5 Beatles Songs Written By John Lennon That He Hated
John Lennon wrote many songs for The Beatles but wasn’t proud of every single one. After The Beatles broke up, Lennon wasn’t afraid to be brutally honest about the band’s work, and there is a long list of songs he detests, including one’s he wrote.
Here are 5 Beatles songs written by John Lennon that he hated
‘It’s Only Love’
“It’s Only Love” was first released on The Beatles’ 1965 album Help!. The song is credited to the Lennon-McCartney duo, but Lennon claimed it was mainly his. In an interview with David Sheff for Playboy, Lennon’s review of this track was particularly scathing, saying he always hated it.
“‘It’s Only Love’ is mine,” he shared, “I always thought it was a lousy song. The lyrics were abysmal. I always hated that song.”
McCartney backed this sentiment, calling the song “filler.”
‘Mean Mr. Mustard’
John Lennon wrote this song for Abbey Road while The Beatles were on their trip to India. It’s based on a newspaper article Lennon read about a man who did whatever it took not to spend money. While its story is intriguing, the “Imagine” singer didn’t have fond memories of this track, calling it a “bit of c**p I wrote in India.”
‘Run for Your Life’
“Run for Your Life” is from the band’s 1965 album Rubber Soul. This track has a darker connotation because the lyrics establish a threatening tone toward the female subject of the track. However, Lennon claimed the harsh lyrics came from a song by Elvis Presley. He told Sheff it was one of his more forgettable songs, but it was a favorite of George Harrison.
“It has a line from an old Presley song. ‘I’d rather see you dead little girl than to be with another man’ is a line from an old blues song that Presley did once,” Lennon explained. “Just sort of a throw-away song of mine that I never thought much of… but it was always a favorite of George’s.”
‘Good Morning, Good Morning’
“Good Morning, Good Morning” debuted on 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. While this Beatles song sounds like a knockoff of Singin’ in the Rain, John Lennon based this song on a television commercial for Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. Years later, he was critical of the track and blamed the TV for influencing how this song turned out.
“It’s a throwaway, a piece of garbage, I always thought,” Lennon said. “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.”
‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’
This one may be more surprising as it’s one of The Beatles’ most famous songs. It even has a special connection to John Lennon since he based it on a drawing from his son, Julian. However, in 1980, Lennon called the song “abysmal” and “terrible.”
“I heard ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ last night. It’s abysmal, you know?” Lennon told Sheff. “The track is just terrible. I mean, it is a great track, a great song, but it isn’t a great track because it wasn’t made right. You know what I mean?”
