Beatles ( The ) - Let it be

First performance: 15/03/1999


Coverinfo

Bruce performed the song only once:
 
 
In 1999 during the show of his own induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He was on stage in the closing jam with an all star band ( Wilson Pickett, Billy Joel , Bono, Paul McCartney, Robbie Robertson, Dion, Roy Bittan, Nils Lofgren, Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Bonnie Raitt, Melissa Etheridge, Chris Isaak, The Staple Singers, Max Weinberg, D'Angelo, Peter Wolf, Paul Shaffer; Tom "Bones" Malone, Bruce Kapler, and Al Chez.
 
A live version is released on Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Live Volume 5: 1998–1999 (Compilation, 2011)/The Best Of Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame + Museum: Live (Compilation, 2011) (recorded March 15, 1999). 
 
 
 
 

Songinfo

"Let It Be" is a song by the Beatles, released in March 1970 as a single, and (in an alternate mix) as the title track of their album Let It Be. It was the final single before McCartney announced his departure from the band. McCartney said he had the idea of "Let It Be" after he had a dream about his mother during the tense period surrounding the sessions for The Beatles ("the White Album") in 1968. McCartney explained that his mother – who died of cancer when he was fourteen – was the inspiration for the "Mother Mary" lyric. He 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'. He also said in a later interview about the dream that his mother had told him, "It will be all right, just let it be.
 
 
 

Bruce on the artist

During the 2012 SXSW Keynote Address

" The Beatles were cool. They were classical, formal, and created the idea of an independent unit where everything could come out of your garage. The "Meet the Beatles" album cover, those four head shots. I remember, I seen 'em at J. J. Newberry's. It was the first thing I saw when you ran down to the five–and–ten cent store. There were no record stores. There weren't enough records, I don't think, in those days. There was a little set by the toys where they sold a few albums. And I remember running in and seeing that album cover with those four headshots. It was like the silent gods of Olympus. Your future was just sort of staring you in the face. I remember thinking, "That's too cool. I'm never gonna get there, man, never." And then in some fanzine I came across a picture of the Beatles in Hamburg. And they had on the leather jackets and the slick–backed pompadours, they had acned faces. I said, hey, "Wait a minute, those are the guys I grew up with, only they were Liverpool wharf rats." So minus their Nehru jackets and the haircuts – so these guys, they're kids. They're a lot cooler than me, but they're still kids. There must be a way to get there from here. "

 

Lyrics

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
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, let it be, 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 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
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