At the age of 14, Paul McCartney’s mum died suddenly from breast cancer. Shortly afterwards, he wrote his first song. 58 years ago this June he wrote his most popular composition.
Yesterday
McCartney is the voice of my youth. His songs were some of the first I learned to play on my guitar. Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs.
Music is McCartney’s world. Singer, composer, poet, writer, artist, humanitarian, entrepreneur. One of the most admired artists in the world. He is in the “Guinness Book of World Records” for most records sold, most #1s (shared), most covered song, “Yesterday” with more than 3,000 recorded cover versions.
Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) asserts that “Yesterday” was performed over seven million times in the 20th century alone. It was voted the BEST song of the 20th century in a 1999 BBC Radio 2 poll of music experts and listeners.
McCartney recorded it on Monday, June 14, 1965. The only solo Beatles song.
McCartney
He was born James Paul McCartney on June 18, 1942, in Liverpool General Hospital, where his mother, Mary, was a medical nurse and midwife. His father, Jim, was a cotton salesman and a pianist leading the Jim Mac’s Jazz Band in Liverpool.
Young McCartney attended a non-denominational church. He studied music and art, and had a happy childhood with one younger brother, Michael. At age 11, he was one of only four students who passed an exam, known as “the scholarship” in Liverpool, and gained a place at Liverpool Institute for Boys. There he studied from 1953 to 1960, earning A’s in English and Art.
In July 1957 he met John Lennon during their performances at a local church festival. McCartney impressed Lennon with his mastery of guitar and singing in a variety of styles. He soon joined Lennon’s band, The Quarrymen, and eventually became a founding member of The Beatles.
The Singer
Paul said a lot in his simple comment, “I’m not religious, but I’m very spiritual.”
According to McCartney, the name of his post-Beatles rock group, Wings, was inspired by daughter Stella McCartney‘s birth, which was premature and traumatic. Stella and her mother almost died. As his daughter was being born by emergency cesarean section, Paul sat outside the operating room and prayed that she be born “on the wings of an angel.”
In April 1998, Linda McCartney, his beloved wife of almost 30 years, mother of their four children, and his steady partner in music, died of breast cancer. McCartney suffered from a severe depression and underwent medical treatment. He spent much of the next year away from the public eye, emerging only to campaign on behalf of his late wife for animal rights and vegetarian causes.
On September 11, 2001, Paul McCartney was sitting on a plane in New York when the World Trade Center tragedy occurred. He witnessed the events from his seat.
His former band-mate George Harrison died of cancer in November, 2001.
When asked whether some of the lyrics from “Yesterday” are a reference to his early loss of his mother, Paul stated that “I didn’t mean it to be, but … it could be. Whenever you’re going through difficult times, it’s really cool to be able to escape into music.”
The Song
Yesterday,
All my troubles seemed so far away,
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay,
Oh, I believe in yesterday.
Suddenly,
I’m not half the man I used to be,
There’s a shadow hanging over me,
Oh, yesterday came suddenly.
Why she
Had to go I don’t know, she wouldn’t say.
I said,
Something wrong, now I long for yesterday.
Yesterday,
Love was such an easy game to play,
Now I need a place to hide away,
Oh, I believe in yesterday.
Why she
Had to go I don’t know, she wouldn’t say.
I said,
Something wrong, now I long for yesterday.
Yesterday,
Love was such an easy game to play,
Now I need a place to hide away,
Oh, I believe in yesterday.
Is “Yesterday” one of your favourite Beatles songs? Please join the conversation and post a comment below. Thank you.
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“Yesterday” is one of my favorite Beatles songs. The Beatles are my favorite band of all time. I remember seeing them on The Ed Sullivan show when I was a young child. My older brothers loved them too. We are “baby boomers”. The Beatles were part of The British Invasion. We loved alot of bands that came out of that era. Great music that has stood the test of time. I had the pleasure of seeing Sir Paul McCartney in concert…his second visit to Edmonton. I totally missed out on the first concert, but my brothers went. They assumed that I didn’t want to go…What??? Paul McCartney is my favorite Beatle too. Anyways, I vowed, if he ever came back…I would definitely purchase a ticket…no matter what the cost. My second oldest brother was gifted Paul McCartney concert tickets…& he asked me if I wanted to go. Well, of course, I wanted to go. So, I didn’t need to purchase a ticket. My brother blessed me with a ticket. It was 3 hours of listening to one of the most amazing singer/song writers ever. I was over the moon…& as always…bought a t-shirt to solidify my experience. I always buy them big & wear them as pajamas. I love it! Thank you for sharing your blog with us Pastor Bob. I always look forward to reading it every week. Keep on, keeping on. ❤️
I too loved the Beatles. I grew up in Calif and they were there many times I could afford to see them on my budget. I remember them on the Ed Sullivan show. It was the first time I could stay home from evening church. Yesterday was a great song. I bought the first album St Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Still have it. Maybe someday it will be worth something. Thanks for all your wonderful writings.