The Beatles - Yesterday Lyrics

The Beatles Lyrics

"Yesterday"

Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away.
Now it looks as though 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 an easy game to play.
Now I need a place to hide away.
Oh, I believe in yesterday.

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Thanks to Tony Blase for correcting these lyrics.

Writer(s): John Lennon, Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney composed the entire melody of "Yesterday" in a dream. Upon waking, he hurried to a piano and played the tune in order not to forget it.

Paul McCartney wasn't sure that the melody was original when he first came up with it, so, he asked several people to be sure that he hadn't plagiarised it.

John Lennon made a reference to "Yesterday" in his song "How Do You Sleep?" on his 1971 album "Imagine". The song appears to attack McCartney having the line "The only thing you done was yesterday, but since you've gone you're just another day" with a reference to another McCartney's song "Another Day".

"Yesterday" is one of the most recorded songs in the history of popular music. Its entry in Guinness World Records states that, by January 1986, 1,600 cover versions had been made.

In 2012 the BBC reported that "Yesterday" remained the fourth most successful song of all-time in terms of royalties paid, having amassed a total of 19.5 million pounds in payments.