Written by Pal McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney) in 1969, The Long and Winding Road became The Beatles’ last number-one song in the United States o June13 1970. In the lyrics, literary techniques such as alliteration, metaphors, symbolism and imagery tell the story of a journey to an unnamed love.
Only two characters are referred to in ‘The Long and Winding Road,’ and both are nameless. These two characters are only identified through pronouns such as ‘I’ and ‘you.’ Even the sexes of the characters are unknown. This anonymity makes the audience feel as if the words are written for them, whether they are the ones taking the journey, or are the love interest being sought by the unnamed pursuer. This teamed with the simplicity of the language in the poem provides the audience with freedom to interpret the words in a number of ways, including as a physical, imaginative, or emotional journey.
The physical journey is being taken by the unnamed character telling the story. The title, ‘the long and winding road’ provides the audience with the distance, direction, time and obstacles they will face before the words even begin. From the start the audience understands that the journey on the road is lengthy and treacherous, and in the second line discovers the destination, ‘your door.’ The words say that the traveler has
“Seen that road before, it always leads me here, leads me to your door” (line 4, stanza 1)
The past tense of ‘seen’ indicates a link to the past, and the word “always” leads the reader to believe that this journey has been taken by the speaker more then once, and refers to the concept of a never-ending journey.
The destination of “your door” could be both literal and metaphorical. It is very likely that the speaker is in fact taking a long journey to his love’s physical door of their home; however the word ‘door’ is often used as a metaphor to ones ‘soul.’ The storyteller wants to get as close as they can to their love, to be at their door and know their soul.
The second verse opens with
“The wild and windy night, that the rain washed away, has left a pool of tears, crying for the day” (line 1 stanza 2)
The use of alliteration of ‘wild, windy, and washed’ helps portray both the sound and feel of the wind, and the flowing of water. The storm is both a physical obstacle in the journey, as well as a symbol for the night’s ‘tears.’ This personification of the night ‘crying for the day’ also provides the imagery of the dawn, which has connotations of new beginnings, as well as visibility and clarity for the character taking the journey. The last line of the verse is “let me know the way. Telling the reader that the speaker does not know how to get to his destination, and the rainy night affecting visibility make for a very difficult journey.
The character tells their love how they’re often alone and have cried over this love many times. They seek of trying many things to try to help this journey to their love’s ‘door,’ creating a tone of frustration and despair, as if they are about to give up. The poem then changes with the word “but.” The traveler decides to continue on with this journey despite the tears and loneliness that comes with it.
The repetition of “long and winding road” throughout the poem shows the audience that this is a journey the speaker has probably taken many times, and now they are returning to it. The line “you left me standing here” ahs an accusing tone, and paints an image of the speaker being left alone on this long road while the other went off in another direction. Also images of abandonment arise.
The final stanza is repeated, making it remain in the song’s audience’s min. although the lyrics speak primarily of a physical journey to a love’s door, or home, it can also be read as an inner or imaginative journey to a disconnected love one’s soul.
however the task was to analyse a piece of poetry, so this is analysed as a poem and your teacher will most likely to expect you to analyse the music's role in expressing the journey when you analyse a song. if this is the case say something about how the guitar chords punctuate the phrase "long and winding road" and strings soften the lyrics and paint a beautiful image of this journey (however paul mccartney hated the added in violins which was a contributing factor in the break-up of the beatles. just a bit of trivia for you!!!)
good luck
xx