There are scarcely songs that are more widely known than this, no set of chords more ubiquitous among the western classical and rock and pop canon than the ukulele chords Let It Be is made up of. As ever those Beatles smashed it out of the park, delivering late into their career unto the world a banger of magnanimous proportions, to oft squash the entirety of popular culture in its wake.
The Story of the Ukulele Chords Let It Be is Made Up Of
McCartney claims he had the idea for ‘Let It Be’ after he had a dream about his mother during the tense period surrounding the sessions for The Beatles (what is colloquially referred to as ‘the White Album’) in 1968. Mary Patricia McCartney died of cancer in 1956, when Paul was just fourteen.
In rehearsing the song with the Beatles in January 1969, in place of the ‘Mother Mary’ lyric, McCartney occasionally sang ‘Brother Malcolm’, a reference to the Beatles’ assistant Mal Evans.
McCartney later said: ‘It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing ‘Let It Be’, going on to add in a later interview about the dream that his mother had told him, ‘It will be all right, just let it be.’
When asked if the phrase ‘Mother Mary’ in the song referred to the Mother of Jesus, McCartney has typically replied that listeners can interpret the song however they like, as should be the case for any songwriter worth their salt. Indeed, countless other have gone on to interpret the song biblically and for the allusions it makes to the various sects and subcategories of Christianity.
The Lyrics to Let It Be
Given that the entirety of the song can be played with just eight chords, it would be pertinent to explore the lyrics in more detail, though before we go on the chords will be detailed below, for your diligent study:
Before 2021, the film performance of ‘Let It Be’ on the Apple Records Rooftop was never officially released as an audio recording, though since the release fans have noticed that the lyrics in this version and the recorded version differ a little in the last verse. The studio version has ‘mother Mary comes to me … there will be an answer’, whereas the film version features ‘mother Mary comes to me … there will be no sorrow’.
Additionally, McCartney’s vocal performance is noticeably different in both versions. For example, in the film version, it sounds rough in certain moments since he is not using anti-pop on his mic, and there are also a couple of falsetto vocals performed by him (extending the vocal sound ‘e’ on the word ‘be’), for instance in the ‘let it be’ line that precedes the second chorus.
The Actual Lyrics to Sing Along to
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
Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when 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
Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Yeah, there will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Ah, let it be, yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the night is cloudy
There is still a light that shines on me
Shine on until tomorrow, let it be
I wake up to the sound of music,
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Let it be, yeah, let it be
Oh, there will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Let it be, yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
Final Tones
So, there you have it, a comprehensive and, I hope, useful tool for you to explore yet another tendril attached to the vast compositional universe as sculpted and carved out by the fab four Liverpudlians who, whether seeking to or not, changed popular music forever!
