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TL;DR:

  • Marianne Faithfull’s cover of The Beatles’ “Yesterday” sounds much more desperate than the original.
  • Her version includes a melancholy piano, world-weary lead vocals, and some heavenly backing vocals.
  • The Beatles’ “Yesterday” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.
Marianne Faithfull in front of a brick wall
Marianne Faithfull | Stanley Sherman / Stringer

The Beatles‘ “Yesterday” has been covered numerous times. Marianne Faithfull, a singer who famously dated Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, recorded her own version of the track. Arguably, Faithfull’s recording might be better than the Fab Four’s original.

The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’ might be about a young person taking a situation too seriously

When Paul McCartney sings “Yesterday,” it has an air of innocence to it. Paul’s voice sounds so youthful. It’s easy to imagine he’s playing the part of a young man struggling through his first break-up. With that in mind, The Beatles’ “Yesterday” might be about a young man being melodramatic because he hasn’t dealt with a romantic tragedy before.

Faithfull was also young when she recorded “Yesterday.” Despite this, her voice has more maturity to it. When she sings Paul’s melancholic lyrics, the tune feels more world-weary and desperate. Her cover also features mournful choral backing vocals. The grandiose singing makes the tragedy of the song feel almost spiritual.

The Beatles’ version of the song is a lot more restrained than Marianne Faithfull’s rendition

The instrumentation of Faithfull’s “Yesterday” is also more layered than the Fab Four’s version. The cover adds a harp that makes the track more dramatic. Replacing the acoustic guitar with a piano was a smart choice. The Beatles’ “Yesterday” is one of the most famous baroque pop songs, but Faithfull’s rendition leans more heavily into baroque music.

Of course, some listeners might find Faithfull’s cover overwrought. The understated sadness of The Beatles’ song might be an asset. Paul was clearly leaning on the track’s lyrics to convey emotion instead of his voice or his instruments. The simplicity of the track is what makes it so easy to adapt to other genres.

Related

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How the original ‘Yesterday’ and Marianne Faithfull’s cover performed on the pop charts

The Beatles’ “Yesterday” was a massive hit. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, staying on the chart for 11 weeks in total. The tune appeared on the soundtrack of The Beatles’ film Help! and overshadowed all the other songs on the album, including the title track and “Ticket to Ride.” That album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for nine of its 46 weeks on the chart.

On the other hand, Faithfull’s “Yesterday” did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Notably, none of Faithfull’s songs reached the top 20 in the United States. Faithfull’s biggest single in the U.S. was “As Tears Go By,” a Mick Jagger-Keith Richards composition which peaked at No. 22. Her “Yesterday” appeared on the album Go Away from My World. The album peaked at No. 81 on the Billboard 200, lasting on the chart for 16 weeks.

Faithfull’s “Yesterday” remains obscure — but it deserves far more attention.

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