According to the Guinness Book of Records, "Yesterday" has the most cover versions of any song ever written. The song remains popular today with more than 3,000 recorded cover versions, the first hitting the United Kingdom top 10 three months after the release of Help!. Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) asserts that it was performed over seven million times in the 20th century alone.
Despite never being a UK number one single, "Yesterday" was voted the best song of the 20th century in a 1999 BBC Radio 2 poll of music experts and listeners.
"Yesterday" takes the form of a melancholic acoustic ballad about a break-up. It was the first official recording by The Beatles that relied upon a performance by a single member of the band -- Paul McCartney was accompanied solely by a string quartet. Producer George Martin once stated "Paul wanted this to be a rock song, but I told him it's impossible, I offered him a string quartet instead". The final recording differed so greatly from other works by The Beatles that the other three members of the band vetoed the release of the song as a single in the United Kingdom. Although credited to Lennon/McCartney, the song was written solely by McCartney. In 2002, McCartney asked Yoko Ono if she would consider reversing the songwriting credits on the song to read "McCartney/Lennon". Ono refused
"Yesterday" has been recognised as the most recorded song in the history of popular music; its entry in the Guinness Book of Records suggests over 1600 different cover versions to date, by an eclectic mix of artists including The Mamas and the Papas and Barry McGuire, The Seekers, Joan Baez, Michael Bolton, Bob Dylan, Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Daffy Duck, Jan & Dean, Wet Wet Wet, Plácido Domingo, The Head Shop, Billy Dean, En Vogue, Muslim Magomayev and Boyz II Men. In 1976, David Essex did a cover version of the song for the ephemeral musical documentary All This and World War II. After Muzak switched in the 1990s to programs based on commercial recordings, Muzak's inventory grew to include about 500 "Yesterday" covers. At the 2006 Grammy Awards, McCartney performed the song live as a mash-up with Linkin Park and Jay-Z's Numb/Encore. It is Vladimir Putin's favourite Beatles song.
"Yesterday" won the Ivor Novello Award for 'Outstanding Song of 1965', and came second for 'Most Performed Work of the Year', losing out to another McCartney composition, "Michelle". The song has received its fair share of acclaim in recent times as well, ranking 13th on Rolling Stone's 2004 list The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[28] In 1999, Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) placed "Yesterday" third on their list of songs of the 20th century most performed on American radio and television, with approximately seven million performances. "Yesterday" was surpassed only by The Association's "Never My Love" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Loving Feeling".
"Yesterday," however, has also been criticised for being mundane and mawkish; Bob Dylan had a marked dislike for the song, stating that "If you go into the Library of Congress, you can find a lot better than that. There are millions of songs like 'Michelle' and 'Yesterday' written in Tin Pan Alley". Ironically, Dylan ultimately recorded his own version of "Yesterday" four years later, but it was never released.
Shortly before his death in 1980, Lennon explained that he thought the lyrics didn't "resolve into any sense... They're good—but if you read the whole song, it doesn't say anything; you don't know what happened. She left and he wishes it were yesterday—that much you get—but it doesn't really resolve. ... Beautiful—and I never wished I'd written it."
"Yesterday" was voted Best Song of the 20th Century in a 1999 BBC Radio poll
Yesterday
The Beatles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Suddenly
I'm not half the man I used to be
There's a shadow hangin' over me
Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday
Yesterday
Love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday
Yesterday
Love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
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The Beatles’ Yesterday is a melancholic, introspective song about heartbreak, regret, and the fleeting nature of happiness. Paul McCartney, the songwriter, pours out his emotions through the lyrics, expressing his longing for an idyllic past that he can never have back. The opening line, “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away,” invites listeners to delve into the singer’s feelings of nostalgia as he reflects on a time when life was simpler and he had not yet experienced the pain of losing a loved one.
McCartney describes how suddenly everything changed, trading his past happiness for the shadow of the present. He believes that the pain he is enduring is here to stay, and he yearns for a time that’s gone forever. The lyrics, “Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say; I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday,” gives a hint of the reason behind his sadness, which is the loss of a romantic partner. He blames himself for the breakup, implying that he may have said or done something that led to the end of the relationship.
As the song progresses, McCartney mourns how love, which once seemed so effortless, has now become a difficult game to play. He seeks solace in hiding away from the world that no longer feels kind or forgiving. The final line, “Oh, I believe in yesterday,” shows that despite the pain he is experiencing, he has a deep appreciation for his past experiences and memories. He clings to them as a reminder of a time when he was happy, innocent and carefree.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterday
Reflecting on the past
All my troubles seemed so far away
In the past, problems felt small and insignificant
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Current problems feel permanent and inescapable
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Nostalgia for simpler times
Suddenly
Abrupt change in circumstance
I'm not half the man I used to be
Feeling diminished and inadequate
There's a shadow hangin' over me
A looming sense of sadness or regret
Oh, yesterday came suddenly
Sudden onset of nostalgia or regret
Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say
Confusion and sadness over a lost love
I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday
Regret over a mistake and longing for the past
Yesterday
Reflecting on the past
Love was such an easy game to play
Love used to come easily
Now I need a place to hide away
Craving solitude and escape from current problems
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Nostalgia for simpler times
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Musical interlude
Lyrics © TuneCore Inc., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul McCartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Philip Kassabian
A classic song that will live on.