Paul McCartney has said that The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ was subconsciously inspired by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
The music legend spoke about the origins of this classic track from the Fab Four, during an episode of his podcast show, McCartney: A Life in Lyrics.
According to McCartney, his late mother Mary said the phrase ‘Let It Be’ to him in a dream, with the musician stating that Hamlet may have inspired him to write the hit.
Mary McCartney passed away from cancer in 1956, when Paul was just 14 years old.
“to be or not to be” – McCartney Talks Hamlet Link
In this episode of McCartney: A Life In Lyrics, Macca addressed how this track came about.
“In those days [at school], I had to learn speeches off by heart. So I could still do a bit of ‘to be or not to be’, or ‘O that this too too solid flesh”, he said.
McCartney continued, “And it had been pointed out to me recently that Hamlet, when he has been poisoned, he actually says, ‘Let it be’ – act five, scene two. He says ‘Let be’ the first time, then the second time he says, ‘Had I but time — as this fell sergeant, Death, Is strict in his arrest — oh, I could tell you. But let it be Horatio”.
“I was interested that I was exposed to those words during a time when I was studying Shakespeare so that years later the phrase appears to me in a dream with my mother saying it”.
On the dream which saw his late mother say the phrase to him, Paul also added, “It was great to visit with her again. I felt very blessed to have that dream. So that got me writing ‘Let It Be’”.
Another Beatles track ‘Hey Jude’ was the subject of discussion earlier this month, when late Beatles singer John Lennon’s son Julian stated that the song has left him “driven up the wall”.
Despite being written by Paul McCartney as an attempt to comfort Julian over his parents’ separation, the singer has stated that it only serves as a “dark” reminder of painful memories.
