Yesterday

By John T. Marck

McCartney's masterpiece, that he recorded on June 14, 1965. This is probably Paul's most successful song, as Yesterday has been recorded more than 2500 times by other artists over the years, being the most recorded song in music history. The tune for Yesterday came to him during the night. As he awoke, he went straight to the piano and played the complete tune. So easy this was, Paul feared that the tune must be from another song or belonged to another. To get a feel for the lyrics, Paul first titled it "Scrambled Eggs," followed by the lyrics, "Oh you've got such lovely legs." For the next month or so, Paul played the song for many people, asking them if they had ever heard it, still believing the tune came from another. No one had heard it before and consequently, Yesterday was born. When Yesterday was initially released, it received some criticism and controversy from the press, when they learned that it was a purely McCartney recording, without the other three Beatles', yet released under the name of The Beatles. The music for the song was played by Paul on an acoustic guitar, and the instrumentation was provided by George Martin. People feared at the time that this was McCartney's break into a solo career, but this was not true, not at least for another five years. It has been said that during the filming of "Help!" Paul drove the other Beatles' crazy by playing the song over and over again.

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away,

Now it look 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, mmmm

NOTE: All lyrics contained herein are © Copyright Northern Songs. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. The lyrics contained herein are for the sole use of educational reference for the readers of this article. All other uses are in violation of international copyright laws. This use for educational reference, falls under the "fair use" sections of U.S. copyright law. Copyright © 2000-2022 by John T. Marck. All Rights Reserved. This article and their accompanying pictures, photographs, and line art, may not be resold, reprinted, or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission from the author, or the registered copyright holders. Except as otherwise stated above, all information contained in this article, EXCEPT song titles, lyrics, and photographs © John T. Marck.