10) Let it Be
The song was inspired by a dream Paul McCartney had in which his late mother visited him and told him, "It will be all right, just let it be." McCartney later commented that he felt blessed for the dream, and that he was able to see his mother again.
9) All My Loving
This is one of the few songs where McCartney wrote the lyrics before the melody. He conceived the song as a poem while he was shaving, and later commented that he originally envisioned a country western theme to the song.
8) Strawberry Fields Forever
'Strawberry Fields' refers to a Salvation Army Children's Home from John Lennon's childhood. Every year, a Salvation Army band played there, and the lyric "nothing to get hung about" refers to something Lennon's Aunt Mimi used to say when young Lennon was afraid they were going to be late to see the band.
7) We Can Work it Out
McCartney wrote the music, verses and bridges to the song before bringing it to Lennon to finish it. Lennon wrote eight lines in the middle section, slightly countering McCartney's optimistic lyrics.
6) In My Life
The song came about when journalist Kenneth Allsop told Lennon he should write songs about his childhood. Lennon wrote a long poem but did not like what he wrote, calling it "the most boring sort of 'What I Did On My Holidays Bus Trip' song." He and McCartney then worked on the song together, and very little of the original version made it into the song.
5) Get Back
This is the very last Beatles song on the album 'Let It Be,' the final album before the band officially split up. It's the only Beatles song to credit another artist (Billy Preston). The entire evolution of 'Get Back' is documented, mostly illegally, in the form of bootleg recordings.
4) Come Together
'Come Together' was the subject of a lawsuit when Morris Levy (Chuck Berry's music publisher) realized the line "Here come ol' flattop, he come groovin' up slowly" is very similar to Berry's lyric, "Here come up flattop, he was groovin' up with me."
3) Yesterday
McCartney composed the melody of this song in his sleep one night. When he woke up, he ran to the piano and began playing it. He was afraid that he had accidentally plagiarized someone else's work without knowing it. McCartney then began to play the song for music executives, asking if they'd ever heard it. He said, "I thought if no one claimed it after a few weeks then I could have it."
2) Here Comes the Sun
The song was written by George Harrison while he was having a rough year. He was arrested for possession of marijuana and had temporarily quit the band. The song came to him when he was at friend Eric Clapton's house, away from all the troubles that were occurring in his life.
1) A Day in the Life
The prime inspiration for this song came from the death of Tara Browne, a close friend of McCartney and Lennon and heir to the Guinness fortune. The song is not a literal interpretation of Browne's death and includes a piece that McCartney had composed independently. Lennon commented, "I had the bulk of the song and the words, but he contributed this little lick floating around in his head and he couldn't use for anything."
