For generations and generations of music lovers and ordinary people, the songs of The Beatles have provided laughter, joy, and consolation as they grow up and pass on.
From the moving lyrics of “Blackbird,” “Blackbird singing in the dead of night/Take these broken wings and learn to fly,” to the touching ode to John Lennon’s son in “Hey Jude,” “Hey Jude, don’t make it bad/Take a sad song and make it better,” many of the most emotional moments from the best-selling band of all time came from singer-songwriter Paul McCartney.
McCartney’s genius for crafting warm, heartfelt songs that take listeners on an emotional journey is unparalleled, and even today, more than 50 years later, they still ring true.
The two even stopped to add McCartney’s signature to the much-graffitied Penny Lane street sign with a sharpie marker. After, the two took a selfie with the sign behind them. A star-struck Corden was obviously blown away by visiting this historic place with the person who made it name famous around the world.
“In Penny Lane there is a barber showing photographs/Of every head he’s had the pleasure to know/And all the people that come and go/Stop and say hello.”
But it was when the two talked about and sang McCartney’s incredible ballad “Let It Be” that the tears started to flow. First, it was McCartney’s turn as he remembered one of his greatest sources of inspiration, his mother Mary McCartney. “I had a dream in the 60s,” McCartney explained, “where my mom who had died [in 1956] came to me in the dream, reassuring me, and saying ‘just let it be.’”
For McCartney, the gift of these positive words from his mother helped his music go on to inspire so many others. “When I find myself in times of trouble/Mother Mary comes to me/Speaking words of wisdom/‘Let it be.’”
As the two sang through the incredibly touching song, Corden began tearing up as he remembered the way he had been introduced to the song. “I can remember my granddad, who’s a musician, and my dad sitting me down and saying, ‘We’re gonna play you the best song that you’ve ever heard.’”
When he talked about how much his granddad would have loved to be in the car, McCartney simply responded: “He is.”
As McCartney said, “That’s the power of music. It’s weird isn’t it, how that can do that to you?” To end the show, the two ended up in a Liverpool pub, where they put on an impromptu show that thrilled and delighted audiences.
The final duo with Corden and McCartney leading the crowd in a heart-pounding, stomping rendition of “Hey Jude” had the people singing at the tops of their lungs and embracing each other.
The power of music is alive and well!
