Even the Beatles have some less-than-memorable tunes. No band is safe from the occasional flop. Even Paul McCartney has gone on record saying he dislikes a number of Beatles songs. Find five of his least favorites below.
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1. “She Said She Said”
McCartney’s dislike of “She Said She Said” stems more from the making of the track than it does from the song itself. When they got into the studio to record “She Said She Said,” McCartney got into a row with the other members and ultimately decided not to play bass on the track.
“I think we had a barney or something, and I said, ‘Oh, fuck you!'” McCartney explained. “And they said, ‘Well, we’ll do it.’ I think George played bass.”
Though no one knows for sure, the argument is said to have been started by John Lennon, who poked fun at McCartney for not dropping acid at a recent party. Whatever the cause, it’s the only song on Revolver to not feature McCartney.
2. “Tell Me What You See”
The Beatles released a lot of songs despite their short tenure, but not all of them became hits. The band had a number of songs fall by the wayside, including “Tell Me What You See.” McCartney once called the track “not awfully memorable.” While the criticism isn’t exactly seething, it’s enough to let us know McCartney doesn’t think too fondly of it.
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3. “What You’re Doing”
Similarly to “Tell Me What You See,” McCartney feels “What You’re Doing” is less memorable than many of his other writing credits.
“I think it was a little more mine than John’s,” McCartney once explained. “You sometimes start a song and hope the best will arrive by the time you get to the chorus, but sometimes that’s all you get, and I suspect this was one of them. Maybe it’s a better recording than it is a song; some of them are. Sometimes a good recording would enhance a song.”
4. “Every Little Thing”
McCartney once called “Every Little Thing” a “filler” song on Beatles for Sale. Instead of becoming an “almighty single” like some of the biggest songs on the record – “I’ll Follow the Sun” or “Rock and Roll Music” – it failed to stand out in McCartney’s eyes.
“‘Every Little Thing,’ like most of the stuff I did, was my attempt at the next single,” McCartney once said. “It didn’t have quite what was required.”
5. “Hold Me Tight”
According to McCartney, another “failed attempt” at a single was “Hold Me Tight.” The song appears on the group’s 1963 album, With the Beatles. McCartney resigns “Hold Me Tight” to being a “work” song – something that fills up writing sessions but, fails to make a splash upon its release.
“Certain songs were just ‘work’ songs…you haven’t got much of a memory of them,” McCartney said of “Hold Me Tight.” “That’s one of them.”
Photo: MJ Kim / MPL Communications Ltd / Courtesy of Nasty Little Man
What do I know? Those are 5 of my favorite Beatles songs! Never knew Paul wasn’t on She Said; have always adored “What You’re Doing”; I understand why people write off Tell Me What You See, but their voices are so great on that song, a classic Beatles sound, to me. I always thought “Every Little Thing” was primarily written by John.