Paul McCartney has always had a unique perspective. This is the point at which he would occasionally get the inspiration for songs from his vivid dreams about Slumberland. His unconscious state turned into the inspiration for two of his most significant and influential works for The Beatles.
“Yesterday,” which is the first song, comes from the 1965 album Help. The song’s backstory is among the most well-known in music history. After a dream, McCartney says he woke up to the eternal tune and improvised the words “scrambled eggs” so he wouldn’t forget it. McCartney was certain at the time that he had heard the song on one of his father’s vintage jazz CDs. Fortunately, he was unable to locate it anywhere, so he began to recognise his dream of becoming a musician.
Since rumours about “Yesterday” began to spread, a number of musicologists have tried to determine whether the melody actually originated in jazz. Even British scholar Spencer Leigh has suggested that McCartney may have come up with the song after listening to Nat King Cole’s 1953 classic “Answer Me.” If you pay great attention, you’ll see that there are parallels. Leigh’s claim finds support in the line “Yesterday, I believed that love was here to stay.” But, as is sometimes the case with music, a conclusive response has never discovered and probably never will be. Dreams are intangible by nature, which is the problem with them.
The 1970 smash song “Let It Be,” which is now considered an iconic piece from The Beatles’ eponymous last album, was the second iconic Beatles song that surfaced in a Paul McCartney dream. For background, consider that the Cold War was still raging, Martin Luther King Jr. had been slain, and the Vietnam War was nearing a violent deadlock at the time this essay was written. To put it concisely, things looked terrible.
McCartney’s art suffered as the 1960s’ promise began to wane. In a Carpool Karaoke episode, he revealed that he had its beginnings in a dream for the song “Let It Be”. Where his late mother Mary, who died when he was fourteen, gave him comfort and assurance that things will work out. “I dreamed back in the 1960s. “My mum, who passed away, came to me in a dream and was reassuring me. It’s going to be okay,” McCartney explained. Simply let it pass.
He went on, recalling how the song’s straightforward yet universal message came to pass. “She was comforting me, telling me, ‘It’s going to be ok, just let it be”. It felt wonderful. She said encouraging things to me. Thus, “Positivity was the factor for me to write the song ‘Let It Be.’
You can listen Listen to “Let It Be” below.
