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Title of song: Yesterday

Artist: The Beatles

Composer or songwriter: Paul McCartney

Lyrics: Paul McCartney/John Lennon

Producer: Sir George Henry Martin

City where recorded: Westminster, London

Year recorded and year released: 12 May 1965. Released on 13 September, 1965 by Capitol in

the United States

Record company / significant reissues: EMI Studios

Length of the song: 00:01:56 (youtube.com)

Interesting facts related to the history of the song:

- The melody first came to Paul McCartney in his dream when he was staying at his

girlfriend’s house at 57 Wimpole Street, London.

- Without the lyrics, McCartney initially entitled his song “Scrambled Eggs” with the

lyrics going ‘Scrambled eggs, oh, my baby, how I love your legs…’

Voice: Paul McCartney

Instrumentation: Tony Gilbert (first violin), Sidney Sax (second violin), Francisco

Gabarro(cello) and Kenneth Essex (viola)

Style: Rock & Roll (Bluesy)

Form: Blues (Bach’s)

Improvisation: No improvisation

Hook present: “I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday”

Types of chords/progression: F- Em- A7- Dm7- Dm7/C- Bb7- C7- F- F/E- Dm7- G- Bb- F
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Musicianship level: Advanced

Recording effects: Vocals, acoustic guitar, violins, cello and viola

Time signature: A simple two-measure introduction of vamping acoustic guitar sets

the stage, Paul thumping the bass notes on the one- and three- beat of both measures

Special rhythmic devices: A concentration of strings

Extended techniques: Paul McCartney on vocal and acoustics and a double tracking at

the end of the final bridge

Timbral effects: Soft lyrical voice with string quartet

Lyrical content (what the song is “about”): The singer speaks about an affair that he had in the

past wherein he was left by his lover. He did not know any reason about why his beloved left

him and he is now longing for that relationship he had. However, he cannot be with his love of

yesterday so he now looks for a place to hide away.

Double entendres:

- “I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday

Rhyme scheme:

“Yesterday”

The Beatles-1965

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away (a)

Now it looks as though they're here to stay (a)
Oh, I believe in yesterday. (a)

Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be, (b)

There's a shadow hanging over me. (b)
Oh, yesterday came suddenly. (b)
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Why she had to go I don't know she wouldn't say. (a)

I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday. (a)

Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play. (a)

Now I need a place to hide away. (a)
Oh, I believe in yesterday. (a)
Interpretation:

Yesterday is quite a detour from the usual Rock and Roll songs of the Beatles and it has

become a signature song for Paul McCartney that showed another side of him as a an artist.

Originality: Original

Rock and Roll Song Analysis: Yesterday by the Beatles

The song “Yesterday” by the Beatles is a well-loved song from the time it was first sung

publicly until these days. The song was first performed solo by Paul McCartney in June, 1965,

during one of the popular rock and roll group’s concert. The song is very lovely and interesting

as its story of creation. It is said that the melody of the song came to McCartney during his sleep

and rung through his mind in the morning, he had to play it over and over again for him to

remember it. Initially, he used “scrambled eggs” for his lyrics as a technique in remembering the

tune and gave the same title to it. Perhaps one of the qualities that made the song special and

different from the other Beatles songs is the length of time that was spent on it. The composer

says that it is unlike their other songs wherein they were able to sit for just a few hours and they

would be able to complete a song. For “Yesterday”, it took months to have the lyrics finally

finalized. After filming the movie “Help”, McCartney and his girlfriend, Jane Asher went on

vacation to the southern coast of Portugal. On their way to the villa where they were supposed to
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stay, the singer composed the lyrics of the song in the car during their drive to Lisbon while

Asher was asleep in the car. The composer says that the words came easily to him that time but it

took him another two weeks to polish the song ready for the recording on June 14, 1965. The

recording took place at EMI, Westminster in London. Since the Beatles was known as a group,

there have been issues about the song being sung solo by the composer. Although there were no

objections to it by the other members, McCartney thought they should perform as a group.

However, it was decided that he should perform the song alone. There was also a suggestion that

the song should be under McCartney’s name alone but he insisted that it should be attributed to

the group instead. There have been some differences in the claims of the singers about the

composition of the song. It is known that John Lennon once implied that they helped finish the

song saying, “We just helped finish off the ribbons ‘round it-, you know- trying it up” that his

name often appears as a co-composer. This was said in 1966 but the following years after that, it

seemed that all the members claimed that it was McCartney’s melody and lyrics alone

(Rybaczewski).

One of the problems that the group encountered in performing the song is the fact that

they are a rock and roll group. The song is did not quite match with the instruments used by the

band and most of the players dropped their instruments for the song. There have been

considerations about what instruments were to go along with the acoustics played by McCartney

as he sung the song. Finally, it has been decided that Tony Gilbert would play the first violin,

Sidney Sax on the second violin, Francisco Gabarro for the cello and Kenneth Essex for the viola

as requested by McCartney that the instruments will be limited to four only (Rybaczewski). The

plan worked just well keeping in context the song’s message not only in the mood created by the
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lyrics, melody and instruments but also in creating an atmosphere that brought the message more

dramatically.

“Yesterday” is said to be one of the most popular songs of the Beatles. For McCartney, it

was not just known to be his composition with an interesting history but it has become his

signature song as well. Among the four singers, it was only McCartney who seemed to have been

given the chance of a solo that deviated from their songs. However, it has been well-accepted by

their fans and it became very popular and still continues to touch the hearts and minds of

listeners in this modern generation. The song and singer have become legends with the records

that have been set in the music world and perhaps, with the quality of the song, it will perhaps

continue to live as a legacy of the icon.

References

McCartney, Paul. “Yesterday”. Youtube.com. 1965. Web. November 6, 2012.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oXPgZjm6Uk>.

Rybaczewski, Dave. “Yesterday: History”. Beatles Music History: The In-Depth Story Behind

the Songs of the Beatles. DKR Products. n.d. web. November 6, 2012.
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< http://www.beatlesebooks.com/yesterday>.