Even the greatest band of the 20th century isn’t perfect. Every album by the Fab Four has at least a couple of boogers that aren’t as good as one would expect. With that in mind, let’s look at what many consider to be the worst song from each of The Beatles’ albums.
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If you don’t agree with our ranking, you’re not alone. We simply sourced these entries from public opinion via Reddit and other Beatles forums. If we happened to list your favorite Beatles tune from one of your favorite Beatles albums, don’t take it personally. I, for one, love a few of the following songs.
‘Please Please Me’ – “Love Me Do”
A controversial entry, perhaps. “Love Me Do” is a solid pop song, and you can’t beat that catchy harmonica. However, it doesn’t really feel like a completed song.
‘With The Beatles’ – “Little Child”
The lyrics on this song are just not it. Few songs have aged as badly as “Little Child”, though a few other Beatles songs take the cake as well.
‘A Hard Day’s Night’ – “When I Get Home”
This one is surprisingly generic for a Beatles tune. The hook is fun, but the whole of the song is far from the best on this album.
‘Beatles For Sale’ – “Every Little Thing”
This one is far from a bad song, but it falls behind in terms of the whole record due to its unconventional melody. Some people love it, some people don’t.
‘Help’ – “Tell Me What You See”
“Dizzy Miss Lizzy” could have made it to this entry as well. However, “Tell Me What You See” has annoyingly flat vocals that just don’t adhere to the Fab Four’s previous standards.
‘Rubber Soul’ – “Run for Your Life”
“The Word” is another poor offering on this record, but I went with “Run for Your Life” instead. Remember how earlier in this article I mentioned that some of The Beatles’ songs haven’t aged well? This tune is probably the worst offender.
‘Revolver’ – “Yellow Submarine”
Alright, I love this song. I’m not going to even lie. But it still gets hate from a lot of people decades after it was released, so I’m including it here.
‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ – “Good Morning Good Morning”
Ringo Starr’s drum part on this track is amazing and a bit ahead of its time, but it’s just slightly weak when compared to the rest of the album. If I didn’t have to include an entry, I wouldn’t include one for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band at all.
‘Magical Mystery Tour’ – “Your Mother Should Know”
This is a very difficult contender for the worst Beatles song on Magical Mystery Tour. The whole of this album is almost perfect. “You Mother Should Know” is simply on the weaker side.
‘The White Album’ – Tie Between “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” and “Wild Honey Pie”
I agree with this one, and a lot of Beatles fans on the internet also share my sentiment. “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is annoying. “Wild Honey Pie” is one of the weakest songs on this album. “Revolution 9” would be another runner-up, not because of my personal opinion, but because a lot of listeners are terrified of that track.
‘Abbey Road’ – “Mean Mr. Mustard”
This is the album that has encouraged a lot of discourse about the worst Beatles song. Compared to the reception surrounding other Beatles records, Abbey Road has the broadest scope of different opinions on its worst offerings. “Her Majesty” came up more than once, as did “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”. I went with “Mean Mr. Mustard” because the composition just isn’t there. Lennon even called it “crap” in Anthology.
‘Let It Be’ – “For You Blue”
It’s wild to think that this song made it onto the record over George Harrison’s other offerings. If he weren’t such a perfectionist, a few All Things Must Pass songs should have made it instead of this song.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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