The Beatles - whats so great about their lyrics?
- Thread starter Kraftwerk
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Xpike
Unconfirmed Member
OP you can't say these are bad lyrics in any sense of the word. Please listen more Beatles than the first 3 songs on the Rock Band game.
Vampire On Titus
Member
this thread is so weird.
do you really talk to that many people who debate the merits of kanye west vs the beatles? you're hanging out with maniacs.
do you really talk to that many people who debate the merits of kanye west vs the beatles? you're hanging out with maniacs.
The Beatles darkest song
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
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
Well I know that I'm a wicked guy
And I was born with a jealous mind
And I can't spend my whole life
Trying just to make you toe the line
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
Let this be a sermon
I mean everything I've said
Baby, I'm determined
And I'd rather see you dead
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand little girl
I catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
I'd rather see you dead, little girl
Than to be with another man
You better keep your head, little girl
Or you won't know where I am
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
Na, na, na
Na, na, na
Na, na, na
Na, na, na
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
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
Well I know that I'm a wicked guy
And I was born with a jealous mind
And I can't spend my whole life
Trying just to make you toe the line
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
Let this be a sermon
I mean everything I've said
Baby, I'm determined
And I'd rather see you dead
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand little girl
I catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
I'd rather see you dead, little girl
Than to be with another man
You better keep your head, little girl
Or you won't know where I am
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
Na, na, na
Na, na, na
Na, na, na
Na, na, na
But your favourite band are the best, right?
This is some selective shit OP and I've never met a Beatles fan making out of a big deal over the lyrics of the songs you posted.
When people associate Beatles with great lyrics they think of songs like "Yesterday", "A Day in the Life", "Hey Jude", "Eleanor Rigby" and so on. You took some of their earliest works and decided those were the only kind of lyrics they wrote. Inform yourself before making dumb statement.
When people associate Beatles with great lyrics they think of songs like "Yesterday", "A Day in the Life", "Hey Jude", "Eleanor Rigby" and so on. You took some of their earliest works and decided those were the only kind of lyrics they wrote. Inform yourself before making dumb statement.
Early Beatles is awesome. John Lennon has an incredible voice for rock and R&B. Their covers are pretty incredible.
The Beatles material after "Help" may be better or more modern, but those early albums are some of my favorites. Please Please Me and A Hard Day's Night are pure pop bliss.
Listen to the Beatles' version of Twist and Shout and Anna (Go To Him).
As for the lyrics, you picked basically one of their simplest songs to make your example.
The Beatles were a powerhouse band. They will be remembered for the quality of their recordings and the innovative things they did in the studio. Their music is timeless, some simple, some complex. Perfect.
Listen to Strawberry Fields Forever, Tomorrow Never Knows, A Day in the Life, Eleanor Rigby, In My Life.
The Beatles material after "Help" may be better or more modern, but those early albums are some of my favorites. Please Please Me and A Hard Day's Night are pure pop bliss.
Listen to the Beatles' version of Twist and Shout and Anna (Go To Him).
As for the lyrics, you picked basically one of their simplest songs to make your example.
The Beatles were a powerhouse band. They will be remembered for the quality of their recordings and the innovative things they did in the studio. Their music is timeless, some simple, some complex. Perfect.
Listen to Strawberry Fields Forever, Tomorrow Never Knows, A Day in the Life, Eleanor Rigby, In My Life.
People are generally dumb when it comes to lyrics. That infamous beatles vs beyonce meme image is a good/really bad example. You'll find simple lyrics in any artist's discography. Putting lots of words into a song is not an example of 'good lyrics' either, neither is making your song an essay set to music. Good lyrics can take a lot of shapes and forms and be entirely dependant on the music and the performance to work. A song's lyrics may work with a phrase repeated the entire time. Art is not a neogaf post.
FantasticMrFoxdie
Mumber
Its not just the lyrics. The way they chose to sing it is something else
http://youtu.be/8ehhZ53zysQ
It feels like you really wanted to make this topic "The Beatles early lyrics are very simplistic" which is something you really wouldn't get a lot of pushback on.
But instead decided to try and defend a much more extreme point about Beatles lyrics as a whole that your examples really don't support.
You even sort of admit that the band matured and their early lyrics weren't representative of what came later.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
Amazing.
Moff
Member
I dont know a single beatles fan who thinks like this. their first songs were catchy pop songs but nothing more.
most fans would agree that their good work started with sgt. pepper. I would say rubber soul because I love some songs on that, like norwegian wood,
SiegfriedFM
Member
I don't think there's anyone on the planet who likes ALL Beatles songs. There are just too many types, too many genres covered, too much weird stuff. Then again I don't think there's anyone who likes NO Beatles song, given access to them all.
It's also ridiculous how some people call them opportunists, as if they sat down to analyze sales records and hop on the latest bandwagon. Beatles WAS the bandwagon for many years. Sure, other artists innovated around the same time, but it's hard to point at anyone who did it as much and constantly.
There is some ridiculous depth to their discography. I have 72 songs that I listen to now and then, and still I'm reminded by threads like this that there are good songs I'm missing. There are probably 10-20 songs that are eligible for being their best song, depending on your mood.
Oh damn, I guess it's Beatles day again. Thanks!
It's also ridiculous how some people call them opportunists, as if they sat down to analyze sales records and hop on the latest bandwagon. Beatles WAS the bandwagon for many years. Sure, other artists innovated around the same time, but it's hard to point at anyone who did it as much and constantly.
There is some ridiculous depth to their discography. I have 72 songs that I listen to now and then, and still I'm reminded by threads like this that there are good songs I'm missing. There are probably 10-20 songs that are eligible for being their best song, depending on your mood.
Oh damn, I guess it's Beatles day again. Thanks!
When you start with an ignorant opinion that doesn't leave any space for debate what do you expect? "lol beatles sux and everyone pretends to like them"
When they started out, that's all that song lyrics were. They didn't have the benefit of decades of great lyrics to look back on and take inspiration from, yet they got there eventually. The 'artists' that you cited in the OP do have that benefit, yet don't do anything at all with it.
Not to mention you've cherry-picked the one bit in She Loves You nearing the end where they're driving the message home:
"With a love like that, you know you should be glad" (repeated three times)
It's a device that works well to bring about the ending, but when you lay it out in words as you've done, of course it looks ridiculous.
Why not talk about the fact that the song starts on the chorus? Know many songs that do that? Or the unique way that the song uses a separate party to tell you your love is gonna be okay? Or the fact that in that time, at the beginning, they were looking at the type of songs their influences wrote? It's only natural they'd attempt similar things. They were barely past 21.
Even the "yeah, yeah, yeah" was significant and different for its time.
"With a love like that, you know you should be glad" (repeated three times)
It's a device that works well to bring about the ending, but when you lay it out in words as you've done, of course it looks ridiculous.
Why not talk about the fact that the song starts on the chorus? Know many songs that do that? Or the unique way that the song uses a separate party to tell you your love is gonna be okay? Or the fact that in that time, at the beginning, they were looking at the type of songs their influences wrote? It's only natural they'd attempt similar things. They were barely past 21.
Even the "yeah, yeah, yeah" was significant and different for its time.
I like Taxman.
Could just as well be written today.
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman
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.
Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me
Could just as well be written today.
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman
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.
Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me
Because, at the start of their career, dozens of bands were making great covers of American R&B music. It's easy to discount because there was better, or just as good, stuff in that particular genre at the time.
DOWN
Banned
This is pretty beautiful and why they're songs get so much attention:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orukqxeWmM0
People love an old, sweet song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orukqxeWmM0
People love an old, sweet song.
Not when Kanye is in the jury.
teruterubozu
Member
lol. Is that our modern criteria for talent? Let's let Xtina and Paula decide.
More Fun To Compute
Member
I don't think that the Beatles would not have the reputation they have now if they didn't move past the more simple rock songs later in their career.
JumpJeff84
Member
In Norweigan Wood John Lennon burns the woman's house down when she doesn't fuck him.
That that's what I call songwriting
That that's what I call songwriting
This is clearly a troll thread given that the OP only posted pre-1965 (Rubber Soul) Beatles lyrics... by 1966 (Revolver) they were just on another level.
What other band can even come close to what they did over a five year stretch:
1965 Help!
1965 Rubber Soul
1966 Revolver
1967 Sgt. Pepper's
1967 Magical Mystery Tour
1968 The Beatles [White Album]
1969 Yellow Submarine (okay so one that's a bit of a dud, but it wasn't even supposed to be a proper album)
1969 Abbey Road
1970 Let It Be
What other band can even come close to what they did over a five year stretch:
1965 Help!
1965 Rubber Soul
1966 Revolver
1967 Sgt. Pepper's
1967 Magical Mystery Tour
1968 The Beatles [White Album]
1969 Yellow Submarine (okay so one that's a bit of a dud, but it wasn't even supposed to be a proper album)
1969 Abbey Road
1970 Let It Be
DOWN
Banned
Do we remember the finalists? Are the finalists as new in style and writing as Lennon was at his time?
Rarely.
teruterubozu
Member
Plus OP's name is Kraftwerk - the true bastion of lyrical poetry.
By the time the album 'Rubber Soul' was being written & recorded, that was when the band had started to experiment & branch out into different genres of music, & some of their more meaningful songs were created from that moment onward. The song 'Hey, Jude' was created with the intention to comfort Julian Lennon from the stress & depression he was receiving when his parents (Cynthia & John Lennon) had separated. (Though I was unsure if it was with John's affair with Yoko Ono, or if it was for something else.)
In a documentary about the band, McCarthney had been good friends with Cynthia for many years, and he always felt sorry for children getting caught in the crossfire in divorces. While driving over to check to see if they were alright, he started writing chunks of the song in his car, & he knew that what Julian was going through wasn't going to be easy. Upon reflection in later years, Julian had felt he was closer to Paul than he ever was to his own blood father, with having a great friendship that had lasted to the present day.
In a documentary about the band, McCarthney had been good friends with Cynthia for many years, and he always felt sorry for children getting caught in the crossfire in divorces. While driving over to check to see if they were alright, he started writing chunks of the song in his car, & he knew that what Julian was going through wasn't going to be easy. Upon reflection in later years, Julian had felt he was closer to Paul than he ever was to his own blood father, with having a great friendship that had lasted to the present day.
"She Loves You" is a fucking masterpiece. There's absolutely zero filler in it, and the melody/harmony/chords and how they interact with what's being sung is brilliant.
And leave out Rubber Soul?
-ImaginaryInsider
Member
On vocals alone, Dylan, Hendrix, Lou Reed, and many more wouldn't have made it through either. Those pop idol shows are effectively anti-music, hyper-talented vocals are a nice perk, but ultimately the song-writing is more important.
Btw was this just a drive by trolling, or did the OP ever come back and try to counter any of the points that have been raised?
Angelus Errare
Banned
Jon Lennon disciples are weird as fuck. Lennon was an asshole but people act like he was Jesus incarnated and shit.
And done.
And done.
ElectricBlanketFire
Member
I strongly dislike The Beatles.
Psychological Intellect
Banned
Loving the backfire.
Don't question the Beatles breh. They're the GOAT
Don't question the Beatles breh. They're the GOAT
Wait, what!! I never knew that their creative output was this focused, and in such a short time frame. It makes the whole thing even more amazing!
-ImaginaryInsider
Member
He was a member of the world's first super group, his song-writing sticks out even in the confines of the Beatles, he even played guitar differently, and then he died reasonably young and very tragically, which seems to automatically elevate most musicians and celebrities to divinity.
Since there is this weird Kanye vs The Beatles thing now... If Kanye was tragically murdered walking out of his house, how would this generation view him 30+ years later? Probably exactly the same.
Yeah, they released a crazy amount of albums in a 5-year stretch and even crazier is that every single one of those albums is critically acclaimed and highly influential. Only Yellow Submarine is so-so, but that one doesn't really count since it's a soundtrack album.
Sorcerer
Member
The Beatles were never a boy band.
Boy Bands do not play instruments, or write their own music.
Early Beatles is Mozart compared to anything put out by boy bands.
Before The Beatles became big they would play 8 hour gigs in clubs. This is probably what led to their greatness. The guys knew how to play.
The Beatles went from I Want to Hold Your Hand to Sgt. Pepper in 4 years.
Every band needs to start somewhere and in the case of The Beatles their early years are pretty damn good start.
One Direction will be forgotten in 2-3 years.
People will still be discussing The Beatles in 20 years.
I barely have enough time to post about things I do like, let alone things I don't.
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