the lyrics.

Beginning with the rhyme patterns, the lyrics display full rhyming at the end of lines b, d, f and h. In
other words we can notice full (exact) rhyming between every other line of the verses beginning with
the second line of each verse. Examples of internal rhyming both within and between lines, can be
identified easily too; as exemplified below with the first verse of the song.

Rhyming patterns

[Verse 1]

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
As can be seen above, the extract shows cases of internal rhyming (she, me) at the end of line f, and also
exact rhyming (me, be) at the end of lines.

Another sound imagery which we can find in this song is alliteration. As Simpson asserts alliteration is “a
type of rhyme scheme which is based on similarities between consonants” (2004: 16). We can easily
locate examples of alliteration with different consonants in the following lines of the song:

Patterns of alliteration

/n, t/ When I find myself in times of trouble (1a)

/m/ Mother Mary comes to me (1b)

/w, z/ Whisper words of wisdom (Chorus b)

/s/ There is still a chance that they will see (3b)

Talking about sound imageries we shouldn’t hesitate to mention assonance which refers to repeated
vowel sounds in words placed near each other. Some examples of this poetic device used in the lyrics of
the song under study are given below:

Patterns of assonance

/aɪ/ When I find myself in times of trouble (1a)

/ɪ, aɪ/ There is still a light that shines on me (3b)

/eɪ/ For though they may be parted (2e)"

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