Yesterday

The speaker looks back on a time when life and love felt easier. After his partner leaves, his present feels painful and uncertain. The mood shifts from nostalgia to helplessness: he does not know why she went, and he wishes he could return to the past.

“Yesterday” stands for a happier time, not just the day before. The speaker says his troubles once seemed far away, but now they feel close and lasting. A “shadow hanging over” him suggests sadness that follows him and darkens his thoughts. His wish for “a place to hide away” implies he wants to escape the pain rather than face it.

The speaker suspects he said something wrong, but he cannot be sure because she did not explain her reason for leaving. His regret may reflect guilt, confusion, or simply a longing for the certainty he remembers. The song does not tell us whether the past was truly perfect; it may feel easier now because the present is so difficult.