The Beatles Songs That John Lennon Hated

He Wasn’t A Fan of These Tracks

John Lennon was always straightforward & honest and never shied away from commenting about songs he didn’t like – even if it’s something from The Beatles catalog or even his own. He made it no secret that there were Paul McCartney compositions that somehow fell short and didn’t reach his high standards. All in all, Lennon was a difficult man to impress which is understandable especially with his penchant for perfection when it came to music.

Let’s take a look as some of The Beatles songs he wasn’t a fan of.

I’ll Get You

The B-side to the massive hit “She Loves You”, Lennon noted: “That was Paul and me trying to write a song and it didn’t work out.”

Twist and Shout

Written by Phil Medley and Bert Russell, it was originally recorded by the Top Notes. The Beatles’ version is best known for Lennon’s raw and raucous vocals. It was the last song they recorded and so Lennon was on the verge of losing his voice. He later commented, “The last song nearly killed me. My voice wasn’t the same for a long time after; every time I swallowed it was like sandpaper. I was always bitterly ashamed of it, because I could sing it better than that; but now it doesn’t bother me. You can hear that I’m just a frantic guy doing his best.”

Eight Days A Week

Lennon admitted it wasn’t one of their best songs and added, “‘Eight Days A Week’ was never a good song. We struggled to record it and struggled to make it into a song. It was his initial effort, but I think we both worked on it. I’m not sure. But it was lousy anyway.”

Hold Me Tight

One of their early songs, Lennon didn’t hold back when he said: “That was Paul’s. Maybe I stuck some bits in there – I don’t remember. It was a pretty poor song and I was never really interested in it either way.”

It’s Only Love

Lennon didn’t shy away from admitting he’s embarrassed of some of his own compositions. One of his least favorite songs from the group, he noted: “I always thought it was a lousy song. The lyrics were abysmal. I always hated that song.”

Yesterday

A popular and timeless track, also The Beatles’ most covered song, this still did not impress Lennon. He told David Sheff that he “never wished I’d written it.”

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Lennon called it “Paul’s granny shit”.

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

One of their most controversial song because it was initially thought of as something that had to do with LSD, Lennon criticized: “I heard ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’ last night. It’s abysmal, you know? 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?”

Birthday

Lennon referred to this track as “a piece of garbage.”