Get Back

"Get Back" is the final song on Let It Be and the first Beatles song to credit another artist at the Beatles' request--the credit is officially "The Beatles with Billy Preston". Additionally, Wikipedia notes that "'Get Back' was the Beatles' first single release in true stereo in the US."

Also from Wikipedia:

The Beatles performed "Get Back" (along with other songs from the album) as part of the "The Beatles Rooftop Performance" which took place on the roof of Apple Studios in Savile Row, London on 30 January 1969. "Get Back" was performed in full three times. During the third, which marked the end of the rooftop performance, The Beatles were interrupted by the police who had received complaints from office workers nearby. After the police spoke to Mal Evans, he turned off Lennon and Harrison's amplifiers only for Harrison to switch them back on, insisting that they finish the song. It was during this period that McCartney ad-libbed, "You've been playing on the roofs again, and that's no good, and you know your Mummy doesn't like that...she gets angry...she's gonna have you arrested! Get back!"

The song has an interesting history, especially when compared to its fellow tracks on Let It Be. For a song purportedly about going home (generally a very positive idea), that history wasn't always happy: "John Lennon in 1980 claimed that 'there's some underlying thing about Yoko in there', claiming that McCartney looked at Yoko Ono in the studio every time he sang 'Get back to where you once belonged.'" 

Also, personally, I'm not so sure about the second verse, about Loretta Martin, who "thought she was a woman, but she was another man." I can't decide if this character's sexual ambiguity is meant to be positive or negative, or if by telling Loretta to "get back to where you once belonged" the singer's gently recommending a reconnection with the people Loretta loves, or commanding Loretta to "get back" to being a woman, to being "normal". It's a very strange and uncertain verse for me. The fact that Loretta has both a woman's name and a man's name makes the character even more interesting--which is pretty good considering the length of the verse is only a few lines. 

That's it for now... Album summary coming up. :)

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Heard It Tally: 50

Songs Completed: 200