The Beatles - whats so great about their lyrics?

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How?
Dogs for dogging, hands for clapping
Birds for birding and fish for fishing
Them for themming and when for whimming

Only to find the night-watchman
Unaware of his presence in the building

Onion soup

Number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9, number 9

Industrial output
Financial imbalance

Thrusting it between his shoulder blades

The Watusi
The twist

Eldorado

Take this brother, may it serve you well

Maybe it's nothing
Aaah
Maybe it's nothing
What? What? Oh

Maybe even then
Impervious in London
Could be difficult thing
It's quick like rush for peace is
Because it's so much
It was like being naked

If you became naked
Rev 9 is dope as hell
 
There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more
In my life-- I love you more
 
I don't think their lyrics are very special at all. Some songs, like Norwegian Wood or Let it Be, might have been more artful than most in the 1960s, but most of their writing was pretty average.

The Beatles' genius was more in their musical talent. They managed to compose hundreds of cool pop and rock melodies, and were able to anticipate every change in the industry to ensure that they stayed relevant.
 
That cartoon is getting really god damn annoying
Gotta agree with this, posting it feels like a completly lazy approach to dismiss the OP"s opinion instead of intelligently discussing it. If you feel He/She is wrong then debate that, the Image was midly funny for extremely silly threads but way overused.

on topic I never thought the Beatles Lyrics were a big focus of the Band but I guess fans often over analyse and praise lyrics often.
 
no, why?



image.php

Because this is literally your 2nd post?
 
...huh? Oh sorry. I was supposed to sit here and respond to every post?

Im catching up.


Besides, I asked my question and im reading the answers. What do you want me to do?

Whatever you want I guess, you just have a habit of making threads, and then never coming back to them.
 
Now, when you say that to Beatles fan, and point out how Beatles also have very simple and dumb lyrics like the ones I posted above, they constantly defend it, and say how they are being taken out of context, and that they are indeed very deep and have a lot of hidden meaning and whatnot.

But their dumb lyrics are mostly on their early pop stuff. Kind of uniquely, they started writing stuff that's a lot more original and experimental after they got big.
 
first song that came to my head.

If you are listening to early Beatles...you are doing it wrong.

i beg to differ. Beatles from '65-'66 onwards were certainly more musically diverse and intellectually appealing, but sometimes you can't beat the raw power and excitement of that early rock 'n' roll. She Loves You still rocks like a bastard to this day - pop music at it's absolute finest - and I Want To Hold Your Hand is the song that broke them in America and turned them into what they are. Sure, music made for teens, but that's what the charts are all about.
 
We have no idea which Beatles fans you're referring to--early Beatles songs are not broadly considered to have profound lyrics at all.

Are there some fanatics that think so? Certainly. That's what fanatics do, for literally every band in existence.

Whatever you want I guess, you just have a habit of making threads, and then never coming back to them.

I wish there were some kind of "what say you, GAF?" filter for threads.
 
Gotta agree with this, posting it feels like a completly lazy approach to dismiss the OP"s opinion instead of intelligently discussing it. If you feel He/She is wrong then debate that, the Image was midly funny for extremely silly threads but way overused.

Would be a valid criticism if I was addressing the OP. Instead, I was addressing the edgy poster I quoted who hates the Beatles and seems to think anyone who does is either a nostalgic fool or merely pretending to like them so as to not appear uncultured. It's really hard to intelligently discuss a statement like that.
 
yeaaaaah this thread kinda fell apart when the lyrics quoted were from the fab four era. catchy, fun songs though. music ain't all about the lyrics
 
There are places I'll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers
There is no one compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more

Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them
In my life, I love you more
In my life-- I love you more

The Johnny Cash cover of this is so beautiful. Hearing a man at the end of his life sing this song has so much more meaning than hearing it from The Beatles in their prime. That being said, I love The Beatles.
 
Every once in awhile I hear this type of Beatles criticism. It's funny, that someone would think they are unique in their perspective, having noticed that "She Loves You" isn't some kind of poetic masterpiece.

The song was released in 1963, as a popular rock n' roll song. It was never intended to be lyrically progressive, it just happened to be a good fucking song.


If you're going to question a bands appeal out of context of time, based purely on lyrical content, you might as well start criticizing the lyrics from Beethoven's symphony #9.
 
The Beatles have always sucked. Incredibly boring music just above country music tier. I think their fan base is made up people who love then via nostalgia, like Grateful Dead fans, and people who don't want to seem uncultured.

I never really listened to the Beatles growing up because my parents didn't. I had to look into them myself when their albums because digitally remastered. I enjoy some of their stuff, but not all of it.
 
Sure if you pull up the stuff from their boy band days you aren't going to find anything special lyrically, just good music. It wasn't until later when the evolved through several styles that the lyrics got interesting. That's what's so special about the beatles they went through a lot of different phases and they were all excellent for their own reasons.
 
Early Beatles were a pop boy band. They were basically the One Direction of their time when they first emerged. If Twitter existed at the time, their fanbase would have been the absolute fucking worst. So when people talk about how brilliant the Beatles were, it's usually more about how they evolved over time (and how prolific they were during that period of time) than what a masterpiece something like She Loves You is. It's because they went from I Wanna Hold Your Hand to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in only 4 years.

It's also worth remembering they were super young. Paul McCartney had just turned 21 when She Loves You and I Wanna Hold Your Hand were hits. The band was completely over and done with by the time he turned 28 (the oldest members of the band were no older than 30).

By contrast, Kanye West was 36 when I Am a God came out. (That's not meant to put Kanye down or anything, he's great. It's just to give a sense of perspective on how remarkable what the Beatles accomplished musically actually was.)
 
You think their lyrics are bad? Have you not listened to the crap that people listen to nowadays? You think in 50 years anyone is gonna remember any of the music that is considered popular now? Probably not.

Also the lyrics you bring up OP, are songs they wrote early in their careers. Song's that were meant for teenage girls.
 
Why didn't you post some later stuff, or did that not fit your angle?

Hey, Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

Hey, Jude, don't be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better.

And any time you feel the pain, hey, Jude, refrain
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders
Well don't you know that its a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder

Hey, Jude! Don't let her down
You have found her, now go and get her
Remember, to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better.

So let it out and let it in, hey, Jude, begin
You're waiting for someone to perform with
And don't you know that it's just you, hey, Jude,
You'll do, the movement you need is on your shoulder

Hey, Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better
Better, better, better, WAH!
 
eh there was a lot of good stuff on help! that demonstrated elements of them branching out.
Yep, like You've got to Hide Your Love Away. The title track's great, too.

I'd put probably Help! as 4th best Beatles album, behind Rubber Soul, Revolver, and Abbey Road.
 
The Beatles were not that important because of their lyrics, but because they proved to a still very critical audience, that there is more behind pop music.

The Beatles are the most influential band in the 20th century and Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was an eye opener for musicians all over the world. It may not have been their best album. The white album was maybe even better. And you will be able to argue a long time, what was the best album of the 20th century.

The Beatles however, a casted Boyband proved to everybody, that pop music can be a creative as interesting and as artistic as classical music or Jazz. Maybe you like what they did, maybe you don't, but you can not deny their influence.

And about the lyrics:

She's not a girl who
misses much
Do-do-do-do-do, oh yeah

She's well acquainted
With the touch of a velvet hand
Like a lizard on a window pane

Man in the crowd
With the multicoloured mirrors
On his hobnail boots

Lying with his eyes
While his hands are busy
Working overtime

The soap impression of his wife
Which he ate and donated
to the National Trust

I need a fix cause I'm going down
Down to the bits that I've left up town
I need a fix cause I'm going down

Mother Superior jumped the gun
Mother Superior jumped the gun
Mother Superior jumped the gun
(BIS)

Happiness is a warm gun
( bang bang shoot shoot )
Happiness is a warm gun, yes it is
(bang bang shoot shoot)

When I hold you in my arms (oh yes)
When I feel my finger on your trigger (oh yes)
I know nobody can do me no harm
Because
happiness is a warm gun, momma
Happiness is a warm gun
-Yes it is.
Happiness is a warm, yes it is...
Gun!
Well don't ya know that happiness is a warm gun, momma? (yeah)
 
"For No One" does a bang on job of capturing that feeling of being dumped.

Your day breaks, your mind aches
You find that all the words of kindness linger on
When she no longer needs you

She wakes up, she makes up
She takes her time and doesn't feel she has to hurry
She no longer needs you

And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years!

You want her, you need her
And yet you don't believe her when she said her love is dead
You think she needs you

And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years!

You stay home, she goes out
She says that long ago she knew someone but now he's gone
She doesn't need him

Your day breaks, your mind aches
There will be time when all the things she said will fil your head
You won't forget her

And in her eyes you see nothing
No sign of love behind the tears
Cried for no one
A love that should have lasted years!
 
No one listens to Beatles for their lyrics, OP. And no one should listen to Kanye for lyrics either.

But they both have a handful of songs that actually do have good lyrics.
 
OP you are drunk. Taxman especially is super baller.

If you drive a car, I'll tax the street
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet

So damn good when you include the melody.
 
Preface : not here trying to attack their lyrics, but here to understand it.

Now, this debate always comes up whenever there is a discussion about the greatest artists and specifically lyricists and lyrical content.

I am mainly talking about songs such as;

I love you Yeah, Yeah, Yeah;



I wanna hold your hand




Now, I know they have some great songs that have amazing lyrics and depth, but here is the thing;

You have Beatles fan post lyrics of people such as Kanye or other folks, and mention how stupid the lyrics are. As Kanye fan I agree, and that's the whole point. Take this song for example, that I have seen the Beatles fans post and use as proof;

I am a God



Some people take this too seriously. They actually think that this is him being serious. I completely agree that it is stupid, but its funny exactly due to how stupid it is.

Now, when you say that to Beatles fan, and point out how Beatles also have very simple and dumb lyrics like the ones I posted above, they constantly defend it, and say how they are being taken out of context, and that they are indeed very deep and have a lot of hidden meaning and whatnot.

I have asked them on countless occasions, and seen others ask them to enlighten us regarding this hidden message that us plebs are missing but they just ignore us.

Why is it almost so taboo to criticise the Beatles? Nothing wrong with admitting that they started out with pretty dumb and catchy songs, and matured as artists. But god no! According to these Beatles fans, they were the pinnacle of artistry for the very beginning, and still unmatched.

Is this just a case of stanning? Coz its fucking baffling how hard they defend them.

the difference is that the Beatles early lyrics aren't insulting and narcissistic.
 
I'm not crazy about The Beatles but their stuff definitely got better as time went on. Their early stuff was just boy band tier pop music.
 
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