10 Beatles Songs John Lennon Hated
There are many Beatles songs that John Lennon hated. Out of all The Beatles, John was the most critical of his and the band’s work. He didn’t give his praise lightly. Here are 10 songs John disliked. Some may surprise fans.
10. ‘Run for Your Life’
It’s surprising if anyone likes “Run for Your Life.” It’s one of the most disturbing Beatles songs and one John hated. All you need to hear is the first verse to get that impression: “Well, I’d rather see you dead, little girl/ Than to be with another man/ You better keep your head, little girl/ Or I won’t know where I am.” According to Ultimate Classic Rock, John often said it was his least favorite Beatles song. He also called it a “throwaway.”
9. ‘Paperback Writer’
“Paperback Writer” is one of the best Beatles songs from the mid-1960s. The riff is memorable, and the lyrics tell an interesting story like many Beatles songs before. However, John wouldn’t have agreed. He didn’t like Paul’s “Paperback Writer.” He dismissed it as the “son of ‘Day Tripper.'” He’s not wrong, but the song deserves more respect.
8. ‘When I’m Sixty-Four’
“When I’m Sixty-Four” was one of Paul’s earliest songs. However, he brought it back out in 1966 when his father, Jim McCartney, was turning 64. So, it’s sentimental for Paul for a couple of reasons. However, John was not impressed. John called it “granny music s***,” according to sound engineer Geoff Emerick. During his 1980 interview with Playboy, John said the song was “Paul’s, completely. I would never dream of writing a song like that.”
7. ‘Good Morning, Good Morning’
“Good Morning, Good Morning” isn’t much, but it has a catchy melody. It was another Beatles song John hated. In David Sheff’s All We Are Saying, John said, “It’s a throwaway, a piece of garbage, I always thought. I always had the TV on very low in the background when I was writing and it came over, and then I wrote the song.”
6. ‘Lovely Rita’
Paul wrote “Lovely Rita” because he thought it’d be interesting to write a song about someone falling in love with a meter maid who gets a lot of hate from people. John thought the idea was stupid. In 1980, he said, “I’m not interested in writing about people like that. I like to write about me, because I know me. I don’t know anything about secretaries and postmen and meter maids.”
5. ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’
“Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” was one of the many of his own songs that John disliked. He wrote it after his son Julian came home with a picture he drew of his classmate Lucy. The song is one of The Beatles’ most psychedelic songs. However, the song didn’t hold up in John’s mind. In 1980, he said he’d heard it recently and thought it was abysmal and terrible. He said it was a great track and son, but it wasn’t a great track because it wasn’t made right. Whatever that means.
4. ‘Hello Goodbye’
“Hello Goodbye” is usually on the list of some of the most annoying Beatles songs. So, it’s understandable that John hated it. Paul argued that “Hello Goodbye” spoke to the duality of the universe. John disagreed. He said the song “smells a mile away.” He said it was “three minutes of contradictions and meaningless juxtapositions.”
3. ‘Across the Universe’
In Sheff’s All We Are Saying, John said the lyrics for “Across the Universe” came randomly one night. He said it wrote itself and that he didn’t technically own it. It was as if he was a conduit for it to come out. That doesn’t mean he liked the finished product. He said it was a “lousy track of a great song” and was “so disappointed by it.” He also blamed Paul for not supporting it fully.
2. ‘Mean Mr. Mustard’
Listening to “Mean Mr. Mustard,” you can tell it’s a throwaway. It’s just there. John wrote it while The Beatles were at the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s retreat in Rishikesh, India. It didn’t make its album debut until a year later. John called it a “bit of c***” and a “piece of garbage.”
1. ‘Lady Madonna’
Paul had many influences on “Lady Madonna,” but nothing could have saved it in John’s eyes. In 1980, he said he liked the piano lick, but the song never went anywhere. He couldn’t remember if he helped Paul with the lyrics, but he wasn’t proud of them either way.
Other Beatles songs John hated and called garbage include “Sun King,” “Dig a Pony,” “Birthday,” “Cry Baby Cry,” and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” John didn’t like many of the songs he made in and out of The Beatles. He was very critical of his own work.
