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    Story behind Yesterday

    YESTERDAY
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    • Greenpea
      Greenpea last edited by

      Interesting story here behind 'Yesterday' http//www.thisdayinmusic.com/pages/yesterday

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      • Nancy R
        Nancy R last edited by

        Please don't tell me you are just now discovering that old chestnut of a story! Paul tells that one in practically every interview he gives.

        Omni, Atlanta, GA May 18, 1976, Feb. 17, 1990

        GA Dome, Atlanta, GA May 1, 1993

        Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA May 12, 2002

        FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN May 26, 2013

        Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA Oct. 15, 2014

        Infinite Energy Center, Duluth, GA July 13, 2017

        Bon Secours Arena, Greenville, SC May 30, 2019

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        • A
          admin last edited by

          :

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          • HaileyMcComet
            HaileyMcComet last edited by

            Nancy R:

            Please don't tell me you are just now discovering that old chestnut of a story! Paul tells that one in practically every interview he gives.

            Not practically. In absolutely every interview he has ever given and ever will give from the beginning until the end of time.

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            • HauserPlenty
              HauserPlenty last edited by

              The strings on "Yesterday" were Sir George Martin's idea: [Since Paul] "...hated syrup or anything...MOR*, [he told the musicians hired to record it:] 'No vibrato, though, I don't want any vibrato!' "Although they did cut down on the vibrato they couldn't do it pure, because they would have sounded like schoolboys. I think Paul realised in later years that what he got was right. "There is one particular bit which is very much his, (and I wish I'd thought of it!) where the cello groans onto the seventh the second time around. The rest of the arrangement was pretty much mine..." *Middle Of the Road, radio parlance for the string orchestras popular with parents and elders in the 1960's. Example: 101 Strings.

              We did have two monitors but everything was put through the right hand one. We weren't allowed to monitor on both because they were saved for stereo orchestral recordings!

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              • A
                admin last edited by

                HauserPlenty:

                The strings on "Yesterday" were Sir George Martin's idea: [Since Paul] "...hated syrup or anything...MOR*, [he told the musicians hired to record it:] 'No vibrato, though, I don't want any vibrato!' "Although they did cut down on the vibrato they couldn't do it pure, because they would have sounded like schoolboys. I think Paul realised in later years that what he got was right. "There is one particular bit which is very much his, (and I wish I'd thought of it!) where the cello groans onto the seventh the second time around. The rest of the arrangement was pretty much mine..." *Middle Of the Road, radio parlance for the string orchestras popular with parents and elders in the 1960's. Example: 101 Strings.

                He actually name checked Mantovani as the sound he didn't want.

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                • A
                  admin last edited by

                  He has said recently , it may have been about the loss of his Mother, which I always thought of .

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                  • A
                    admin last edited by

                    I get the feeling Paul re interprets the meanings of his songs every ten years or so. While a line here or there could have been about his mom, it really is a break up song. John's songs were always a bit heavier and more meaningful, so now Paul is really pushing for his songs to be too. They are, musically, but thematically, they rarely are.

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                    • Nancy R
                      Nancy R last edited by

                      wingsdgm:

                      He has said recently , it may have been about the loss of his Mother, which I always thought of .

                      I think subconsciously he wrote it about his mother, although the strict interpretation would be the breakup of a relationship.

                      Omni, Atlanta, GA May 18, 1976, Feb. 17, 1990

                      GA Dome, Atlanta, GA May 1, 1993

                      Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA May 12, 2002

                      FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN May 26, 2013

                      Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA Oct. 15, 2014

                      Infinite Energy Center, Duluth, GA July 13, 2017

                      Bon Secours Arena, Greenville, SC May 30, 2019

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                      • A
                        admin last edited by

                        Cryptomnesia? Now I know what to tell my Doctor.

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                        • A
                          admin last edited by

                          It is very hard to prove someone subconsciously wrote something, especially when such claims are made fifty years after the fact. Yesterday may, in fact, be about his mom. But I would be more accepting of that theory had he said that in 1966 or even 1970, as opposed to 1990 or 2000. To me, it has always been a break up song. It has also been interpreted as an old man looking back on his life. It can be all those things.

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