| "Don't Let Me Down" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Picture sleeve for 1989 UK reissue | ||||
| Single bythe Beatles withBilly Preston | ||||
| A-side | "Get Back" | |||
| Released | 1969 | |||
| Recorded | 28 January 1969, February 1969 | |||
| Studio | Apple, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:35 | |||
| Label | Apple | |||
| Songwriter | Lennon–McCartney | |||
| Producers | ||||
| The Beatles singles chronology | ||||
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| Billy Preston singles chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
.jpg) Picture sleeve for 1969 UK and Scandinavian release | ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
Don't Let Me Down | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Don't Let Me Down" onYouTube | ||||
"Don't Let Me Down" is a song by the English rock bandthe Beatles, recorded in 1969 during theLet It Be/Get Back sessions. It was written byJohn Lennon and credited to theLennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. The band recorded the song with keyboardistBilly Preston; the single release with "Get Back" was credited to "the Beatles with Billy Preston". Originally released as aB-side, producerPhil Spector excluded the song fromLet It Be. The song's first album appearance in stereo was on theNorth American collectionHey Jude, released in 1970, and on the global market collection1967–1970, released in 1973.
Written by John Lennon as an anguished love song toYoko Ono,[5] it was interpreted byPaul 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."[6]
The song is in thekey ofE major and is in4
4 time during the verse, chorus and bridge, but changes to5
4 in the pick-up to the verse.[7] It grew (like "Sun King") from the F♯m7–E changes fromFleetwood Mac's "Albatross" with McCartney arranging instrumental and vocal parts andGeorge Harrison adding a descending two-part lead guitar accompaniment to the verse and a countermelody in the bridge.[8]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."[9]
Multiple versions of "Don't Let Me Down" were recorded by the Beatles during theGet Back (Let It Be) recording sessions. The version recorded on 28 January 1969, with vocal overdubs in early February, was released as aB-side to the single "Get Back", recorded the same day.[10] "Get Back" reached number one and "Don't Let Me Down" reached number 35 on the USBillboard Hot 100.[11]When the "Get Back" project was revisited,Phil Spector dropped "Don't Let Me Down" from theLet It Be (1970) album.[12]
The Beatles performed "Don't Let Me Down" twice during theirrooftop concert of 30 January 1969, and the first performance was included in theLet It Be (1970) film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.[13][14] In November 2003, a composite edit of the two rooftop versions was released onLet It Be... Naked.[15][14] Both versions were seen in the 2022 filmThe Beatles: Get Back - The Rooftop Concert and are featured on thelive album.
The B-side version of the song was included on the Beatles' compilationsHey Jude,1967–1970,Past Masters Volume 2 andMono Masters. The same recording also appears on the soundtrack to the 1988 documentary,Imagine: John Lennon.
In 2021, numerous versions of the song were included onLet It Be: Special Edition, including the Get Back LP version and a new mix of the original B-side version with an added dialogue introduction.
Richie Unterberger ofAllMusic called it "one of the Beatles' most powerful love songs",[16]Stephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic described the song as "heart-wrenching soul"[3] andRoy Carr andTony Tyler called it "a superb sobber from misery-expert J. W. O. Lennon, MBE. And still one of the most highly underrated Beatle underbellies."[17] AuthorIan 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".[18] "Don't Let Me Down" is the most viewed video on the Beatles' YouTube channel, with over 510 million views.
Jamaican singerMarcia Griffiths (a member of theI Threes) recorded a cover of the song in areggae style in 1989.
American alternative rock bandWilco covered the song along with "Dig a Pony" in 2021. The covers were released exclusively onAmazon Music for a promotional campaign marking the release of theLet It Be: Special Edition reissue.[19]
No official producer's credit was included for the single release owing to "the confused roles ofGeorge Martin andGlyn Johns".[21] However the1967–1970 compilation liner notes credited Martin as the song's producer.
| Chart (1969) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot 100[22] | 35 |
