“The Long and Winding Road,” The Beatles,
From LET IT BE; 1970. Composer: Paul McCartney.
Let It Be Sonneta
I’ve got a feeling envisioned in my dreams,
More than one or two of us, everyone
Covet peace, abandon evil greed schemes,
Lest we annihilate ourselves spare none.
All need traverse the long and winding road,
Serene for one’s self and one another.
Calm begins within, the pacifist’s code,
Care everywhere each sister and brother.
Long era of I me mine proved empty,
This journey we cannot get back again.
So, know when the time comes to let it be;
May people across the universe blend.
Fifty years passed since the Beatles’ first song;
Listen hear heed words to lead us lifelong. ---Lisa Cole-Allen
What is it about “The Long and Winding Road” that
brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it? Perhaps
it’s the same introspective lyrics or melancholic
melody that made the song so meaningful to Paul
McCartney. He composed the song in 1968 while in
solitude at his farm in Scotland, preoccupied with the
mounting tension and apparent professional discontent
amongst the band mates while making The White Album.
McCartney had a specific vision for this song. He wanted it
to be “real;” it was to be simply “them.” Their producer,
Phil Spector, without consulting McCartney added an array
of strings, horns and women’s choir background vocals.
For most listeners the song was an exquisite, unforgettable
production, but McCartney was livid at what he viewed as
an intrusion on his song written with intense love and sadness.
“The Long and Winding Road” was the Beatles’ final number
one hit song from their final album, when they all knew it was
time to Let It Be.
“The Long and Winding Road”
The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear
I've seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to your door
The wild and windy night
That the rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears
Crying for the day
Why leave me standing here
Let me know the way
Many times I've been alone
And many times I've cried
Any way you'll never know
The many ways I've tried
But still they lead me back
To the long winding road
You left me standing here
A long, long time ago
Don't leave me waiting here
Lead me to your door
But still they lead me back
To the long winding road
You left me standing here
A long, long time ago
Don't keep me waiting here
Lead me to your door
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
“The Long and Winding Road” has been documented as a
song of unrequited, yet inevitable love. McCartney has said that
he wrote it as a vehicle to acknowledge the depth of his own feelings.
When the song was soaring the charts, my take on it was
that it was a spiritual song. The lines “lead me to your door”
and “let me know the way” swayed my thoughts that it meant
the winding road of the path of righteousness. Yet, a closer look
discounts that view: “anyway you’ll never know/ the many ways
I’ve tried.” Being omniscient, God knows all, so that doesn’t meld
with a spiritual meaning. Also, the repetition of the lines, “but
still they lead me back/ to the long winding road/ you left me
standing here/ a long long time ago.” Notice the plural “they,”
and the “you” could be a plural you as well.
McCartney wrote “The Long and Winding Road” to represent
the “wild and windy” career of the Beatles, the intense love he
will always have for his band mates and his bereft sense that it
was about to end, leaving him “standing here” alone. The last line,
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,” reminiscent of the early Beatles’ song,
“She Loves You,” was a direct message to the guys of memories
for the good times of The Fab Four.
Looking at these lyrics today, I realize the timelessness of
McCartney’s words. Now, I view the “door” at the end of the
“long and winding road” to be peace, both within ourselves
and throughout the world, the path fraught with obstacles and
often circuitous, but achievable if we could all just Let It Be.
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Rock Poetry Line by Line
PoetryIf the words are unimportant, all music would be instrumentals.
