LET IT BE — Paul McCartney’s Timeless Benediction at the Good Evening New York City Tour
There are songs that belong to an artist, and then there are songs that belong to the world. “Let It Be” has long belonged to the world. Written by Paul McCartney at the end of the Beatles’ turbulent journey, it emerged as both prayer and comfort — a song that has carried generations through heartbreak, loss, and hope. And during the Good Evening New York City Tour, when Paul sat down at the piano under the summer sky, the moment was nothing less than transcendent.
The concert itself was already historic. Held at Citi Field in July 2009, the shows marked McCartney’s triumphant return to the very ground where the Beatles had made history decades earlier at Shea Stadium. Fans poured into the stadium not just for music, but for memory. And yet, when the opening chords of “Let It Be” began to echo, all the noise of history faded into a stillness that belonged only to that moment.
Paul’s voice, seasoned by time yet still unmistakably his, carried the lyrics like a benediction. “When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me…” It was not just performance. It was testimony. His delivery carried the weight of loss — of Lennon, of Harrison, of the years gone by — but also the resilience of survival. For the thousands gathered, the song did not feel like it came from a stage. It felt as though it rose from the very soul of the crowd.
Cameras panned across faces streaked with tears. Parents held children close, whispering words about the Beatles, about history, about what this song had meant to them across the decades. Couples swayed with arms around one another. Strangers linked hands. For a few minutes, Citi Field was not a stadium — it was a sanctuary.
What made the moment even more moving was McCartney’s humility. He did not dress the song in theatrics. No pyrotechnics, no tricks. Just piano, voice, and light. It was a reminder that the power of “Let It Be” has always been its simplicity. A melody that lingers like prayer, lyrics that whisper peace in the midst of chaos, and the kind of truth that never grows old.
The Good Evening New York City Tour was a career-spanning celebration — from Beatles classics to Wings anthems and solo gems. But among the fireworks and fanfare, “Let It Be” stood apart. It was not about entertainment. It was about connection. For those who had carried Beatles songs through their youth, for those discovering McCartney for the first time, and for everyone in between, the performance was a reminder that some music is not bound by time.
The reviews the next day called it one of the most emotional highlights of McCartney’s later career. Critics noted that while his voice carried the texture of age, it also carried a depth that only decades of living could provide. The imperfections, they said, made the performance all the more perfect. It was not the voice of a young Beatle anymore. It was the voice of a man who had lived through everything and still chose to sing hope.
As the final refrain swelled — “There will be an answer, let it be” — the crowd’s voices joined his, rising into the night like a choir. It was not Paul alone who carried the song. It was everyone present, bound by the shared knowledge that the song’s message was as urgent in 2009 as it had been in 1970. Perhaps even more so.
“Let It Be” is no longer just a Beatles classic. It has become a benediction for generations. And on that New York night, Paul McCartney delivered it not as a performer reclaiming his past, but as a friend offering comfort to the world.