In the spirit of the Beatles 50th anniversary of the Ed Sullivan show, I'm choosing one of their greatest songs: Let it Be. A song that sends that classic counter-culture, peace vibe in an original and heartfelt way, this song incorporates true passion, a meaningful message, and (in my opinion) one of the greatest guitar solos of all time. Paul McCartney, who wrote the song, describes how in "times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom, Let it be." The figure of Mary takes double meaning as, for all of us, the Virgin Mary who presumably is there to comfort us all in our hours of need, but for Paul, the figure is also his actual mother named Mary who passed away when Paul was young. The other tool used in the song is alliteration from the chorus, "Whisper words of wisdom." This emphasizes the next line which is repeated 38 times throughout the song. Without a doubt the repetition of "let it be" is the most obvious tool, and it is probably the most effective. As a song of peace and restraint, the repetition of a short, unorthodox but vaguely applicable to any troubling situation, soothes the audience into appreciation for its message. That and a wicked guitar solo. Seriously the amount of times I've played the air guitar in the car listening to this song is disturbing. I may cause an accident soon.
The amazing guitar solo isn't in this version, but Paul's beard was too spectacular for me not to include it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26bZZwPs5zM
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