“Imagine”
“Yeah, I’m a easygoin’ guy, but I always gotta have my way” - Eddie Cochran
An all-time chart-topper for mawkish, gloopy sentiment.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I seem to recall the Stones saying that Let It Bleed was not a direct response to Let It Be but I have a hard time believing that. Let It Be was in the works and McCartney felt it was going to be a big hit. (When he first introduced it to the others, he said he had written another “Hey Jude”.)
The timelines sync up that the Stones knew what the Beatles were working on. (I’m not looking up studio times and release dates for the LPs. Too lazy.) Also the fact that the words “let it bleed” do not appear in the song by that name, I think the Stones knew this would serve as a point-counter-point.
I do love the contrast though:
Beatles: “And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me.”
Stones: “Well we all need, someone, we can cream on. And if you wanna, well you can cream on me.”