The song is set in the form of first person (I.e. `I `, `My` etc...)
1.Yesterday,
2.All my troubles seemed so far away,
3.Now it looks as though they're here to stay,
4.Oh, I believe in yesterday.
5.Suddenly,
6.I'm not half the man I used to be,
7.There's a shadow hanging over me,
8.Oh, yesterday came suddenly.
9.Why she
10.Had to go I don't know, she wouldn't say.
11.I said,
12.Something wrong, now I long for yesterday.
13.Yesterday,
14.Love was such an easy game to play,
15.Now I need a place to hide away,
16.Oh, I believe in yesterday.
17.Why she
18.Had to go I don't know, she wouldn't say.
19.I said,
20.Something wrong, now I long for yesterday.
21.Yesterday,
22.Love was such an easy game to play,
23.Now I need a place to hide away,
24.Oh, I believe in yesterday.
2.All my troubles seemed so far away,
3.Now it looks as though they're here to stay,
4.Oh, I believe in yesterday.
5.Suddenly,
6.I'm not half the man I used to be,
7.There's a shadow hanging over me,
8.Oh, yesterday came suddenly.
9.Why she
10.Had to go I don't know, she wouldn't say.
11.I said,
12.Something wrong, now I long for yesterday.
13.Yesterday,
14.Love was such an easy game to play,
15.Now I need a place to hide away,
16.Oh, I believe in yesterday.
17.Why she
18.Had to go I don't know, she wouldn't say.
19.I said,
20.Something wrong, now I long for yesterday.
21.Yesterday,
22.Love was such an easy game to play,
23.Now I need a place to hide away,
24.Oh, I believe in yesterday.
Musically, the melody of the first word already matches up with the subject of the song. First of all, in the first lyric which represents the title of the song (on the chord of F), McCartney sings the first syllable that decreases from a G note into two F's on the last two syllables. Perhaps this suggests that he's reminiscing about a time he wishes he was still in, even if it was just the day before.
The second line produces an unexpected chord change and progression(Em7-A7 into a Dm) which gives it a bit more emotion compared to the first line. The emotion goes with the lyrics too, it's the explanation to the listening audience as to why he seems upset and is in somewhat of a memorable mindset.
However on the third line, musically, the chords are decreasing back into the beginning chord starting on a C which almost seems a bit more positive, but lyrically he's predicting what is to come of his current feelings. This line almost justifies what the song is about; he pretty much goes on and on about how much he regrets the day before.
Last line of first verse, McCartney reflects on his briefly described experience, with the lyric "Oh, I believe in Yesterday....". He again states to the listening audience a form of regret, adding the offhand "Oh" at the beginning of the line to put more ephasis on what he's feeling.
The first four lines of the song are melodically repeated before the chorus begins, however, unlike the music, the lyrics go a little more in depth as he has introduced us to his situation and we already know that he's hung-up on what he was previously going through before his current state of mind , and so the beginning of the 5th line, McCartney starts his second paragraph with another three-syllabled word("Suddenly") which already makes the song sound a bit more intense as he begins to describe himself from his own point of view in a negative sense on line 6. On line 7 he seems to explain to us why he described himself like the way he did in the previous lyric but in a metaphorical way...and its kind of emotional because he seems to feel sorry for himself - this may make the audience feel the same way.
Chorus
"Why she had to go I dont know...she wouldn't say"(Line 9)
McCartney is obviously assuming that the listening audience are curious about what happened..and so answers a silent question, but interestingly doesn't ever fully explain what took place in the conversation between him and his apparantly then-girlfriend.
We get a hint of what happened though when he sings "I said something wrong.."(Lines 11+12)..and once again to end the chorus he goes back into his state of reminiscence; "Now I long for yesterday".
The music in this section of the song is very sad, especially the link between lines 9 and ten..the chords supposedly rise from A7- Dm - C-Bb then back down to a C and an F when he sings "She wouldn't say..."
Another verse begins on the title name and the lyricist fully reflects on on the past-tense in the second line once again using a metaphorical term "Love was such an easy game to play" but then goes from the past-based lyric into the future-based lyric " Now, I need a place to hide away"... and goes back to "Yesterday"
Unexpectadly, the chorus repeats, with the same lyrics just as before, perhaps reminding the listening audience of what got him into this state.
Then, to end the song after lines 13-16 are re-sang,
McCartney just "hmms" the song tune .... it kind of speaks for itself as there is no solution to what he feels ; he leaves it at that; "Oh, I believe in Yesterday"-his feelings are finalized.
-Chloe ferguson
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