let it be and the dream behind it

in 1968, paul mccartney was going through what he called a hard, paranoid period. the beatles were under strain during the white album sessions. one night, he dreamed of his mother mary, who had died when he was fourteen. he said he saw her face clearly and felt reassured by her message: it will be all right. let it be.

mccartney said he woke feeling blessed by the visit. he went to the piano and put the dream into a song. “mother mary comes to me” refers to his mother. mary was her name.

it was so wonderful for me and she was very reassuring. in the dream she said, "it’ll be all right." i’m not sure if she used the words "let it be" but that was the gist.
paul mccartney, many years from now

mccartney does not claim that he remembers every word. he is clear about the visit and the feeling, but careful about the exact phrase. that stated uncertainty is part of the primary record.

let it be — remastered 2009apple corps, official audio

the song became the title track of the band’s last released album. the dream also belongs to a familiar type: people in grief often report vivid dreams of someone who died and describe them as deeply consoling. whatever the cause, mccartney carried the reassurance into waking life and gave it a lasting form.

mother returns

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