I said something wrong/
Now I long for yesterday.
Yesterday’s melody really is so good. We might have heard it hundreds of times by now, so it loses a bit of that oomph, but the first few times were gut-retching. And you wish the song were another verse or two. I think the guitar work on the song is excellent: It is a unique arraignment and picking pattern that accompanies the melody well. Altogether, “Yesterday” is pretty close to a perfect song.
Let’s talk about the emotional side of “Yesterday”. Paul captures the sadness of a breakup quite well. He is taking it hard, and he is not sure what happened. All he knows is that he said something wrong and now the relationship is over. He says he’s not half the man he used to be and has a shadow hanging over him. He’s down in the dumps from his breakup yesterday. His guitar arraignment coupled with the strings capture that–even if you couldn’t understand the lyrics. That is important.
The song has so many things going for it that make it an iconic song. We can compare it to Imagine. Both have iconic one word titles, a great melody, simple arraignments, easy to comprehend lyrics, great vocals and strings over either guitar or piano. Both are emotionally moving. You don’t need all of these things to make a great song, but if you hit all of these things your song will probably be great.
Yesterday Lyrics
Yesterday,
All my troubles seemed so far away,
Now it looks as through 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 hanging over me.
Oh yesterday came suddenly.
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 and easy game to play,
Now I need a place to hide away.
Oh I believe in yesterday.
written by lennon/mccartney