Courtesy of Apple Records
Courtesy of Apple Records
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Q: I recall when I was a kid and the Beatle song LET IT BE came out; deejays were saying how the words “mother Mary” were referring to marijuana. Was it?

A: No. I remember that too and it was complete baloney. The lyric “Mother Mary comes to me” was indeed interpreted by some lame deejays as a drug reference - “mother” being a term for a dope pusher. Others saw it as a religious lyric, believing it was speaking of the Virgin Mary...but it wasn't that, either. Paul McCartney's mother's name was Mary – and here's what he said about that particular lyric: “I had a dream one night about my mother. She died when I was 14, so I hadn't heard from her in quite a while and it was very good. It gave me some strength. In my darkest hour, mother Mary had come to me.” On a separate note, while Paul was composing LET IT BE, he imagined Aretha Franklin recording it; she eventually did. John Lennon always believed Paul got the inspiration for LET IT BE's music from the Simon & Garfunkel song BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER but there was nothing to substantiate his belief...it was just something he felt. Fact is, the Beatles began working on LET IT BE in January 1969 and the BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER album wasn't released until January 1970 and the BOTW single didn't hit the charts until February 1970 – so Lennon's belief couldn't be true. The LET IT BE single debuted on the charts in March 1970.

 

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