Paul McCartney Thinks the Best Element in ‘Let Me Roll It’ Is the ‘Searing’ Guitar Riff That Freezes Audiences
Paul McCartney thinks the best element of his and Wings’ 1973 song, “Let Me Roll It,” is the “searing” guitar riff. It shocks and mesmerizes audiences to this day.
Paul McCartney thinks the most significant aspect of ‘Let Me Roll It’ is the guitar riff
In his book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, Paul explained that his vocals on “Let Me Roll It” sound the way they do because of the “bog echo” he used. He and The Beatles often utilized the technique. It sounds like the echo in a toilet, which British people call a “bog.”
However, the most significant aspect of “Let Me Roll It” isn’t the vocalization or the lyrics. It’s the “searing” guitar riff.
“We can talk about lyrics till the cows come home, but a good riff is a rare beauty,” Paul wrote. The bassist thinks that the guitar riff of “Let Me Roll It” is “so dramatic that people in the audience gasp when they hear it. Because it stops so abruptly, it feels like everything freezes. Time freezes.”
Paul McCartney thinks that the lyrics and riff in ‘Let Me Roll It’ relate to each other
The “Yesterday” singer thinks that the lyrics and guitar riff in “Let Me Roll It” relate to each other.
There’s an erotic aspect in the tune related to the sense of rolling that is always a part of rock ‘n’ roll. Anyone can connect with the lyrics, “My heart is like a wheel/ Let me roll it to you.” Those lines embody the struggle some people have expressing their love.
“Anyone can understand how exposed you feel when you offer your heart to, or reveal your affections for, another person. It’s very difficult,” Paul wrote.
Paul thinks this is further expressed in the guitar riff. “The hesitation we feel in that situation – of wanting to reach out but being reluctant to be completely open – is made physical in the abrupt starting and stopping of the riff,” he wrote.
“The constant cutting short of the momentum of the song mimes the subject matter. We all relate to that situation.”
Paul thinks “Let Me Roll It” is like a “long, drawn-out” nervous stammer.
The Wings song is more than a stammering love song with a ‘searing’ guitar riff
Paul is right about the deeper meaning of “Let Me Roll It.” The lyrics speak of the apprehension everyone feels entering into a relationship. There’s a back-and-forth that goes on in many people’s heads about whether to go for it or not. We all hesitate to trust people with our hearts. The starting and the stopping of the guitar riff embody that.
However, “Let Me Roll It” is so much more than a stammering love song. Every aspect of the tune, the incredible guitar riff, the lyrics, and the romantic bog echo make it an unusual love song. The riff gets one’s blood pumping, and in between, Paul’s soothing, echoed voice comes in and calms everything.
There’s more feeling in ‘Let Me Roll It” than in ordinary love songs. It has a certain amount of vulnerability and emotion. It’s one of Paul’s best love songs, and it has everything to do with the “searing” guitar riff.
