I can’t count the number of times people have asked me my favorite Beatles songs – a question which usually leaves me stymied because….hello, y’all, have you ever met me? I do not deal in black & white; I deal in no less than eight hundred-fifty shades of gray. Ask me to pick a favorite song and my response is something along the lines of, “Do you mean when I’m sad? Happy? The one whose bass line I like the best? The one I’m gladdest to hear on Sundays after 5 pm during a waning gibbous moon?” In other words, I can’t pick just one. Or two. In fact, I was hard-pressed to pick twenty-five. But I did. It was not easy.
The method I used to compile this list was as follows: I sat down with a list of all the songs the Beatles recorded either for albums or for release as a single or B-side. With pen and paper at hand I jotted down every song that jumped off the page at me as one I especially favor for whatever reason. That gave me a working list of 36 songs. Then I went down my list and circled all the songs that absolutely, unquestionably must stay on the list (there were 10). I agonized over the remaining 26, trying to pick 11 to trim. It was painful to cross out any of them but eventually I whittled it down. I’m pretty happy with the results. Are there surprises? A few, I think. Of course there are standards that one might expect to see but there are certainly a few that are a little off the beaten path.
Without further ado, in chronological (release) order, I give you my 25 favorite Beatles songs:
- She Loves You
- This Boy
- If I Fell
- I Should’ve Known Better
- I’ll Cry Instead
- I’ve Just Seen a Face
- Girl
- In My Life
- Here, There & Everywhere
- Within You Without You
- A Day in the Life
- All You Need is Love
- Your Mother Should Know
- Hey Jude
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps
- Blackbird
- Rocky Raccoon
- I Will
- Yer Blues
- The Ballad of John and Yoko
- Something
- Here Comes the Sun
- The End
- Let it Be
- The Long and Winding Road
And, for the record, the songs that were on the original list of 36 that just barely missed the cut:
- Please Please Me
- It Won’t be Long
- No Reply
- Act Naturally (the only cover song I picked)
- Back in the USSR
- Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey
- Helter Skelter
- Hey Bulldog
- Because (I eliminated this one because it’s not the original version I love but the voices-only version on Anthology 3 and LOVE.)
- I’ve Got a Feeling
And now, in true Mary fashion, now that I see it all written out I’m second-guessing my picks and wondering if I made my decisions too hastily. Honestly, it really is like trying to pick a favorite amongst your children. I’m just going to go with this list for now unless inspiration strikes. Cut, print, that’s a wrap.
