The Beatles, “Don’t Let Me Down” (B-side of “Get Back,” 1969): Deep Beatles
“It’s a love that lasts forever, It’s a love that had no past.”
When John Lennon sang these words in “Don’t Let Me Down,” he was also living them. He had found new love with Yoko Ono, and his life and art were rapidly changing. Recorded during the Get Back sessions and released as the B-side to the “Get Back” single, “Don’t Let Me Down” provides a snapshot of Lennon’s private side; in addition, his passionate performance demonstrates how he possessed one of the best voices in rock.
“Don’t Let Me Down” can be seen as a companion piece to “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” another song about his love for Ono. In “She’s So Heavy,” the narrator takes on an almost desperate tone: He needs his lover to save him, not just seduce him. “When you’re drowning, you don’t say ‘I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,’ you just scream,” Lennon told Rolling Stone in 1971. In Barry Miles’ Many Years from Now, Paul McCartney explained that the lyrics accurately described the emotionally turbulent period in Lennon’s life. “‘Don’t Let Me Down’ was a genuine plea. … It was saying to Yoko, ‘I’m really stepping out of line on this one. I’m really letting my vulnerability be seen, so you must not let me down.’ I think it was a genuine cry for help. It was a good song,” he said.
The first inklings of “Don’t Let Me Down” surfaced in the final weeks of 1968; according to Walter Everett’s The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver through the Anthology, John Lennon and Yoko Ono were giving a press conference when a reporter asked about any projects they were working on. Strumming an acoustic guitar, Lennon played the chorus and hummed, stating it was all he could remember. He would record a demo during that year, although the lyrics were still a work in progress as were the chord changes, particularly the “I’m in love for the first time” section.
By: Kit O'Toole
Source: Something Else Reviews
