What do the Lyrics of the Beatles’ “Let It Be” Really Mean?

Paul McCartney is a genius when it comes to songwriting. The British-born former Beatle knows how to captivate, educate and even obfuscate when it comes to his message and lyrics. For evidence of this look no further than the hit song by the former Mop Tops, “Let It Be.”

Why is this song such a work of genius craftsmanship? Even though Beatle John Lennon has said, “I don’t know what [Paul was] thinking when he writes ‘Let It Be’.” We think we do. Keep reading to find out.

The Beatles Breakup

The Beatles were a comet. The one that burned the brightest. Formed in 1960 by young teenagers in Liverpool, England, the band broke up in 1969 or 1970, depending on how you want to count it. Their final album was the 1970 release, Let It Be, which recently earned renewed attention thanks to the elaborate 2021 docu-series on Disney+, The Beatles: Get Back.

The docu-series shows the Fab Four in 1968 working on their final album under a time crunch, thanks to a movie that Ringo Starr was set to shoot. But there is more happening, guitarist George Harrison quits the band for a few days. Frontmen John Lennon and Paul McCartney are both clinging to their twin-flame artistic relationship and are constantly at odds. Both men are also shadowed by new love interests, Yoko Ono and Linda McCartney. In Get Back, we see a band on the edge. But through tension can come great art.

“Let It Be”

When a group is breaking up, it can be easy to think that each member splitting apart is hopeful, and excited to go onto their next journey. But we forget: it can be a sad time, too. Enter McCartney and his woeful, but classic, piano song, “Let It Be.”

And here is where his genius shows itself: the song, as pretty as anything written, seems so timeless. “Times of trouble,” “Mother Mary,” and “Hour of darkness,” are all phrases McCartney uses in the song to both make the track timeless and to throw us off the scent of where his heart is as he’s writing the song in real time. Yes, he’s heartbroken. His band is about to be no more. His friendships fractured. His music muddled. He’s at a crossroads. And he knows it. So what does he do? The thing he’s best at: write a song.

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

He’s telling himself in real-time, yes this is hard, Yes this is sad, yes this is YOUR hour of darkness. But you have to let it go. And who is Mother Mary? Likely his new wife, Linda. She is there, to help him through this time. The light at the end of the Beatle tunnel. One has to accept change. But Paul leaves hope, too. Maybe the band of “broken-hearted people” will get back together.

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

But while the Beatles never got back together—perhaps largely because Lennon was murdered in 1980, a mere 10 years after the band broke up. There will always be the musical magic they made together, even in their “darkest” hour.

Photo by Universal Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images