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The Beatles were supposedly “more popular than Jesus,” and yet their song “Let It Be” took on a religious significance to many people. That was never what the song was supposed to be. The tune became a massive hit in the United States. Years after its release, even John Lennon himself bemoaned that the track was too popular for its own good.

Paul McCartney revealed who The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ is actually about

There’s a great tradition of pop songs that sound like gospel music without being religious per se. These tracks include Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Elvis Presley’s “Burning Love,” Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” and Kesha’s “Praying.” The Beatles might have written the most famous pseudo-gospel song of all time: “Let It Be.”

It’s easy to mistake “Let It Be” for a Christian tune, considering it has a gospel soundscape.  Furthermore, the tack mentions someone called “Mother Mary.” Some Christians refer to the Virgin Mary as “Mother Mary.” During a 2011 interview with The Salt Lake Tribune, Paul said the tune was actually about his mother, Mary McCartney. Despite this, Paul’s words have not stopped some Christians from using “Let It Be” as a hymn.

Does it make sense to use a Beatles song for religious purposes?

So, is it wrong that people have recontextualized “Let It Be?” It all depends on your religious views. Some might see the Christian use of “Let It Be” as a positive form of reclamation. Others might feel that there’s something off about Christians using a song from a band that sometimes had an antagonistic attitude towards their faith.

What we cannot deny is that any controversies surrounding The Beatles and religion couldn’t stop them from producing hit after hit. “Let It Be” became a massive success in the United States. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, lasting on the chart for 14 weeks. It was the Fab Four’s penultimate No. 1 single, with the last being “The Long and Winding Road”/” For You Blue.” “Let It Be” became part of the album of the same name. The album Let It Be hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for four weeks. It lasted on the chart for 79 weeks. 

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John Lennon felt ‘Let It Be’ was 1 of the Fab Four songs that got too much attention

During a 1980 interview found in the book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the “Imagine” singer seemed to say that “Let It Be” had become overexposed. “Well, I heard some Beatles stuff on the radio the other day and I heard ‘Green Onion’ — no, ‘Glass Onion’ —I don’t even know my own songs!” he recalled. “I listened to it because it was a rare track. It’s a song they usually don’t play. 

“When a radio station has a Beatles weekend, they usually play the same ten songs — ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ ‘Help!’ ‘Yesterday,’ ‘Something,’ ‘Let It Be’ — you know, there’s all that wealth of material, but we hear only ten songs,” he added. “So the DJ says, ‘I want to thank John, Paul, George, and Ringo for not getting back together and spoiling a good thing.’ I thought it was a good sign. Maybe people are catching on.”

“Let It Be” is a great song even if it radio programmers play it on the oldies stations a little bit too much.

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