The 5 Best Beatles Ballads
Some of The Beatles‘ ballads are classics. For example, “Yesterday” is one of the most covered songs ever. And that’s not their only awesome ballad!
5. ‘If I Fell’
The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono includes an interview from 1980. During the interview, he was asked about “If I Fell.” “That’s my first attempt at a ballad proper,” he said. “That was the precursor to ‘In My Life.’ It has the same chord sequences as ‘In My Life’: D and B minor and E minor, those kind of things. And it’s semi-autobiographical, but not consciously. It shows that I wrote sentimental love ballads, silly love songs, way back when.”
John only saw “If I Fell” as a precursor to “In My Life,” but it’s a classic in its own right.
4. ‘And I Love Her’
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the origin of “And I Love Her.” “It was the first ballad I impressed myself with,” he said. “It’s got nice chords in it, “Bright are the stars that shine, dark is the sky … ‘I like the imagery of the stars and the sky. It was a love song really.
“The ‘And’ in the title was an important thing, ‘And I Love Her,’ it came right out of left field,” he added. “You would often go to town on the title, but this was almost an aside, ‘Oh … and I love you. It still holds up and George played really good guitar on it.”
3. ‘Eleanor Rigby’
Anyone who thinks pop music can’t be high art should listen to “Eleanor Rigby” a few times. This Beatles ballad proved the Fab Four were more than just teeny boppers. They could play around with the conventions of Western classical music in a way that worked for the radio.
The simple hook “Ahh / look at all the lonely people” has more emotion and more empathy for the human condition than a million soap operas. While “Yesterday” and “Let It Be” inspired numerous covers, “Eleanor Rigby” has been relatively neglected by other artists. More modern singers should take a stab at this classic!
2. ‘Something’
The Beatles’ psychedelic songs are often great because they are strange and impenetrable. On the other hand, The Beatles’ ballads are often great because they come straight from the heart. Case in point: “Something.” The tune isn’t particularly sophisticated, but George sells that immortal line ‘Something in the ways she moves / Attracts me like no other lover.”
In addition, the song articulates the fear of a lover leaving you better than just about any other song. Because “Something” is a bridge between the 1960s and the traditional pop that came before it, it’s no surprise Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley both tackled the track.
1. ‘Yesterday’
Acoustic guitar songs can be overly simple. The use of stringed instruments in pop can often be schmaltzy. And simple lyrics can be too basic for their own good. The Beatles’ “Yesterday” manages to do everything wrong and yet it came out so right.
Paul wrote some terrible lyrics with The Beatles, with Wings, and as a solo artist. But everything about “Yesterday” is heartbreaking and instantly relatable. It’s no wonder this song inspired covers from every genre. Even if every other Fab Four song gets lost in the sands of time, “Yesterday” will still inspire waterworks and covers across the globe.
Some of The Beatles’ ballads weren’t just good — they were musical miracles.
