When it comes to popular music, there is one fact more than any other that is universally agreed upon and that’s that the British-born band The Beatles is rock music’s best ever. Pop stars, innovators, masterful songwriters—the Mop Tops, Fab Four or whatever else you want to call them are just the cream of the musical crop.
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One of the reasons why this is so is because the band, despite being together for just a decade, boast some of the most memorable musical compositions of all time. While not every song garnered them an A+ grade, many do. And some songs from the band can even be thought of as eternal. Here below, are three songs from the Beatles that fit the criteria, three that are simply forever.
[RELATED: 3 Beatles Songs That Will Make Any Listener Tear Up]
“Hey Jude”
Released in 1968, this standalone single was written by frontman Paul McCartney, inspired by John Lennon’s son Julian in the wake of the split between Lennon and Julian’s mother when Lennon then began dating Yoko Ono. The Billboard 100 No. 1 hit was the first single released on the band’s Apple Records label. It’s a song of encouragement, to see the silver lining, to let the bad out and let the good in. It’s words of wisdom from McCartney, an uncle figure in Julian’s life. It’s a song that when performed can get an arena of fans singing in unison together. It’s also a song that once the first few words are sung, everyone knows the words. Sings Paul,
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.
“Let It Be”
Another song penned primarily by McCartney on the piano, this song comes from the band’s final album together. The song, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 100, is sincere and heartfelt. And for those who saw the recent Beatles documentary The Beatles: Get Back, the song came about in a studio session for the album of the same name. But the seeds of the song came from earlier in the wake of McCartney’s mother passing and as his famous band started to fracture in the late 1960s. In the end, it’s a song about acceptance. On the track, McCartney sings,
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
There will be an answer, let it be
“Lucky in the Sky with Diamonds”
Along with being one of the best songwriters of all time, The Beatles are known for their innovations and their time spent dabbling with psychedelia. Perhaps more than any other song from the group, the John Lennon-penned “Lucky in the Sky with Diamonds” embodies that era the best. Singing as if in a dream, Lennon paints a picture of a girl floating in the sky surrounded by the sun and diamonds. It’s another song inspired by Julian, who drew a picture in nursery school with the same title. Though since some have said it was inspired by drugs—namely, LSD. But whatever the origins, it’s a song that will live on forever for its strangeness and keen sense of imagination. Sings Lennon on the track released in 1967 on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,
Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes
And she’s gone
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
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Photo by David Redfern/Redferns
