Don't Let Me Down (Beatles song)
| "Don't Let Me Down" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| A-side | "Get Back" |
"Don't Let Me Down" is a song by The Beatles, recorded in 1969 during the Get Back (Let It Be) sessions. Richie Unterberger of All Music Guide called it "one of the Beatles' most powerful love songs",[1] and Roy Carr and Tony Tyler called it "a superb sobber from misery-expert J. W. O. Lennon, MBE. And still one of the most highly underrated Beatle underbellies."[2]
An anguished love song Lennon wrote to Yoko Ono,[3] Paul McCartney interpreted it as a "genuine plea", with Lennon saying to Ono, "I'm really stepping out of line on this one. I'm really just letting my vulnerability be seen, so you must not let me down."[4] Lennon's vocals work their way into screams, presaging the primal scream stylings of the following year's John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band album.
The song is in the key of E and is in 4/4 time during the verse, chorus and bridge, but changes to 5/4 in the pickup to the verse.[5]
Recording and release
Multiple versions of "Don't Let Me Down" were recorded during the tumultuous Get Back (Let It Be) recording sessions.
- The version recorded on 30 January, 1969 was released as a b-side to the single "Get Back", recorded the same day.[6]
- The Beatles performed "Don't Let Me Down" twice during their rooftop concert of 30 January, 1969, one of which was included in the Let It Be film.[7] When the "Get Back" project was revisited, Phil Spector dropped "Don't Let Me Down" from the Let It Be album.[8]
- In 1988, the b-side version appeared on the soundtrack to the 1988 documentary, Imagine: John Lennon.
- In November 2003, an edit of the two rooftop versions was included on Let It Be... Naked.
Credits
- John Lennon – lead vocal and rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney – bass and backing vocals
- George Harrison – lead guitar and backing vocals
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Billy Preston – organ and electric piano
Cover versions
- A cover is featured on the 1969 Dillard & Clark album Through the Morning Through the Night.
- Marcia Griffiths did a reggae version of this song in 1969.
- On her 1977 album It Looks Like Snow, Phoebe Snow covered this song - her version was described as an "exquisite interpretation" by All Music Guide.
- On the European leg of their 1987 "Get Close" tour, The Pretenders included a cover of the song in their live set.
- Annie Lennox had a live version on Coldest in 1992.
- Taylor Hicks covered it during the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2006.
- Zwan covered the song many times in 2002 and 2003.
- A cover of this song by the band Stereophonics appears on the I Am Sam soundtrack.
- Paul Weller covered the song on his album Fly On The Wall - B Sides And Rarities.
- Garbage performed the song at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland as a message to the newly-elected MSPs.
- Maroon 5 played the song at a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina and on The Howard Stern Show, June 11, 2007.
- The Aggrolites performed it at many live shows.
- Matchbox Twenty covered the song on Last Call with Carson Daly.
- In 2007 Dana Fuchs covered the song for The Beatles musical film Across the Universe, directed by Julie Taymor.
- A sample of this song can be found in original song of the same name by Technicali rapper "Ariano" on his solo release "Music2BreakUp2"
Trivia
- At the 2006 East Coast Music Awards, the Trailer Park Boys character Bubbles (Mike Smith) sang a sing-a-long of the chorus, using instead "Don't Let Us Down" to the then-new Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, sitting in the front row.
Notes
- ^ "AMG Review of "Don't Let Me Down"". Retrieved 2007-02-25.
- ^ Roy Carr and Tony Tyler (1975). The Beatles: An Illustrated Record. New York: Harmony Books. p. 78. ISBN 0-517-520-451.
- ^ David Sheff (2000). All We Are Saying. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 204. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
- ^ Barry Miles (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt & Company. pp. 535–536. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
- ^ Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation (1993). The Beatles - Complete Scores. Milwaukee: Hal Leanord. pp. 220–224. ISBN 0-7935-1832-6.
- ^ Mark Lewisohn (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. p. 168. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- ^ Mark Lewisohn (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. p. 169.
- ^ Mark Lewisohn (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. pp. 196, 199.
External links
- YouTube: Beatles' performance of "Don't Let Me Down" from the rooftop concert, 30 January 1969. John Lennon flubs a line.
