The Beatles: Worst Songs

December 10th, 2006

The BeatlesI feel bad for this post, but in order to answer a burning question, here are the songs I ranked with one star as the worst Beatles songs. Listening to these in heavy doses will give you the wrong idea about the Fab Four.

Mr. Moonlight

I reserve a fair amount of annoyance for this song. There’s so much wrong with it, from the night club vibe to the cheesy organ, or the caveman-like drum before the title lyrics. I think the Beatles had outgrown the lounge act by the time of this recording.

Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!

Another half-baked cover.

You Like Me Too Much

This is probably the first Beatles song I might say I hate. It’s cornball, and the middle always drove me up the wall with its strange resolution back to the verse. Plus, there’s that wimpy pseudo-ragtime piano trading licks with the guitar. George hadn’t hit his stride - although it appears on Help!, it’s A Hard Day’s Night material.

Dizzy Miss Lizzy

While it’s a rocking tune, with its placement right after Yesterday it fails miserably.

Dig It

This shouldn’t even be counted as a song, but it shows up as a separate track on Let It Be.

Maggie Mae

When I was a kid and watched Beatles cartoons, this sort of John goofing around thing was appealing, but feels like a mockery of the whole enterprise.

The Fool On The Hill

Some people might like this song, but I don’t, not since I turned 21. The melody is daffy, the recorder solo completely stupid, and I don’t enjoy hearing a stoned grown man discussing a fool, whom I have no sympathy for, getting dizzy watching the world go round.

Flying

This song makes me cry. “Flying”? “High”? Get it? Easily one of the worst Beatles song ever.

Blue Jay Way

You’d have to be stoned to listen to “please don’t be long” as many times as the Beatles repeat, here. Why didn’t George Martin put a stop to this? There’s a neat cello part, but that’s all. And only someone really out of it would think a song about someone hashed out, bored to death, waiting for his friends to show up, would make a good subject for a song.

Run For Your Life

I’m not really a fan of John the stalker here, threatening to hunt his lover down. It also has that country twang I’m disliking more and more. In comparison to everything else on Rubber Soul, it sounds like an afterthought.

Wild Honey Pie

This isn’t a song, nor an idea for a song, or even funny - it’s garbage. Paul could write this kind of thing in the bathroom - and it sounds like it was recorded there, too.

Rocky Raccoon

You know how I keep saying I don’t like it when the Beatles do country. This is the worst offender. I hate Paul’s Western accent, ugh. Couldn’t this song have been combined with Bungalow Bill and ended with a shoot-out, killing everyone involved?

Don’t Pass Me By

Another Ringo tune. This one, he wrote himself, which shouldn’t surprise anyone.

9 comments!

  1. comment Gravatar Michael - January 5th, 2007

    Nice to hear something other than fawning. A good follow-up would be worst recordings which are different from worst songs. For this I nominate “Strawberry Fields Forever.” This is a badly realized, lazy man’s master take.

  2. comment Gravatar webomatica - January 5th, 2007

    Hmmm, not sure I agree with you there, I do think the haphazard sound of Strawberry Fields is part of its charms - but I will grant you that its “bad realization” might be the reason why there are different versions on the Beatles Anthology as well as the Beatles Love. It’s taken many years to get it more or less “right”. I think George Martin at one point said he thought John Lennon playing the song alone on the guitar was better than the finished product…

    But yeah, worst recordings - the George Harrison songs from Yellow Submarine come to mind. So does The Long And Winding Road with the Phil Spector strings.

    Thanks for reading!

  3. comment Gravatar Harry L - February 22nd, 2007

    She’s Leaving Home- Dreary, bad psychedellica

    Hey Jude- Too Much McCartney saccharine, and the sing a long chorus
    has not aged well.

  4. comment Gravatar webomatica - February 22nd, 2007

    I do agree that She’s Leaving Home isn’t a favorite anymore. Hey Jude I still like. I prefer it to Let It Be. Thanks for commenting, though. It’s good to get different opinions.

  5. comment Gravatar jason carmona - March 12th, 2007

    she’s leaving home-beautiful song
    hey jude-one of the best songs in history

    worst song-really no such thing but if i had to pick one it would be it’s all too much

  6. comment Gravatar webomatica - March 12th, 2007

    Hi J Carmona - yes the George contributions on Yellow Submarine (of which It’s All Too Much is one) aren’t so hot. They definitely have an excess of production.

  7. comment Gravatar Kimberley - March 21st, 2007

    It seems that a lot of the songs deemed not so good by a lot of people are my favourite tracks.
    She’s Leaving Home; Ob La Di, Ob La Da; Good Day Sunshine; The Fool On The Hill; Rocky Racoon.
    I love all of these. My Dad played Rubber Soul to me as a kid, and Revolver and The Beatles (White Album) I discovered as a teenager, they’re all very special to me.

  8. comment Gravatar Forrest - February 6th, 2008

    Why hasn’t anyone mentioned “All Together Now” which is clearly one of the stupidest songs the Beatles ever, for some reason put their names on?

  9. comment Gravatar Rob - March 26th, 2008

    Mr. Moonlight gets a bad rap, I’ve never thought it was that horrible. What about “Chains” or “Baby It’s You” or “Revolution 9?” “You Won’t See Me”, I always thought that wasn’t so hot. “Hey Jude” hasn’t aged well? Sorry, it’s still great.

Please comment!

Powered by WP Hashcash