Don't Let Me Down

Song facts

We recorded it in the basement of Apple for Let It Be and later did it up on the roof for the film. We went through it quite a lot for this one. I sang harmony on it, which makes me wonder if I helped with a couple of words, but I don’t think so. It was John’s song.

Paul McCartney – From “Many Years From Now” by Barry Miles, 1997

From Wikipedia:

“Don’t Let Me Down” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, recorded in 1969 during the Let It Be sessions. It was written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The band recorded the song with Billy Preston; the single release with “Get Back” was credited to “the Beatles with Billy Preston”.

Composition

Written by John Lennon as an anguished love song to Yoko Ono, it was interpreted by Paul McCartney as a “genuine plea”, with Lennon saying to Ono, “I’m really stepping out of line on this one. I’m really just letting my vulnerability be seen, so you must not let me down.”

The song is in the key of E major and is in 44 time during the verse, chorus and bridge, but changes to 54 in the pick-up to the verse. It grew (like “Sun King“) from the F♯m7–E changes from Fleetwood Mac’s “Albatross” with McCartney arranging instrumental and vocal parts and George Harrison adding a descending two-part lead guitar accompaniment to the verse and a countermelody in the bridge. Alan W. Pollack states that “the counterpoint melody played in octaves during the Alternate Verse by the bass and lead guitars is one of the more novel, unusual instrumental touches you’ll find anywhere in the Beatles catalogue.”

Recording and release

Multiple versions of “Don’t Let Me Down” were recorded by the Beatles during the tumultuous Get Back (Let It Be) recording sessions. The version recorded on 28 January 1969 was released as a B-side to the single “Get Back“, recorded the same day. “Get Back” reached number one and “Don’t Let Me Down” reached number 35 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
When the “Get Back” project was revisited, Phil Spector dropped “Don’t Let Me Down” from the Let It Be (1970) album.

The Beatles performed “Don’t Let Me Down” twice during their rooftop concert of 30 January 1969, and the first performance was included in the Let It Be (1970) film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg. In November 2003, a composite edit of the two rooftop versions was released on Let It Be… Naked.

The B-side version of the song was included on the Beatles’ compilations Hey Jude, 1967-1970 and Past Masters Volume 2 and Mono Masters. The same recording also appears on the soundtrack to the 1988 documentary, Imagine: John Lennon.

Reception

Richie Unterberger of AllMusic called it “one of the Beatles’ most powerful love songs”, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the song as “heart-wrenching soul” and Roy Carr and Tony Tyler called it “a superb sobber from misery-expert J. W. O. Lennon, MBE. And still one of the most highly underrated Beatle underbellies.” Author Ian MacDonald praised “Don’t Let Me Down” and declared that “this track vies with “Come Together” for consideration as the best of Lennon’s late-style Beatles records”. […]

Personnel

No official producer’s credit was included for the single release owing to “the confused roles of George Martin and Glyn Johns”. However the 1967-1970 compilation liner notes credited Martin as the song’s producer. […]

From The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations:

[a] mono 7 Apr 1969 at Olympic Sound. [edit: was more likely 3 Apr]
UK: Apple R5777 single 1969.
CD: EMI single 1989.

[b] stereo 7 Apr 1969 at Olympic Sound. [edit: was more likely 3 Apr]
UK: Apple PCSP 718 The Beatles 1967-1970 1973.
US: Apple 2490 single 1969, Apple SW 385 Hey Jude 1970, Apple SKBO-3404 The Beatles 1967-1970 1973.
CD: EMI CDP 7 90044 2 Past Masters 2 1988, EMI CDP 7 97039 2 The Beatles 1967-1970 1993.

There appears to be a second John vocal in verse 3 (trace of another vocal) and more clearly at the very end in the fade where it seems to be John overlapping on “Can you dig it”/”Don’t let me”/”Yeah”/”Don’t let me down”. Or is it Paul? If it’s an overdub, it was perhaps added at the mix session, either live or dropped in from another tape.

The unreleased albums use a different take (Jan 22).

Undocumented session : 20 February 1969: Recording: Don’t Let Me Down (beatlesbible.com) ?

Last updated on November 28, 2021

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