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The Beauty of Simplicity – An Analysis of The Beatles’ Masterpiece “Let It Be”

Anyone can write a song, getting people to like it is another story all together.

The Beatles, on the other hand, did not write songs that people liked - they wrote songs

that people could not live without. “Let It Be,” a song written nearly 40 years ago, might

be the best example of this style of songwriting. What The Beatles were able to

accomplish with this song, both musically and lyrically, is something that has never been

duplicated. John Lennon and Paul McCartney, the songwriting duo which penned nearly

all of The Beatles’ classics, had a keen ability to make something out of nothing; they

wrote passionate lyrics and soulful chord progressions, all while keeping their songs

simple enough for everyone to appreciate them.

“Let It Be” tells a story of a man who is searching for an answer. This man is

crying out for guidance, and with nowhere else to turn, he desperately pleads with the

heavens to help him understand, or at the very least, cope with his overwhelming loss.

The magic of “Let It Be,” and perhaps the aspect of the song which has enabled it to

persist as one of the world’s most beloved rock ballads, is how beautifully the lyrics

connect with the musical accompaniment.

The brilliance of this song is its simplicity – it is in 4/4 time, and set in the key of

C Major.i The vocal line stays within a very narrow interval, the lowest note being the E

note found in the first measure of the verse and the highest being the high-A note found

in the first bar of the chorus; this interval amounts to one and one half octaves. The lyrics

are almost comically repetitive, as the chorus sings the line “let it be” almost incessantly.

But if one looks a little deeper, it is this simplicity that enables the message of the song to

ring true.

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The verse is sung in C Major, and utilizes the cadences of F Major and G Major,

the IV Major and V Major respectively, to keep the pulse of the song moving forward

towards the next C, which acts as the tonal center for the melody. It is during these

opening verses that we hear Paul McCartney’s voice singing his request to the heavens –

“When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me…speaking words of

wisdom – ‘let it be.’” It is in the verses of the song that McCartney sets the tone for this

despondent figure, someone with whom we can all sympathize. But it isn’t until the

chorus before this mournful character actually finds himself in his “hour of darkness,”

and it is in the chorus that he, for the first time, takes the heavens’ advice to heart when

he himself whispers the words “let it be.”

It is in this first chorus that “Let It Be” takes a turn, and through this turn, the

music is able to sustain the mood of the lyrics. The song changes keys to the VI Minor

chord, A Minor, the relative minor of C Major, the song’s original key. It is here that the

song takes on a new, sorrowful life in this brief passage in the minor key. In truth, the

overall feeling of the motif does not change all that much, while it utilizes 16th/8th note

groupings, it is still centered around the tonic, C. Not to be overlooked is the entrance of

the beautiful harmonies of the John Lennon and George Harrison. This background

effect, which sounds almost like a smaller version of a gospel choir, adds a great deal of

positive emotion to the uplifting nature of the chorus.

As the song progresses back to the verse, it does so with the entrance of the rest of

the band; now McCartney’s beautiful voice and subtle piano playing are framed by the

sound of Ringo Starr’s drummingii, John Lennon’s bass guitar

iii, and Billy Preston’s

organ.iv

In addition, The Beatles’ producer, Phil Specter later added an orchestral horn

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section, which adds an even thicker layer of background harmony to the already full

texture of the band’s signature sound.

After a restatement of the song’s verse and chorus, there is a brief musical

interlude, provided primarily by Billy Prestons’s lush organ, which then leads to George

Harrison’s heavily distorted guitar solo. George’s solo depends heavily on the A Minor

pentatonic scale as well as a few “double-stop bends” which he borrowed from the

country music guitar stars such as the legendary Chet Atkins. After the guitar solo, the

song continues in its AAB format, and Paul McCartney continues to sing the lyrics with

all the power and beauty for which he is adored.

In conclusion, “Let It Be,” is full of simple harmonies, pedestrian chords, and

employs a minimalist structure. On a technical level, it is almost hard to believe that this

song (and The Beatles catalog in general) has garnered unanimous praise for over half a

century. But this is precisely what enables “Let It Be” to work so well; the music and the

lyrics come together and speak so beautifully of one powerful message, a message which

is simple enough for everyone to feel an immediate and undeniable connection.

i With only one exception, the Bb Major chord which appears in the song’s musical interlude and outro, all

of the notes and chords which make up “Let It Be” are diatonic to the key of C Major. ii At times, Ringo’s drumming sounds almost criminally off-tempo. Not surprisingly, upon being asked if

Ringo Starr was the best drummer in the world, John Lennon replied, “he’s not the best drummer in The

Beatles, baby!” (emphasis added) iii

Paul McCartney usually played the bass guitar; John Lennon assumed that role on this song as Paul

played the piano while he sang. iv Billy Preston, also known as “the fifth Beatle” played the organ on a number of The Beatles’ hits.

Although he was only playing as a “musician-for-hire,” his playing is heard throughout The Beatles album

“Let It Be,” which was released in 1970.