Get Back

Get Back's harmony is deliberately primitive — a conscious return to rock and roll basics after the complex arrangements of the White Album. The three-chord structure (A, D, G) never uses the expected dominant E chord, instead relying on the ♭VII-IV-I plagal/mixolydian cadence that defines the song's earthy, grounded character. This harmonic simplicity was intentional: the entire Get Back/Let It Be project aimed to strip the Beatles back to a live band playing without studio tricks.

The song grew out of unstructured jamming on 7 January 1969 during rehearsal sessions at Twickenham Studios. McCartney worked out the rhythm and harmony of the primary riff on his Höfner bass, then introduced lyrics reworking 'Get back to the place you should be' — a phrase adapted from George Harrison's 'Sour Milk Sea' into 'Get back to where you once belonged.' By 9 January, McCartney brought a more developed version with the 'Sweet Loretta' verse close to its finished form.

Released in April 1969 as the only Beatles single to credit another artist (Billy Preston), 'Get Back' stripped away the studio experimentation of their recent work for a tight, guitar-driven groove in A major. Born from spontaneous jamming at Twickenham Studios and immortalized during the legendary rooftop concert, it became the band's final number-one single released before their breakup.