"Hey Jude" begins with McCartney singing lead vocals and playing the piano. The patterns he plays are based on three chords: F, C and B (I, V and IV). The main chord progression is "flipped on its head", in Hertsgaard's words, for the coda, since the C chord is replaced by E. Everett comments that McCartney's melody over the verses borrows in part from John Ireland's 1907 liturgical piece "Te Deum", as well as (with the first change to a B chord) suggesting the influence of the Drifters' 1960 hit "Save the Last Dance for Me".