'Wipeout': Brother's Pet Names For Sister Weird Out Hosts
'Showville' Premiere: Where's The Small Town Talent?
The Beatles are well known for their countless tunes about peace and love, but underneath the cherry-soda pop fizz of their early music are some seriously menacing lyrics. Not convinced that your beloved Beatles stooped to writing songs of jealously and revenge? Just check out our list.
"Another Girl" (Help!)
Lennon/McCartney
Want to leave your girlfriend for another lady? Play "Another Girl." It'll flatten her (proverbially speaking).
Sample lyric: You're making me say that I've got nobody but you /But as from today I've got somebody that's new/I ain't no fool and I don't take what I don't want/For I have got another girl, another girl.
"Don't Bother Me" (With the Beatles)
Harrison
This sounds like it was written by Anakin Skywalker in "Attack of the Clones." This little ditty should do the job.
Sample lyric: It's just not right when every night I'm all alone/I've got no time for you right now, don't bother me/I know I'll never be the same if I don't get her back again./Because I know she'll always be the only girl for me.
"I'll Cry Instead" (A Hard Day's Night)
Lennon/McCartney
I'm going to break all the hearts in the world! Whahahaha!
Sample lyric: I'll be back again someday./And when I do you better hide all the girls/I'm gonna break their hearts all round the world/Yes, I'm gonna break them in two and/Show you what your lovin' man can do.
"I'm Looking Through You" (Rubber Soul)
Lennon/McCartney
Summary: You were mean to me; I hate you.
Sample lyric: Why, tell me why did you not treat me right?/Love has a nasty habit of disappearing overnight,/You're thinking of me the same old way,/You were above me, but not today./The only difference is you're down there./I'm looking through you and you're nowhere.
"Run for Your Life" (Rubber Soul)
Lennon/McCartney
Wow, is this the most pathological Beatles song? Considering the words, it's an amazingly upbeat tune.
Sample lyric: I'd rather see you dead, little girl,/Than to be with another man/You'd better keep your head, little girl/Or you won't know where I am/You'd 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 -- ah, little girl.
"Think for Yourself" (Rubber Soul)
Harrison
This song comes with a healthy dose of condescension.
Sample lyric: I left you far behind/The ruins of the life that you had in mind/And though you still can't see/I know your mind's made up/You're gonna cause more misery/Do what you want to do/And go where you're going to/Think for yourself/'Cos I won't be there with you.
"You Can't Do That" (A Hard Day's Night)
Lennon/McCartney
You're still together ... but she's still an insufferable flirt. So you're giving her one last warning ...
Sample lyric: Well, it's the second time, I've caught you talking to him/Do I have to tell you one more time, I think it's a sin,/I think I'll let you down/Let you down and leave you flat,/Gonna let you down and leave you flat/Because I told you before, oh,/You can't do that.
"Not a Second Time" (With the Beatles)
Lennon/McCartney
It's a story that's been repeated since the dawn of time: She's dumped you, and after a long, hard recovery, you're finally back on your feet. Feeling much better, thank you. Now, though, she wants you back. Do you want to get back together with the girl who put you through all that agony in the first place? Yes, you do! But you won't. Because it's a bad idea. And she doesn't deserve you.
Sample lyric:You know you made me cry/I see no use in wond'ring why/I cried for you/And now, you've changed your mind/I see no reason to change mine,/I cried, it's through, oh.
Killed Soldier In London Attack Identified
The List #0147: Escape a Car Underwater
New Trayvon Martin Evidence Features Incriminating Photos, Texts From Teen
Xbox One architecture panel liveblog!
Visit the Maldive Islands Before It's Too Late
Jodi Arias Jury DEADLOCKED
H&M's Plus-Size Model Jennie Runk Says She Chose To Gain Weight
Okla. Sheriff's Deputy Finds Dog Guarding Body Buried Under Destroyed Home
Surgeons Remove Giant Hairball From Tiger
Reptiles Make Home in UK Man's Cable Box
Helen Flanagan Launches PETA Campaign As Only She Knows How
Xbox One event roundup: Microsoft reveals its next-gen gaming console
Springtime Budget-Busters -- Savings Experiment
What It's Like To Talk To A 2-Year-Old
Is This Woman Too Pretty To Work?
Brave Woman Stood Down Armed London Attackers
Bridge Collapses In Washington State
LISTEN: Terror Inside Elementary School As Tornado Hits
'DWTS' Shakeup Ahead?
LOOK: Photoshop Mistake Is Seriously Cringeworthy
Teenager's 'Awww'-Inspiring Drawing Wins Big At Google
PHOTO: Dog Guards Dead Victim's Body After Oklahoma Tornado Disaster
Pope Francis Says All Who Do Good Are Redeemed - Atheists Included
REVEALED: Disturbing Trend In Human Intelligence
Wolf Blitzer's Embarrassing Moment With Tornado Survivor
Man Reportedly Beheaded In Brutal Assault In London Neighborhood
Has Katie Holmes Moved On?
Help For Heroes Killing
LOOK: Bank Vault Saves 22 Lives During Tornado
PHOTOS: Christie Brinkley Gets Back Into A Swimsuit At 59 Years Old
The World's Most Powerful Women
Comments:
Add a comment
Wednesday 20 January
By ralphgmiami
Consider this that the Beatles would come out with an album every six months in the 1960s. When they had a minor chord change, they had to put in negative type lyrics. For some reason minor chords are considered negatives. Also with the melody some words just won't fit in. An example of this is Paul Simon's Mrs. Robinson. Paul Simon was a big Mickey Mantle fan as he watched him while watching Yankee games. Where have you gone Mickey Mantle our nation turns its lonely eyes to you" just didn't fit in. So Simon tried his father's favorite player, Joe DiMaggio. It fit in with the melody and the chord changes perfectly. This is the challenge songwriters have. Don't forget that the melody and the chord progressions come first. The words come last and you have to make them fit. That's why the 60s to the 80s had great melodies.
Reply
Thursday 21 January
By Skokiaan
Words do NOT always come last. Paul has said in numerous interviews that songs come to him all different ways. Sometimes melody is first, othertimes chords or lyrics and sometimes all at once. There is no formula.
Wednesday 20 January
By megan
Absolutely ! Well stated .. Perfect .. Caught Paul's Last tour ( few years ago ) He can still rock and he does hit
most of the notes ( like I could do better ) : )the notes.
Wednesday 20 January
By Marc
I grew up with the Beatles. After listening to them for all those many years, I still am at a loss to understand, comprehend or many even fully appreciate what they did or how they did it.
How did these musically untrained and modestly educated guys do it ?
Wednesday 20 January
By MIKE
YOU DONT MAKE sense!
Wednesday 20 January
By anarchitek
The Beatles wrote songs that related to teenagers, who were like them, going through the changes of life, and learning to adapt to the rules of the game. As they matured, so did their lyrics, particularly after Rubber Soul, when they completely abandoned the teenage love song format, with the minimal exception of the few songs written for their second movie, HELP. With Revolver, they began to write songs that related to the changes their generation was experiencing, leading the way for a whole new type of entertainer, and musical group. It's no surprise that in the wake of Revolver, Procol Harum, Deep Purple, Traffic, Love, Jefferson Airplane, Pink Floyd, the Yardbirds, the Doors, Cream, Jimi Hendrix and a host of other groups rose to prominence, each bringing their own vision to rock 'n' roll, propelling it into the world-wide force it would be in the '70s, and beyond. It all started with four guys who broke the mold that had dominated the music scene previously, when A&R men brought songs to the studio, assembled musicians, and cued a handsome, or pretty, young teen when to come in, and make with the words. Instead, the Beatles, wrote, and produced their music, played on the records, without supporting musicians, with the exception of Andy Powell sitting in for Ringo, once. They refused to do a song that George Martin had brought in, How Do You Do It? He insisted, they played a mediocre version to get him off their backs, and he never again asked them to do any one else's music. The world has been much better for his wisdom. The music found on the 15 discs (discounting half of HELP and half of YELLOW SUBMARINE, because of the mood music included by George Martin which amply displays his lack of talent with regard to rock 'n' roll, but who's surprised by that?) the Beatles recorded is a body of work unrivaled by any other musical group. The new recording bring new aural discoveries to the listener and offer an idea of how powerful they were, on first hearing, after a steady diet of mediocrity, in the years previous. The Beatles used minor chords, as means of making the music more than just three chords, and surprised many critics by doing so, including one who rhapsodized about the minor progression in A Hard Day's Night as something worthy of lasting respect, but they didn't write negative lyrics because of the music. They wrote them because they knew others were going through these same changes, losing at love, finding new lovers, and moving on, after the breakup. They adapted many rhythm and blues songs, themselves based on blues riffs that often used minor chords, but the message was human, not calculated. In Another Girl, you can hear Paul speaking to Jane Asher, whom he was breaking up with at the time. They became supremely confident, but they didn't start out that way, and the music reflects that position. To say they did is to miss the point, and overlook something valuable. They came at a time when the world was sitting in the shadow of "the bomb", and we in the US had just lost a youthful, popular president, murdered by a right-wing lunatic, who may, or may not, have been a dupe, or an employee, of others, a cast of thousands, including the CIA, gun-nuts, the Mob, Cubans, the military, and right-wing fanatics (none of whom have gone away, by the way). We were in a case of the doldrums, worried about a growing war in a far-off Asian country no one had heard of only two years before, and suddenly, from Ed Sullivan's stage, they blasted out a clarion call, showing how young people could be the determiners of their own fate, not just pawns in an older generation's games. It was a breath of fresh air, and the songs they put out spoke to everybody, of every color, to the point that in the first week of April, 1964, the Beatles help ALL Top Five places on the Billboard Hot 100, and had another 5 or 6 songs in the Top 40! They wrote songs for others, being so prolific as to be unable to record all the songs they wrote themselves. It went on this way, a new album three times a year, a new single every 60 to 90 days! Even after they slowed down, after Sgt Pepper's, they still managed to put other groups to shame with the amount, and the quality of their recorded work. They layered their songs with instruments galore, recorded songs backward, experimented with electronics and sounds, and generally did everything they could think of to improve the music. It worked, and their fans grew, and loved them, as no pop star has been loved since. Those who have generated extreme fan loyalty have done it more by force of personality than by their creativity. The Beatles changed a generation, the world, music, and the way we think about music. They made the modern era what it became, by going there first.
Wednesday 20 January
By robertsj
the song Norwegian Wood always puts a smile
on my face
"and when i awoke i was alone this bird had flown
so i lit a fire isnt it good norwegian wood"
no problems....
Reply
Wednesday 20 January
By Robert Potter
Jeff Merron is obviously just discovering the Beatles. It was all about change back then too. Remember, we were listening to lyrics like 'Hey Paula, I want to marry you', 'Hey Paul, I want to marry you too', and music from the three Bobby's, Vee, Rydell, and Vinton, when the Beatles charged in with some real energy. Any lyric with energetic music performances behind them was a big step up.
Reply
Wednesday 20 January
By TeddyRay
Came for "Run for Your Life," leaving satisfied. But what about "Maxwell's Silver Hammer?"
Reply
Wednesday 20 January
By G8rfan
Rubber Soul was definately a great, but angry album. Norwegian Wood should have been on this list. My take on that song is that the singer tourches a girl's room after she doesn't sleep with him. The song "Girl" is another angry song on that album.
Reply
Wednesday 20 January
By paurik
Whaaaaaaaaat!
Wednesday 20 January
By mrwgd
Got To Get You In To My Life..............
Reply
Wednesday 20 January
By Michael
The song "Got To Get You Into My Life" was Paul writing about marijuana and how much he enjoyed it.
Wednesday 20 January
By George
Um, dude....'Norweigan Wood' is about weed, and being stoned. No anger or hate in the song. It's about something not exactly going as you'd hoped, and at some point, when options are exhausted, kicking back, sparkin' one up, and appreciating the moment for the cosmic wonder that it is.
Reply
Wednesday 20 January
By Puppie
Dude!!!!!
You are sooooooooooo correct on this!!
Awesome.........
Wednesday 20 January
By SVB
Norwegian Wood is about an affair that John Lennon was having and didnt want his wife to know.
"I sat on a rug, biding my time, drinking her wine,
We talked until two and then she said: "It's time for bed"
She told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh.
I told her I didn't, and crawled off to sleep in the bath"
Lennon said of the song: "I was trying to write about an affair, so it was very gobbledegooky. I was trying to write about an affair without letting my wife know I was having one. I was sort of writing from my experiences ... girls' flats, things like that."
Wednesday 20 January
By allie
There was an interview a few years ago with Paul McCartney, and he said the last verse was about setting the apartment on fire. By then, there was no reason for him to lie. It was a Lennon song, and, though I loved the guy, he certainly had his share of anger issues.
What about "Yer Blues"? Or "I'm so tired."?
Thursday 21 January
By bmcclure
Norweigen Wood is 100% not about drugs. Its about John cheating on his wife with a woman he met, then torching her house. He didn't do the torching in real life, but he did cheat. Norweigen Wood was popular back in those days, kinda like Ikea laminated wood is now.
Wednesday 20 January
By Dino
"Norweigen Wood" was originally titled "Knowing She Would" but was considered too risque in those days, so the title was changed. It was not about weed!
Reply
Wednesday 20 January
By George
Um....okay. And I guess 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' is not about LSD? It's REALLY about John's son Sean bringing home a drawRing from school, yadda yadda yadda....Really???