What is it about the Beatles? The four famous mop-tops didn’t start out
so different from other Britpop boy bands of the day, but they quickly
became the seminal rock group. No matter what kind of music you
listen to, it’s almost certain that you’re going to be able to find at
least one song in their incredibly diverse catalog to love. A couple
years ago, I read an article stating that the Beatles are the most
popular band even among Gen-Xers. The release of The Beatles: 1
probably helped; it was the biggest seller of the year even though the
band had not existed for 30 years. I’ve always been a fan of the
Beatles, but I didn’t really immerse myself in their music until my
brother Nathan decided they were his favorite band. Since then I’ve
heard dozens of their songs with which I was previously unfamiliar, and
my respect for them as artists and individuals has deepened. Would that
we all could reach such creative peaks in our twenties… I’m no good at
favorites, so this list is not definitive, but here are, at least, 25
Beatles songs that I like a lot, in alphabetical order. (Okay, so I
stretched it a wee bit…) And the others are pretty good too.
Do You Want to Know a Secret? (Please Please Me)
- I just find this one very fun. It’s sweet, it’s goofy, it’s got some
nifty harmony. It’s very teenagerish, the idea of this love being a
secret; it brings to mind the image of a piece of paper being passed up
the aisle with “yes” and “no” written next to boxes where the recipient
is supposed to place a checkmark. Cute. This is one of their earliest
recordings, so they’re still essentially a little skiffle group having a
good time and probably having little notion of just how big they’re
about to get. Listen, do you want to hear a secret? / Do you promise
not to tell? / Closer, let me whisper in your ear, / say those words you
want to hear: / I’m in love with you.
Eleanor Rigby (Revolver)
- About as far as you can get from bubblegum. This is one of the
Beatles’ most depressing and insightful songs. The lyrics breathe
poetry, and the strings-drenched instrumentation carries their
dirge-like message to fruition. Eleanor Rigby died in the church and
was buried along with her name. / Nobody came. / Father McKenzie wiping
the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave. / No one was saved
Hello Goodbye (Magical Mystery Tour)
– I just love the sound of this one. It’s peppy in spite of the rather
despondent lyrics, and they’ve got some really great harmonies going.
This is the sort of song you’d sing around the campfire. You say goodbye, and I say hello. / Hello, hello. / I don’t know why you say goodbye, / I say hello.
Help! (Help!)
- I like this one even better, and for the same reason. It’s just so
much fun to listen to and to try to sing, and the tone is very upbeat. When
I was younger, so much younger than today, / I never needed anybody’s
help in any way. / But now these days are gone. I’m not so self-assured.
/ Now I find I’ve changed my mind and opened up the doors.
Here Comes the Sun (Abbey Road)
- Good ol’ George. I’m glad the quiet Beatle got a chance to shine now
and again, and it’s appropriate that one of his brightest achievements
is a song about the sun. Winter can be awfully gloomy and depressing,
and that first sight of real spring sunshine is sometimes euphoric.
Anybody who’s lived here in Erie can appreciate George’s sentiments
here. The song is as gentle and quiet as its composer. Little
darlin’, it’s been a long and lonely winter. / Little darlin’, it seems
like years since it’s been here. / Here comes the sun.
Here, There and Everywhere (Revolver)
– I heard it first from Clay Aiken. Crazy, no? But it’s a beautiful
song, and I don’t blame Art Garfunkel for declaring it his favorite
Beatles offering. In fact, it got his vote for best song period. It’s
soft and sincere and well suited to the harp, and that can’t be a bad
thing. I want her everywhere, / and if she’s beside me I know I need
never care, / but to love her is to need her everywhere, / knowing that
love is to share.
Hey, Jude (Beatles 1967-1970)
– Talk about a long song. It’s probably longer than it needs to be,
what with the massive amounts of repetition. But this is a number that
builds on itself, gaining such momentum as the minutes tick by that the
repeated choruses are appreciated rather than brushed off as
superfluities. Great tune, great communal feel and great back story. Hey,
Jude, don’t let me down. / You have found her, now go and get her. /
The minute you let her under your skin, / then you’ll begin to make it
better.
I’ll Follow the Sun (Beatles for Sale)
– Just a very sweet and simple early Beatles tune penned by a teenage
Paul who, in an apparent lack of emotional maturity, declares that to
prevent future heartache, he’s leaving his love early. Ah, the joys of
young love… And now the time has come / and, my love, I must go. / And though I lose a friend / In the end you will know…
If I Fell (Hard Day’s Night)
– The first time I heard this song was when I saw the movie a couple
years back, and I was struck by its melodiousness. The lyrics tell of a
boy who’s been wounded by a prior relationship and seeks assurance that
it won’t happen again. It’s just another sappy love song of the sort
sure to make girls swoon, but the tune and the harmony of the voices
puts this one ahead of most similar songs in my book. If I give my heart / to you, / I must be sure / from the very start / that you / would love me more than her.
In My Life (Rubber Soul)
– Wistful and contemplative, this one’s a bit nostalgic, though the
speaker ultimately decides the present is better. A very sweet and
slightly sad song. There are places I’ll remember / all my life,
though some have changed, / some forever not for better, / some are gone
and some remain.
Let It Be (Let It Be) –
Whether you consider it a hymn or simply a very personal tribute to
Paul’s mother, this is a glorious song of hope and unity that was an
ironic swan song for a group increasingly marred by interpersonal
crises. One of their longest, it is another one that continues to build
until everyone listening is singing along and, if they happen to be at a
concert, dramatically waving a lighter or glow stick or cell phone high
in the air. When I find myself in times of trouble, / Mother Mary comes to me, / speaking words of wisdom: / Let it be.
Long and Winding Road (Let It Be)
- I think of this as the Beatles’ afterthought, a tender post script on
a career spanning less than a decade in its existence but far into the
future in its influence. It’s wistful yet appreciative, and it’s rather
nice to think of it as a thank you note to all the fans who bolstered
the Beatles in the years when they reigned supreme. The long and
winding road / that leads to your door / will never disappear. / I've
seen that road before. / It always leads me here, / leads me to your
door.
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer (Abbey Road) -
I shouldn’t like this song. It’s so cold-blooded. Yet it’s such a fun
song, peppy and rather silly although its subject matter is quite
grotesque. The hammer in the chorus is a hoot. The lyrics are well
crafted and tough to wrap your tongue around sometimes; they toss around
a number of unusual words. Just a really amusingly odd little song. Joan was quizzical, studied pataphysical / science in the home, / late nights all alone with a test-tube, / ohh-oh-oh-oh...
Norwegian Wood (Rubber Soul)
– Although it was not one of his compositions, I always associate this
song with George because of the pervasiveness of the sitar. This song
just sounds really cool. The subject is a bit shady, I suppose, but the
instrumentals are brilliant, and they’re what landed this one on my
list. I once had a girl, / or should I say, she once had me. / She showed me her room. / Isn’t it good, Norwegian wood?
Nowhere Man (Rubber Soul)
– A song about living life to its fullest. So many of us wander through
life feeling un focused, unappreciated, unnoticed, unneeded… By showing
us the ultimate conglomeration of such feelings, the Beatles put up a
reflector by which to see ourselves and make a change. Doesn’t have a point of view, / knows not where he’s going to, / isn’t he a bit like you and me?
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (White Album)
– Raucous and life-affirming. It’s one of many Beatles songs I first
heard somewhere else, probably one of the first I ever heard period. I
know it was voted one of the worst songs ever last year by Blender
magazine, but I don’t put much stock in that. I think it’s just good,
solid storytelling, and while other songs may do it a bit better, I have
no complaints with this one. In a couple of years they have built /
a home sweet home / with a couple of kids running in the yard / of
Desmond and Molly Jones.
Octopus’ Garden (Abbey Road)
– There’s no point to this, really, but it’s about time Ringo got a
song to himself here. This is just an idle bit of reverie that he wrote
and sang, and its pleasantness just washes over you as you listen to it
and imagine yourself swimming in the cool blue water amongst schools of
fish and other aquatic animals. We would be warm below the storm / in
our little hideaway beneath the waves, / resting our head on the sea
bed / in an octopus' garden near a cave.
Penny Lane (Magical Mystery Tour)
– Paul’s poeticism comes across especially well in this upbeat number
rife with observations about the residents of the titular street. The
tune is fun and there’s some interesting instrumentation, but it’s the
lyrics that really get me here. In Penny Lane there is a barber
showing photographs / of every head he’s had the pleasure to know. / And
all the people that come and go / stop and say hello.
She’s Leaving Home (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band) – This one seems just as sad as Eleanor Rigby,
though it signals an adventurous new beginning from the perspective of
the daughter. What we’re getting, though, is the perspective of the
parents. Sort of. It’s skewed, I think, rather sarcastic. The parents
are moaning that they have lost their daughter, but they were the ones
who drove her out with their inflexibility. At any rate, the strings and
the plaintive vocals make this song sound tragic, even if it isn’t
quite. She (We gave her most of our lives) / is leaving /
(sacrificed most of our lives) / home (We gave her everything money
could buy). / She's leaving home after living alone / For so many years.
Bye, bye.
Something (Abbey Road) – George
again. An earnest love song with nice guitar work and aching vocals. He
didn’t have too many songs as a Beatle, but when he did write one, it
stood out. Something in the way she moves / attracts me like no other lover. / Something in the way she woos me…
We Can Work It Out (Beatles 1962-1966)
– This early song is a wonderfully catchy tune on the verses that turns
introspective and plaintive at the chorus. The contrast is a bit
strange, but I like both parts so much that it doesn’t make much
difference to me. Life is very short, and there’s no time / for
fussing and fighting, my friend. / I have always thought that it’s a
crime, / so I will ask you once again…
When I’m 64 (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
– I love the “oompah-oompah”ing instrumentation and the overall
light-hearted look at growing older. While 64 doesn’t seem all that old,
it’s still considerably removed from one’s twenties. It’s interesting
to see the contrast between how old age is portrayed in this and in Eleanor Rigby.
Of course, there’s a key difference, and I suppose the message is that
growing old isn’t so bad as long as we have someone in the same boat to
keep us company. When I grow old and I’m losing my hair / many years
from now, / will you still be sending me a Valentine, / birthday
greetings, bottle of wine? / If I stayed out till quarter to three, /
would you lock the door? / Will you still need me, / will you still feed
me / when I’m 64?
With a Little Help From My Friends (Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
– I’m not all that crazy about the titular song leading into this; I’d
prefer to just listen to it all by itself. Ringo has a hang-dog
expression in his voice. One can imagine the speaker’s been down and out
many times, but he can never sink too low because he has people who
care about him. Good message and melody, and I just love it when Ringo
gets the chance to sing.
Yellow Submarine (Yellow Submarine)
– See? There he is again! Yeah, it’s a silly song that spawned a
sillier movie, but I get a kick out of it nonetheless. It’s bouncy and
imaginative, and you can’t resist joining in that chorus. So we sailed up to the sun / till we found the sea of green. / And we lived beneath the waves / in our yellow submarine.
Yesterday (Help!)
– Such a wistful, aching song. The melody is beautiful, the lyrics
despondent, the total package a song that has been covered more times
than any other. And to think Paul almost cursed it with the lyrics Scrambled eggs, / oh my baby, how I love your legs.. Triple ick. Instead, we have an enduring classic about the agony of regret. Why she had to go, / I don’t know, she wouldn’t say. / I said something wrong. / Now I long for yesterday.
And I’m spent. As I said, the list is negotiable. For a band that was
together for less than a decade, the Beatles sure recorded a lot of
songs! I really think there is something there for everybody. I wish I
could’ve witness the Beatles’ rise to fame. The sixties were such an
incredibly exciting time musically. But I’m glad that they focused their
attention on writing and recording rather than touring so that folks
like me can enjoy their music just as easily as those who discovered it
first.
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