John Lennon was known to be somewhat cynical from time to time, but especially when it came to much of his own music. The songwriter racked up an impressive 22 No. 1 hits and has seven Grammy awards. However, it seems like he always had a tendency to be his own worst critic. Here are some songs that John Lennon played a part in writing, which he would later express he wasn’t the biggest fan of.
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“Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”
This one might surprise some Beatles fans, as it is one of the most referenced off their 1967 album. However, unsurprisingly, Lennon was not a fan, at least of the production. However, he still did a version with Elton John in 1975, which got him to the top of the Billboard charts. “I heard ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ last night,” he said in 1980. “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?”
“It’s Only Love”
This song was recorded in 1965 for The Beatles’ Help! album, one side of which was written for a movie of the same name. “It’s Only Love” was one of the songs on Help!‘s B side, so it wasn’t used in the film. Honestly, it’s probably better it wasn’t, because I’m sure Lennon would have had something to say about it. For Lennon, it was the lyrics that he couldn’t stand. “‘It’s Only Love’ is mine,” he said in a 1980 interview. “I always thought it was a lousy song. The lyrics were abysmal. I always hated that song.” He would even call the lyrics a big regret of his because he found them embarrassing to sing.
“Run For Your Life”
Alright, last but not least (in our eyes, anyway), we have “Run For Your Life”. An Elvis Presley fan himself, Lennon actually wrote this one after being inspired by a line from Presley’s song, “Baby, Let’s Play House”. He even told Rolling Stone that he “never liked ‘Run for Your Life’ because it was a song I just knocked off,” referencing the Elvis tune. He would later continue to bash the song, calling it his “least favorite” Beatles tune and a “throwaway track.” Apparently though, the track, which was the first recorded for 1965’s Rubber Soul, was a favorite of fellow Beatle George Harrison’s.
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