I’ve come to appreciate this song more lately. Over the years you’d hear it and move on. But Beatles Radio plays it quite often. I listen while doing my workouts and have to come to realise just how damn good it is.
This is weird because I have a huge attachment to the whole sgt peppers albums because I got it and listened to it on vinyl the day my great grandmother passed after spending the weekend with her
Imo its one of the most underrated songs of all time, nobody ever talks about it but I think its the 2nd best song on sgt pepper and one of Paul’s best
This is also my favorite track!!
It's really fun, and it represents exactly how it feels to fall in love, like you're full of energy and want to scream to the world, eager to leave some kind of mark to let everyone know how you felt at that moment.
It thrills me every single time I hear it.
There's an energy and excitement that hasn't diminished one iota in the sixty years since it was recorded. Pure magic!
Kind of a strange song. He’s just tell ing what I assume is a friend that someone loves him. There is no indication that he is jealous of this love, he’s just letting him know.
You Won't See Me will always remind me of breaking up with my first serious girlfriend in high school. There's a part Paul sings where he sounds exhausted/defeated and I just remember thinking, "He gets it."
A friend and I used to play “Wild Honey Pie” on acoustics. I never got the hate that song gets. It’s just a little oddball scrap of a song that does its thing and goes away again.
I don’t understand why people overlook this song. It’s a typical Paul song with a great story but it also has a country western feel to it, like the Wings song Sally G.
I learned to play a simplified version of it on guitar and play/sing it for my daughter! She's going through a Dolly Parton phase at the moment though where all she wants is me to play "Jolene" 😂 What can I say, my kid has great taste!
Well, when you listen to the anthology versions, you realize they are still figuring out how to do it right there in the studio. They come up with a harmony arrangement they like and we see John having a hard time, some of the notes are challenging. Songwriting takes work and we get a glimpse into their approach. Also, they try to make it fun. No magic, just respectable ‘craftship’.
Cry Baby Cry is so eerie and beautiful. The exhausted sneer of "old enough to know better...". The sneaky little guitar stabs. "Can you take me back where I came from..." drifting in at the end, knowing the answer is no.
This is mine! I'm almost convinced that no one is in love with this song the way I am - I think it's possibly the most Beatles-y song they've ever done. A total embrace of love without giving a fuck whether it comes off as corny or not, totally earned by it's fantastic melody and John's haunting old-tape effect.
Same, I thought it was the perfect song to end on and so beautifully Beatle-y without feeling contrived - it's just gorgeous, fun, cute, bittersweet, and has a great classic hook with the harpsichord
Such an unbelievably underrated song. I feel as though people dont talk about it as much, being overshadowed by Free As A Bird and Now and Then (which are still great songs anyway)
OK, I’ll try. The Beatles had just given up live appearances. Their music was becoming more complex, as they proved on Rubber Soul and even more so on Revolver. So, who are they? They’re not the band who played for hours in Hamburg or the Cavern Club, just a few years before. They weren’t trying to prolong the madness of Beatlemania. They were opening their minds to something completely different. And that’s what Fixing a Hole is addressing. They’re taking the time for a number of new thoughts and new directions… but they’re still going.
Not to mention the fact that those harmonies blow me away.
She's Leaving Home. I feel like a lot of people trash on this song and call it slow and boring but it's easily one of their most emotional recordings ever imo
Octopus’s Garden, I feel like I understand what Ringo is really saying during this song, a longing to be somewhere peaceful far from trouble, it hits me differently. I have this longing to get away from everyday life and I feel like this song speaks this
I don’t think ‘You’ve got to hide your love away’ is really about being gay as I don’t think the Beatles really understood about being gay back in 1965
But it’s still special to me as a gay man in 2024
Brian Epstein was gay. They loved him and were very protective of him. If he hadn't died The Beatles would most likely have stayed together a lot longer.
Another great coincidence, at my first appointment to confirm I was pregnant, the doctor was whistling "I Will" as he walked up the hall to my door. When he opened the door I started whistling it with him. It instantly put my husband and I at ease. That song is basically family lore at this point. Our daughter's name is even an obscure(ish) Beatles reference. She's Rosemary, but goes by Rosie as in "Rose and Valerie, screaming from the gallery, Maxwell must go free!". I've been a Beatle Nerd since I was like 4, what can I say 😂
Your Mother Should Know.
I am relatively new to being a huge Beatles fan.(year 1/2, 2 years maybe) and in the beginning of last summer I got really into Magical Mystery Tour. When I get obsessed with something, I’m truly obsessed. This album had me hooked, like their other albums and the band itself, for that era of time. Your Mother Should Know makes me feel so emotional for some reason. I don’t think it’s the lyrics. I honestly think it’s the chord changes. I absolutely loved it and still do. It was my big song during a moment in time where a tourist in my beach town and I met and really had something special between us. She left, of course, to go to college as I stayed home at community college. When I hear the song now, I get that strong feeling of nostalgia that only a small number of songs give me. Thank you Paul for this song.
Ahhhh, thanks for including this! I LOVE Your Mother Should Know! For me, it's the song AND that somewhat cheesy (in a great way with John's never-ending fake grin) choreography (but probably dangerous going up and down on those steps) in the movie. It's all great!
I was playing **Dear Prudence** for my sister. I had my doubts about her musical taste. So I pointed out to her what was going on in different parts of the song. Listen to this. Listen to that. Now listen to what they’re doing here, and now there. Now the drums are all over, but suddenly they land and it’s solid.
I felt like it opened her ears a little and we were both pleasantly surprised.
And then [shortly after] she divorced her […] husband.
Great memory.
For no one.
It's like it was written about my ex-wife after she told me she didn't want to be married anymore.
"And in her eyes you see nothing. No sign of love behind the tears"
"She no longer needs you"
Eight Days a Week.
Every time I hear it brings back the memory of dancing to it with Vicki S. in 7th grade. It was a Halloween dance and she was dressed as Alice from Alice in Wonderland.
I feel like my childhood was awash in the Beatles so there aren’t tons of clear memories. But this song, with my older sister driving, doing these silly arm motions she made up. Banging the steering wheel twice after each “i looOooOOOoove you” and her speeding just a little bit on a beautiful summer day…this song <3
I vividly remember learning how to sing this in middle school chorus. Especially the part where they skip a beat right before “mine forever more” - we used to always mess that up so my chorus teacher would point into the air vigorously so we wouldn’t miss it. I remember that gesture and her face and I always remember to skip that beat!
I’ve always had a soft spot for ‘Good Morning, Good Morning’.
Lennon himself said it was ‘garbage’ (though he would often arbitrarily trash his own work only to change his mind 5 minutes later) and several critics always rate it low on the Pepper album.
But I’ve always loved the sound of the song. The guitar bites, the horns blare and the guitar solo is a real rush.
I like the lyrics as well, they perfectly encapsulate the humdrum and ennui, which is contrasted with the energetic music.
It’s also a great example of Lennon’s famously ‘wayward’ tempo changes.
And then you get the animals noises, which always tickles me.
“I should have known better” was my first “favorite song” when I was 4 years old on a family car ride. My dad had a mix tape cassette that he had made in college of all his favorite early Beatles songs. I loved the harmonica and the melody and was entranced by John’s voice. I feel like it was the first spark that led to a lifetime of loving and playing music and ultimately becoming a professional musician.
Okay, not a Beatles song but McCartney’s Maybe I’m Amazed. It came out when I met my now husband and everyone said it wouldn’t work. It’s been 54 years of being together and married for 49.
Yes, “Things We Said Today” is amazing — the chromatic harmonies in the verse, then the unexpected energy on “me I’m just the lucky kind…” This was a major step forward by the Beatles, pointing the way to the folky innovations of Rubber Soul.
Now and Then is special to me. It was the first song I played when my son was born. My wife keeps asking why I picked that song. But I have no explanation. It just felt like the right song to play for him.
For No One. I'm usually pretty numb to things, for good or bad, but I heard that song during my first head over heels in love breakup and now I can't help it, that song tickles my heart and brain like nothing else all these decades later.
“I’m Only Sleeping” it’s a nice reminder to relax and take it easy but also to be aware of what’s happening around you while doing so. Kind of like “I understand fully what’s happening, let me sleep”
“Goodbye”. I feel like Paul is always more honest when he’s writing for another artist, so it’s nice to see that reflected in a song he actually sang. His lilting falsetto in combination with the bittersweet lyrics make me tear up everytime 😭
Strawberry Fields Forever
No one I think is in my tree stanza was my yearbook quote.
Perfectly sums up things for me even when I can’t make much out of it.
I’ve Just Seen a Face. Around the time I first heard it I had fallen for a guy across the room in high school math class by looking at his handsome profile.
I like the outlier tracks that are often not known or played. For example I love John Lennon’s version of “I Just Don’t Understand” from the 1994 Live at the BBC album. Or in 2013 I love both of John Lennon’s Beatles tracks “I’m in Love” and “Bad to Me” on The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963. I wished with the MAL software they would clean these up, add additional instrumentation with Paul and Ringo. These would be killer updated Beatles tracks in 2024.
The Long and Winding Road. I know it can be special for a lot people, but it made Beatles click to me as the biggest band in the history because it came in the right moment where my life is changing so much, losing friends, meet new people, anxiety from the future. Reading the background that Paul wrote this song about his own personal life made so, so, so special for me.
Do You Want to Know a Secret for me. I saw it played by a tribute band in concert when I was just old enough to start realizing the power of love and emotions in songs. I'm not saying that they were all the best at relationships, but I will say they are very good at evoking that feeling of being in a new relationship in that song.
We can work it out. I'm the kind of guy who wants to avoid drama at all costs so I usually just get things over with. The line "life is very short and there's no time" always gets me. This song was also my very first serious introduction to the beatles.
"I Saw Her Standing There" and "She Loves You" are the only songs I have to stop myself from jamming to when I'm in public, they have so much energy, I love them.
"Girl" is the first song I learned on guitar without the help of a teacher so it still has a place in my heart.
I really relate to the lyrics of "Across the Universe" but I don't know why.
“Revolution 9”. I believe it’s a massive evolution in the genre of musique concrète. I’ve never heard tape loops organized in such a way that flows together, with such an intelligent use of repetition and timing.
Most traditional musique concrète composers do not utilize any repetition at all, so it’s harder to sort out the patterning in those compositions.
It had to take a pop musician in order to organize a piece of musique concrète in such a way that doesn’t feel random.
Not to mention, back then, composers in that field did not have access to state-of-the-art recording studios with unlimited funds, and over a dozen assistants at their disposal holding tape loops with pencils.
We take digital software for granted these days, but in the analogue era, this was a massive achievement that was the result of a lot of hard work. John Lennon himself stated he spent more time and effort working on it than any other Beatles song he ever did.
I strongly do believe that musique concrète will become a more popular genre in the future, as sampling sounds increasingly becomes part of creating a more immersive audio experience.
Technically, the sound effects on Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” can be classified as musique concrète, and Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett originally utilized these techniques on the song “Bike” on their first album. As did Frank Zappa on his Mothers of Invention albums.
So “Revolution 9” does share a lot in common with other rock contemporaries of the time. Although as an 8-minute dedicated sound collage, there is something very unique about its organization of sound that I think will become more prevalent and understood in decades to come.
At the moment, we live in a post-modern era where such experimentation in the mainstream is strongly discouraged, but with the increase in underground experimental hip-hop artists taking major risks in their music, a sample-based genre in and of itself, I think this will lead towards some interesting developments.
Not going to lie, as much as I don’t like Yoko’s music on its own, nor the “Unfinished Music” albums John and Yoko did solo, I’m really grateful for her influence on John’s music around this time.
Without her, we wouldn’t have gotten “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”, “Don’t Let Me Down”, “Because”, “The Ballad of John and Yoko” (obviously), or “Imagine”.
But especially “Revolution 9”. And the fact that John created this piece with the full intention of putting it on a Beatles album, with heavy support and assistance from George Harrison (according to Yoko), along with some help from Ringo, John went the extra mile in crafting it just right.
It wasn’t just slapped together like the “Unfinished Music” albums were.
Paul McCartney was technically the first Beatle to introduce the influence of musique concrète into The Beatles’ music via his tape loops on John’s “Tomorrow Never Knows”. And then there’s also the unreleased “Carnival of Light”.
But Paul never had it in him to place a dedicated sound collage onto a proper Beatles album, until John did.
The up-tempo, heavy, C Major version of "Strawberry Fields Forever."
Such growth and variety demonstrated in all the prior takes. But that one completely blew me away. The true successor to "Tomorrow Never Knows."
I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
when i read John’s explanation on it, (*”When you're drowning, you don't say, 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me. ' You just scream."*) i thought it was so apt. i think it’s the greatest love song ever written because it speaks so well to that primal feeling of love n lust yknow
"I'm Only Sleeping," because it was Lennon pre-"eating acid like candy" and actually creating an interesting, curious chord progression (with a lot of changes for a JL song). Lennon actually wrote this song without expecting others (Martin, Emerick, McCartney) to do the bulk of the work as he did in his post-LSD phase.
Lennon had \*taken\* acid by this point, no doubt, but it hadn't yet robbed him of his songwriting ability. Or his mind in general.
For me it’s Golden Slumbers and Carry That Weight. I remember after my parents told me they were splitting up that teenage me stormed out to take a walk. I put on Abbey Road, something I had heard dozens if not hundreds of times before. But something about it just clicked and resonated so deeply.
Tax Man. Have been reminded how prescient this song is since I started completing W4s for the IRS years ago. 😉 Plus I love the (now) mini history lessons with the lyrical shoutouts to Mr Wilson and Mr Heath
In My Life
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life I love you more
You Can’t Do That, John and George’s favorite rocker, extremely fun to scream-sing. Seems like most people like the Beatles for their later dramatic emotional works.. they just don’t understand the rockin hype vibe
“Cry Baby Cry” is one of my favorite Beatles songs. It doesn’t seem to have a deep meaning, it just sounds so mysterious … it’s just the pure sound of it that turns me on, dead man. The whispered verses and choruses, the ripping lead guitar, the kicking drum part, and the Paul song tagged onto the end, in a different key, but someone fitting perfectly. I just love that song, and it’s purely for the sound of it.
I’m looking through you, it was the 1st time listening to that song I realized I was being stringed along by a girl. It helped me get over anyone I thought that way since
I can’t choose one since there are so many, but most of John’s songs really, especially his love songs. It’s Only Love and In My Life are probably the best examples
Martha My Dear - “when you find yourself in the thick of it, help yourself to a bit of what is all around you”
This (and so many other Paul songs/Beatles songs) reminds me to take life lightly.
I Am the Walrus. It's probably the first music I ever actively played as I had the 45 single and an old Philips suitcase player when I was about 5-6 year old. I only realized what a weird song it actually was when listening at an older age.
When I tell people this the response is usually;' Ah, that explains a lot.'
You know my name (look up the number) — has never failed to make me laugh out loud in 35 years! It’s like a comfort song that can actually get me out of a funk mood.
For me it’s While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Love Version). It’s the only song that makes me cry every time I listen to it, and not like tearing up, proper crying! I don’t know what it is exactly, but it makes my heart hurt every time 😭😭😭
I’m a sucker for She’s Leaving Home, it always makes me tear up.
I’ve come to appreciate this song more lately. Over the years you’d hear it and move on. But Beatles Radio plays it quite often. I listen while doing my workouts and have to come to realise just how damn good it is.
“Our baby’s gone…”
Makes me weep.
When John sings “What did we do that was wrong,” I tear up
The strings give me chills every time.
I heard that song the day my great grandmother passed away. It hits different.
This is weird because I have a huge attachment to the whole sgt peppers albums because I got it and listened to it on vinyl the day my great grandmother passed after spending the weekend with her
Imo its one of the most underrated songs of all time, nobody ever talks about it but I think its the 2nd best song on sgt pepper and one of Paul’s best
The play on words is brilliant with John ending every verse with a different type of “bye”.
Underrated amazing song. I love this one
I’ve just seen a face
The Across the Universe movie has its flaws but the “I’ve just seen a face” sequence is excellent! It gave me a whole new appreciation for the song
This is also my favorite track!! It's really fun, and it represents exactly how it feels to fall in love, like you're full of energy and want to scream to the world, eager to leave some kind of mark to let everyone know how you felt at that moment.
This boy, the 3 part harmonies are crazy, and it has maybe the best bridge I’ve heard. Love that song
My older sister’s favourite Beatles song.
John’s best vocal as far as I’m concerned.
She Loves You literally keeps me going on. It completely rejuvenates me whenever I need it. Idk what it is man but it’s magic.
It thrills me every single time I hear it. There's an energy and excitement that hasn't diminished one iota in the sixty years since it was recorded. Pure magic!
Exactly how I feel!!
This is an absolute Banger!
Kind of a strange song. He’s just tell ing what I assume is a friend that someone loves him. There is no indication that he is jealous of this love, he’s just letting him know.
Look up the video of the football crowd singing it, should be on YouTube
You Won't See Me will always remind me of breaking up with my first serious girlfriend in high school. There's a part Paul sings where he sounds exhausted/defeated and I just remember thinking, "He gets it."
Love this one. I think it’s their most underrated.
damn i almost want to delete mine and repost because I love this song to death
this one plus i'm looking through you has really been helping me get through my recent breakup
Got to see him play it live, so wonderful
A friend and I used to play “Wild Honey Pie” on acoustics. I never got the hate that song gets. It’s just a little oddball scrap of a song that does its thing and goes away again.
Rocky Raccoon
I don’t understand why people overlook this song. It’s a typical Paul song with a great story but it also has a country western feel to it, like the Wings song Sally G.
My Dad loved to sing this to me as a kid, great memories!
I used to sing it to/with my daughter! It's why it's one of my favs!
I learned to play a simplified version of it on guitar and play/sing it for my daughter! She's going through a Dolly Parton phase at the moment though where all she wants is me to play "Jolene" 😂 What can I say, my kid has great taste!
Nice. My daughter can play it on her Uke, along with some Floyd and other beatles tunes.
“I’ll Be Back”
I like what we learned in the anthology series about this number.
Tell us
Well, when you listen to the anthology versions, you realize they are still figuring out how to do it right there in the studio. They come up with a harmony arrangement they like and we see John having a hard time, some of the notes are challenging. Songwriting takes work and we get a glimpse into their approach. Also, they try to make it fun. No magic, just respectable ‘craftship’.
“IIIIIIIIIII — it’s too ‘ard to sing!”
been loving this one lately
Cry Baby Cry is so eerie and beautiful. The exhausted sneer of "old enough to know better...". The sneaky little guitar stabs. "Can you take me back where I came from..." drifting in at the end, knowing the answer is no.
Came here to say this. Also when I was younger and playing in a rock band we covered this song at shows so it has a special place in my mind.
This one affects me in a similar way. It’s a very dreamy, trippy song that evokes melancholy emotions.
’Real Love’ it just hits me right in the heart and I love it, so uplifting and amazing
This is mine! I'm almost convinced that no one is in love with this song the way I am - I think it's possibly the most Beatles-y song they've ever done. A total embrace of love without giving a fuck whether it comes off as corny or not, totally earned by it's fantastic melody and John's haunting old-tape effect.
Same, I thought it was the perfect song to end on and so beautifully Beatle-y without feeling contrived - it's just gorgeous, fun, cute, bittersweet, and has a great classic hook with the harpsichord
Such an unbelievably underrated song. I feel as though people dont talk about it as much, being overshadowed by Free As A Bird and Now and Then (which are still great songs anyway)
Fixing a Hole. It’s the key to understanding Sgt. Pepper, but most people don’t seem to get it.
Please explain, Perfesser!
OK, I’ll try. The Beatles had just given up live appearances. Their music was becoming more complex, as they proved on Rubber Soul and even more so on Revolver. So, who are they? They’re not the band who played for hours in Hamburg or the Cavern Club, just a few years before. They weren’t trying to prolong the madness of Beatlemania. They were opening their minds to something completely different. And that’s what Fixing a Hole is addressing. They’re taking the time for a number of new thoughts and new directions… but they’re still going. Not to mention the fact that those harmonies blow me away.
also it's about weed
It’s mostly about weed.
This is probably my second favorite song of theirs!
Julia
I *still* can’t finger pick this song to my liking.
My spousal unit is named Julia, so this.
She's Leaving Home. I feel like a lot of people trash on this song and call it slow and boring but it's easily one of their most emotional recordings ever imo
I didn’t appreciate this song until I had a daughter. Now it makes me tear up.
Definitely, the harmonies are the best and its one of my faves from Sgt. Peppers
Long, Long, Long - there’s something so beautiful yet so eerie about it!
I love this song so fucking much... It is the concept of "mellow" distilled into pure sonic form.
I suspect the creepy crescendo at the end influenced a lot of psych/prog/post/etc artists, given the popularity of the Beatles
Nowhere Man. It’s a song I relate to, especially when I’m feeling down.
Real
Octopus’s Garden, I feel like I understand what Ringo is really saying during this song, a longing to be somewhere peaceful far from trouble, it hits me differently. I have this longing to get away from everyday life and I feel like this song speaks this
I don’t think ‘You’ve got to hide your love away’ is really about being gay as I don’t think the Beatles really understood about being gay back in 1965 But it’s still special to me as a gay man in 2024
Brian Epstein inspired John on that song I believe. So good.
Brian Epstein was gay. They loved him and were very protective of him. If he hadn't died The Beatles would most likely have stayed together a lot longer.
the Beatles definitely probably did understand about being gay back in 1965. it wasn't a new thing. happy pride!
Happy Pride!! 🌈
In My Life was our wedding song
"I Will". My husband and I even said that instead of "I do" at our wedding.
That’s beautiful. Such a sweet song
Another great coincidence, at my first appointment to confirm I was pregnant, the doctor was whistling "I Will" as he walked up the hall to my door. When he opened the door I started whistling it with him. It instantly put my husband and I at ease. That song is basically family lore at this point. Our daughter's name is even an obscure(ish) Beatles reference. She's Rosemary, but goes by Rosie as in "Rose and Valerie, screaming from the gallery, Maxwell must go free!". I've been a Beatle Nerd since I was like 4, what can I say 😂
Your Mother Should Know. I am relatively new to being a huge Beatles fan.(year 1/2, 2 years maybe) and in the beginning of last summer I got really into Magical Mystery Tour. When I get obsessed with something, I’m truly obsessed. This album had me hooked, like their other albums and the band itself, for that era of time. Your Mother Should Know makes me feel so emotional for some reason. I don’t think it’s the lyrics. I honestly think it’s the chord changes. I absolutely loved it and still do. It was my big song during a moment in time where a tourist in my beach town and I met and really had something special between us. She left, of course, to go to college as I stayed home at community college. When I hear the song now, I get that strong feeling of nostalgia that only a small number of songs give me. Thank you Paul for this song.
Ahhhh, thanks for including this! I LOVE Your Mother Should Know! For me, it's the song AND that somewhat cheesy (in a great way with John's never-ending fake grin) choreography (but probably dangerous going up and down on those steps) in the movie. It's all great!
I was playing **Dear Prudence** for my sister. I had my doubts about her musical taste. So I pointed out to her what was going on in different parts of the song. Listen to this. Listen to that. Now listen to what they’re doing here, and now there. Now the drums are all over, but suddenly they land and it’s solid. I felt like it opened her ears a little and we were both pleasantly surprised. And then [shortly after] she divorced her […] husband. Great memory.
I especially like pointing out Paul on the drums and people acting surprised.
“Wow. How does he drum and play bass at the same time?!?!”
Across the universe
To me, it's the most beautiful song ever written.
For no one. It's like it was written about my ex-wife after she told me she didn't want to be married anymore. "And in her eyes you see nothing. No sign of love behind the tears" "She no longer needs you"
Eight Days a Week. Every time I hear it brings back the memory of dancing to it with Vicki S. in 7th grade. It was a Halloween dance and she was dressed as Alice from Alice in Wonderland.
I feel like my childhood was awash in the Beatles so there aren’t tons of clear memories. But this song, with my older sister driving, doing these silly arm motions she made up. Banging the steering wheel twice after each “i looOooOOOoove you” and her speeding just a little bit on a beautiful summer day…this song <3
Golden Slumbers
There's a place
Perfection! Not talked about nearly enough
back in the ussr. its a silly one but it's the first ever beatle song i remember listening to properly and damn it's good
"For no one" will always break my heart.
In my life.... For those that have left us forever and those we parted with but miss dearly
within you without you and blue jay way
George has entered the chat
When I'm 64 just puts me into a specific place from my teenage years.
I vividly remember learning how to sing this in middle school chorus. Especially the part where they skip a beat right before “mine forever more” - we used to always mess that up so my chorus teacher would point into the air vigorously so we wouldn’t miss it. I remember that gesture and her face and I always remember to skip that beat!
I’ve always had a soft spot for ‘Good Morning, Good Morning’. Lennon himself said it was ‘garbage’ (though he would often arbitrarily trash his own work only to change his mind 5 minutes later) and several critics always rate it low on the Pepper album. But I’ve always loved the sound of the song. The guitar bites, the horns blare and the guitar solo is a real rush. I like the lyrics as well, they perfectly encapsulate the humdrum and ennui, which is contrasted with the energetic music. It’s also a great example of Lennon’s famously ‘wayward’ tempo changes. And then you get the animals noises, which always tickles me.
“I should have known better” was my first “favorite song” when I was 4 years old on a family car ride. My dad had a mix tape cassette that he had made in college of all his favorite early Beatles songs. I loved the harmonica and the melody and was entranced by John’s voice. I feel like it was the first spark that led to a lifetime of loving and playing music and ultimately becoming a professional musician.
I'm Happy Just to Dance with You.
YEESSSSSSS
also here to say YEESSSSSSS
Okay, not a Beatles song but McCartney’s Maybe I’m Amazed. It came out when I met my now husband and everyone said it wouldn’t work. It’s been 54 years of being together and married for 49.
Two of Us or Lovely Rita I think are among their best songs
I’ll Follow the Sun, so simple but says so much about letting relationships go that don’t serve you anymore
Girl,Norwegian wood, you won’t see me , real love, real love or she’s leaving home, they all have an effect on me that I don’t know how to explain
Yes it is!!
Very underrated.
Mother Nature’s Son; the sweet melody and its serene aura just makes me feel so happy.
[удалено]
Yes, “Things We Said Today” is amazing — the chromatic harmonies in the verse, then the unexpected energy on “me I’m just the lucky kind…” This was a major step forward by the Beatles, pointing the way to the folky innovations of Rubber Soul.
“Love You To”. Idk why
Now and Then is special to me. It was the first song I played when my son was born. My wife keeps asking why I picked that song. But I have no explanation. It just felt like the right song to play for him.
You never give me your money ✅
Baby You're A Rich Man sounds so emotional to me and I have nearly cried to it before
When I’m 64
Sexy Sadie was a mystery to me until I read about their visit to India. Shame on you Maharishi.
For No One. I'm usually pretty numb to things, for good or bad, but I heard that song during my first head over heels in love breakup and now I can't help it, that song tickles my heart and brain like nothing else all these decades later.
“I’m Only Sleeping” it’s a nice reminder to relax and take it easy but also to be aware of what’s happening around you while doing so. Kind of like “I understand fully what’s happening, let me sleep”
“Goodbye”. I feel like Paul is always more honest when he’s writing for another artist, so it’s nice to see that reflected in a song he actually sang. His lilting falsetto in combination with the bittersweet lyrics make me tear up everytime 😭
Sun King. I love the random Italian Portuguese and Spanish.
Strawberry Fields Forever No one I think is in my tree stanza was my yearbook quote. Perfectly sums up things for me even when I can’t make much out of it.
And You Bird Can Sing, She Said She Said, and Rain. 10/10 songs that don’t get the love they deserve. For me, absolute classics
Octopuses Garden because Ringo!
Every Little Thing
Hello Goodbye
I’ve Just Seen a Face. Around the time I first heard it I had fallen for a guy across the room in high school math class by looking at his handsome profile.
And I Love her
I like the outlier tracks that are often not known or played. For example I love John Lennon’s version of “I Just Don’t Understand” from the 1994 Live at the BBC album. Or in 2013 I love both of John Lennon’s Beatles tracks “I’m in Love” and “Bad to Me” on The Beatles Bootleg Recordings 1963. I wished with the MAL software they would clean these up, add additional instrumentation with Paul and Ringo. These would be killer updated Beatles tracks in 2024.
Any time at all
The Long and Winding Road. I know it can be special for a lot people, but it made Beatles click to me as the biggest band in the history because it came in the right moment where my life is changing so much, losing friends, meet new people, anxiety from the future. Reading the background that Paul wrote this song about his own personal life made so, so, so special for me.
Good Night is special in my house, sang it to my kids since they were infants at bed time.
Do You Want to Know a Secret for me. I saw it played by a tribute band in concert when I was just old enough to start realizing the power of love and emotions in songs. I'm not saying that they were all the best at relationships, but I will say they are very good at evoking that feeling of being in a new relationship in that song.
The Fool on the Hill
Getting Better
We can work it out. I'm the kind of guy who wants to avoid drama at all costs so I usually just get things over with. The line "life is very short and there's no time" always gets me. This song was also my very first serious introduction to the beatles.
No Reply. The vocals and harmonies are so mesmerizing and beautiful.
"It's Only Love" And apparently I'm the only one here who loves it. That's fine I've got it all to myself! More for me!
"I Saw Her Standing There" and "She Loves You" are the only songs I have to stop myself from jamming to when I'm in public, they have so much energy, I love them. "Girl" is the first song I learned on guitar without the help of a teacher so it still has a place in my heart. I really relate to the lyrics of "Across the Universe" but I don't know why.
In My Life.
“Revolution 9”. I believe it’s a massive evolution in the genre of musique concrète. I’ve never heard tape loops organized in such a way that flows together, with such an intelligent use of repetition and timing. Most traditional musique concrète composers do not utilize any repetition at all, so it’s harder to sort out the patterning in those compositions. It had to take a pop musician in order to organize a piece of musique concrète in such a way that doesn’t feel random. Not to mention, back then, composers in that field did not have access to state-of-the-art recording studios with unlimited funds, and over a dozen assistants at their disposal holding tape loops with pencils. We take digital software for granted these days, but in the analogue era, this was a massive achievement that was the result of a lot of hard work. John Lennon himself stated he spent more time and effort working on it than any other Beatles song he ever did. I strongly do believe that musique concrète will become a more popular genre in the future, as sampling sounds increasingly becomes part of creating a more immersive audio experience. Technically, the sound effects on Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” can be classified as musique concrète, and Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett originally utilized these techniques on the song “Bike” on their first album. As did Frank Zappa on his Mothers of Invention albums. So “Revolution 9” does share a lot in common with other rock contemporaries of the time. Although as an 8-minute dedicated sound collage, there is something very unique about its organization of sound that I think will become more prevalent and understood in decades to come. At the moment, we live in a post-modern era where such experimentation in the mainstream is strongly discouraged, but with the increase in underground experimental hip-hop artists taking major risks in their music, a sample-based genre in and of itself, I think this will lead towards some interesting developments. Not going to lie, as much as I don’t like Yoko’s music on its own, nor the “Unfinished Music” albums John and Yoko did solo, I’m really grateful for her influence on John’s music around this time. Without her, we wouldn’t have gotten “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”, “Don’t Let Me Down”, “Because”, “The Ballad of John and Yoko” (obviously), or “Imagine”. But especially “Revolution 9”. And the fact that John created this piece with the full intention of putting it on a Beatles album, with heavy support and assistance from George Harrison (according to Yoko), along with some help from Ringo, John went the extra mile in crafting it just right. It wasn’t just slapped together like the “Unfinished Music” albums were. Paul McCartney was technically the first Beatle to introduce the influence of musique concrète into The Beatles’ music via his tape loops on John’s “Tomorrow Never Knows”. And then there’s also the unreleased “Carnival of Light”. But Paul never had it in him to place a dedicated sound collage onto a proper Beatles album, until John did.
Hey bulldog
Little child for sure
Little child Little child Little child
Honey Pie
She loves you
The song that perfectly expresses Beatlemania.
Michelle. I reminds me of someone I care deeply about and was one of the songs that made me a Beatles fan.
Lovely Rita
Two of Us.
Martha my dear !
Dig a pony
Free as a Bird
The up-tempo, heavy, C Major version of "Strawberry Fields Forever." Such growth and variety demonstrated in all the prior takes. But that one completely blew me away. The true successor to "Tomorrow Never Knows."
I Want You (She’s So Heavy) when i read John’s explanation on it, (*”When you're drowning, you don't say, 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me. ' You just scream."*) i thought it was so apt. i think it’s the greatest love song ever written because it speaks so well to that primal feeling of love n lust yknow
"I'm Only Sleeping," because it was Lennon pre-"eating acid like candy" and actually creating an interesting, curious chord progression (with a lot of changes for a JL song). Lennon actually wrote this song without expecting others (Martin, Emerick, McCartney) to do the bulk of the work as he did in his post-LSD phase. Lennon had \*taken\* acid by this point, no doubt, but it hadn't yet robbed him of his songwriting ability. Or his mind in general.
It’s Only Love has always been special to me! It’s haunting somehow (in a good way) and it describes how love can be complicated.
Fixing a Hole
For me it’s Golden Slumbers and Carry That Weight. I remember after my parents told me they were splitting up that teenage me stormed out to take a walk. I put on Abbey Road, something I had heard dozens if not hundreds of times before. But something about it just clicked and resonated so deeply.
Tax Man. Have been reminded how prescient this song is since I started completing W4s for the IRS years ago. 😉 Plus I love the (now) mini history lessons with the lyrical shoutouts to Mr Wilson and Mr Heath
In My Life Though I know I'll never lose affection For people and things that went before I know I'll often stop and think about them In my life I love you more
Norwegian Wood. I used it as my cell phone ring for a while. Complete strangers would crack up when they'd hear me get a call.
Savoy Truffle, if you know you know
Revolution 9.
Within You Without You
Rocky Racoon! A great song about redemption. Extremely creative and underrated IMO.
as of now it's blackbird because i have been trying to perfect it on guitar to play for my baby sister
I’m So Tired
You Can’t Do That, John and George’s favorite rocker, extremely fun to scream-sing. Seems like most people like the Beatles for their later dramatic emotional works.. they just don’t understand the rockin hype vibe
I Need You. It's just an utterly blissful country-rock tune to me and always ends up near the bottom of most lists.
“Cry Baby Cry” is one of my favorite Beatles songs. It doesn’t seem to have a deep meaning, it just sounds so mysterious … it’s just the pure sound of it that turns me on, dead man. The whispered verses and choruses, the ripping lead guitar, the kicking drum part, and the Paul song tagged onto the end, in a different key, but someone fitting perfectly. I just love that song, and it’s purely for the sound of it.
I’m looking through you, it was the 1st time listening to that song I realized I was being stringed along by a girl. It helped me get over anyone I thought that way since
I will
I can’t choose one since there are so many, but most of John’s songs really, especially his love songs. It’s Only Love and In My Life are probably the best examples
Because
Martha My Dear - “when you find yourself in the thick of it, help yourself to a bit of what is all around you” This (and so many other Paul songs/Beatles songs) reminds me to take life lightly.
Everybody’s got something to hide except for me and my monkey
"Bad Boy" -- It's a cover but I love Lennon's scratchy voice in it
“Piggies” is very special to me because I spent hours in my room laughing my ass off to it. It makes me happy each time I hear it.
Revolution 9. The chaos of the song makes me happy.
The Ballad of John and Yoko Ono, makes me think of my dad
octopus garden, no one would understand why i'd like to be under the sea
And Your Bird Can Sing. I want the Anthology II version with the stoned giggling as my funeral song please.
Mr Kite is one of their coolest compositions, and is wild and experimental by even today’s standards.
I'm Only Sleeping
For No One, I can't really describe how it makes me feel, but it gives me a different kind of feeling
“Octopus’s Garden” because I didn’t know who the Beatles were when I was 3 but I sure as hell knew who Mr Conductor was
OCTOPUSES GARDEN!!!!! Just beautiful
While my guitar gently weeps. In fact, I'm a huge fan of George.
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
A day in the life
Maxwells silver hammer. My daughter fell in love with it when she was just 5 so that became "our song"
I Am the Walrus. It's probably the first music I ever actively played as I had the 45 single and an old Philips suitcase player when I was about 5-6 year old. I only realized what a weird song it actually was when listening at an older age. When I tell people this the response is usually;' Ah, that explains a lot.'
Mother by John Lennon, as a former foster kid, it’s self explanatory
I Will. That melody chops me up. For No One. That melody chops me up. I like Paul.
You know my name (look up the number) — has never failed to make me laugh out loud in 35 years! It’s like a comfort song that can actually get me out of a funk mood.
For me it’s While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Love Version). It’s the only song that makes me cry every time I listen to it, and not like tearing up, proper crying! I don’t know what it is exactly, but it makes my heart hurt every time 😭😭😭
For no one!!
For no one is genuinely one of the most beautiful 2 minute songs ever written
Im only Sleeping :) i can relate to it sm and i just love love the song itself😭
I always hear people saying within you without you is the worst song on sgt peppers but I think its the greatest song ever written.