Let ’em in” — hard not to see that song as a metaphor for loving humanity. Even as a kid, hearing the tune on the radio for the first time, it was clear that Paul was singing about letting people into our hearts — dropping our ego mind games and opening our eyes to the holy in others — a pretty radical idea. Also, hard to ignore the song’s offhand allusion to “Martin Luther” a name you might call MLK if you were a friend. So (even if just subconsciously on Paul’s part — he was writing this album quickly after all) this song suggests a plea for agape, for radically loving humanity and for peace in the world. Its a profound message hidden with the casual line “do me a favour and let ’em in.”
Too bad critics were so against Paul in the 1970s that they dismissed this as some house-party ditty (come on in y’all and party with the McCartney’s!). Really the song is even deeper than “Imagine” -- where John sings about the poison of surface things — borders, ideologies, etc. — Paul is going to the root of it all, the human heart.
The Beatle’s were the universe’s gift to humanity, a correction for WW2. Its sad that one of their leaders is still not given the credit he deserves for his depth. Macca’s lightness of touch and distaste for being overstated & heavy gets dismissed as superficiality. Shine on Paul!
@Mikejj43 This is true - when I saw him on the Gold Coast, Australia, in 2024, he played this song and it was accompanied on the video screens by marginalised groups, racial minorities, LGBTIQA+ people, with smiling faces, waiting to be accepted by society, and Paul seemed to be meaning, "Hey, look, these people just want to be allowed in, they just want to come in, don't be mean, just let 'em in" - it was beautiful and moved me to tears. I hadn't thought of this meaning to the song before, and as you say, it's amazing, the hidden...
@Mikejj43 This is true - when I saw him on the Gold Coast, Australia, in 2024, he played this song and it was accompanied on the video screens by marginalised groups, racial minorities, LGBTIQA+ people, with smiling faces, waiting to be accepted by society, and Paul seemed to be meaning, "Hey, look, these people just want to be allowed in, they just want to come in, don't be mean, just let 'em in" - it was beautiful and moved me to tears. I hadn't thought of this meaning to the song before, and as you say, it's amazing, the hidden depths of Macca's writing sometimes.
Let ’em in” — hard not to see that song as a metaphor for loving humanity. Even as a kid, hearing the tune on the radio for the first time, it was clear that Paul was singing about letting people into our hearts — dropping our ego mind games and opening our eyes to the holy in others — a pretty radical idea. Also, hard to ignore the song’s offhand allusion to “Martin Luther” a name you might call MLK if you were a friend. So (even if just subconsciously on Paul’s part — he was writing this album quickly after all) this song suggests a plea for agape, for radically loving humanity and for peace in the world. Its a profound message hidden with the casual line “do me a favour and let ’em in.”
Too bad critics were so against Paul in the 1970s that they dismissed this as some house-party ditty (come on in y’all and party with the McCartney’s!). Really the song is even deeper than “Imagine” -- where John sings about the poison of surface things — borders, ideologies, etc. — Paul is going to the root of it all, the human heart.
The Beatle’s were the universe’s gift to humanity, a correction for WW2. Its sad that one of their leaders is still not given the credit he deserves for his depth. Macca’s lightness of touch and distaste for being overstated & heavy gets dismissed as superficiality. Shine on Paul!
@Mikejj43 This is true - when I saw him on the Gold Coast, Australia, in 2024, he played this song and it was accompanied on the video screens by marginalised groups, racial minorities, LGBTIQA+ people, with smiling faces, waiting to be accepted by society, and Paul seemed to be meaning, "Hey, look, these people just want to be allowed in, they just want to come in, don't be mean, just let 'em in" - it was beautiful and moved me to tears. I hadn't thought of this meaning to the song before, and as you say, it's amazing, the hidden...
@Mikejj43 This is true - when I saw him on the Gold Coast, Australia, in 2024, he played this song and it was accompanied on the video screens by marginalised groups, racial minorities, LGBTIQA+ people, with smiling faces, waiting to be accepted by society, and Paul seemed to be meaning, "Hey, look, these people just want to be allowed in, they just want to come in, don't be mean, just let 'em in" - it was beautiful and moved me to tears. I hadn't thought of this meaning to the song before, and as you say, it's amazing, the hidden depths of Macca's writing sometimes.