The Story Of The Beatles Song That “Didn’t Mean A Damn Thing”

He Used To Be Proud of It But Later Had A Change of Heart

John Lennon was always straightforward about songs he didn’t care about and those that he absolutely hated. Since The Beatles’ break up, he never shied away from speaking his mind on certain classic hits that disappointed him. Not surprising since he was a perfectionist and in the late ’60s, he and Paul McCartney didn’t see eye to eye anymore.

However, Lennon’s also critical about his own compositions – particularly “I Should Have Known Better” which was written specifically for their debut movie “A Hard Day’s Night”. This was played in the train compartment scene where The Beatles mimed to it as girls looked on – one of which was George Harrison’s future wife Pattie Boyd.

At first, Lennon was pretty proud of it when he talked about the best songs on the album: “There are four I really go for: ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, ‘If I Fell’, ‘I Should Have Known Better’ – a song with harmonica we feature during the opening train sequence – and ‘Tell Me Why’.”

But a few years later, he told David Sheff: “That’s me. Just a song; it doesn’t mean a damn thing.”

Still, “I Should Have Known Better” was a hit in several European countries.