Written in the early 1970s for a couple of close friends, Let It Be was a musical plea for the two of them to get together and, hopefully, marry one day. My wife and I were intrigued by the unique friendship these two (let’s call them Antoine and Katherine) shared. They were incredibly humorous kids who played off each other almost like a comedy team, which only enhanced our feeling that they should become a couple. There were, however, some things standing in their way, not the least of which was Antoine’s tentative plan to enter the Catholic priesthood. Antoine was (and still is) an incredibly talented singer/songwriter, and Katherine was his biggest fan. In addition to being clever and humorous, both were serious philosophical thinkers and great conversationalists. Back in those days, several of us used to get together of an evening on the banks of a small lake in Seminole, Florida, to pick and sing and talk into the wee hours of the morning. It was from those late-night conversations (many of which were not only hilarious but deeply philosophical and intimate) that I began to formulate in my head the words for Let It Be. I didn’t complete the song until much later, however, after my wife and I moved to small cabin in the woods of northern Georgia. It was there that the natural setting inspired me to write most of the music I am revisiting today. Let It Be was written in first person, as if I were Antoine talking to Katherine, saying some of the things that, at the time, he seemed reluctant to say to her. Several decades passed before I began digging up some of the music I wrote back then and thinking about updating and recording a few of those songs. And Let It Be was the first one I chose. With the help of Shaun Murphy, a good friend and excellent guitarist, a new melody line and arrangement began to take shape, resulting in the version you hear on this video. Though I cannot claim that the song was responsible, Antoine and Katherine did eventually get married, but unfortunately, we turned out to be wrong about their being destined to have a lifelong relationship. I wish the story had a more positive ending, however, after several years of being happily together and raising some wonderful kids, they decided to go their separate ways. Nevertheless, the song lives on as a testament to their unique friendship and the love they once shared, not to mention my wonderful memories of those nights by the lake.
