10 Criminally Underrated Beatles Songs

Before I began this post, I resisted the urge to Google “most underrated Beatles songs” to see other people’s opinions — for about five minutes. Thankfully, one of the first hits (and the only one I peeked at, I swear) listed several tunes that I consider to be anything but underrated, like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “A Hard Day’s Night.” (Insert game show “wrong answer” buzzer.)

You see, while these lists are purely subjective, I feel that underrated Beatles songs are those that typically didn’t crack the top 10 music charts and are often overlooked on radio station playlists. These are songs with which the very casual or brand-spanking-new Beatles fan might not be that familiar, but hopefully as musically moving as they are to me whenever I hear them, even today. So without further delay, here are 10 favorite Beatles songs of mine that are — in my opinion — underrated, ranked chronologically.

1 ) “There’s a Place” (1963)

In Yellow Submarine, John Lennon once said, “It’s all in the mind, you know.” “There’s a Place” is prophetic in that it instantly reminds me of “Imagine” and “Mind Games,” which Lennon would write in the 1970s. It seems he knew about the power of thought to create positive experiences at an earlier age, even amidst the inner turmoil he showcased later in songs like “Help!”. “The place” in question in the song is one’s mind. Paul McCartney would later say the writing behind this song was definitely more cerebral, rather than singing about stealing a kiss behind the stairs. I think it demonstrates how very profound young John Lennon was.

2) “This Boy” (1963)

Released as the B-side of “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “This Boy” shows off the Beatles’ vocal chops, proving that they were more than just a guitar group (take that, Decca!). Lennon mostly composed the song after being inspired by the doo-wop style of Smokey Robinson and The Miracles’ “I’ve Been Good to You,” although Paul McCartney has also cited “To Know Him Is To Love Him” by the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzZdi2z7lHMTeddy Bears as an influence. No offense to Ringo Starr, but how perfect is Lennon, McCartney and George Harrison’s three-part harmony? So perfect it always gives me chills, and one that they would replicate later in songs like “Because.”

3) “Things We Said Today” (1964)

I still get a lump in my throat whenever I hear “Things We Said Today.” It has to be one of Paul McCartney’s most underrated love songs (even better than — dare I say it — “When I’m 64”). The most amazing thing to me is that it was composed when he was only 22 years old, even though it sounds like something that would inspire a singer with 40 years of marriage behind him. McCartney was dating Jane Asher at the time, and the song was written while they were on holiday in the Caribbean on a boat called Happy Days (cue the Fonz: “Ayyyyyy!”). McCartney describes the song as “future nostalgia.” You can find it on A Hard Day’s Night.

4) “The Word” (1965)

“The Word” is basically a precursor to “All You Need is Love” and indicative of the imminent direction the Beatles were heading. Appearing on 1965’s Rubber Soul, it was conceived during a Lennon/McCartney marijuana-smoking session, which makes the lyrics all the more amazing because they’re so coherent and profound. Many bands were indeed singing about love — romantic love — around this time, but with “The Word” the Beatles brought attention to the universal concept of love and were quite possibly the first group to do so. And besides that, it’s just a lovely song with a catchy melody.

5) “Got to Get You Into My Life” (1966)

It’s hard to believe, but until recently, I didn’t know (or maybe I had forgotten) that this “love” song is basically McCartney’s ode not to a relationship, but to pot. “I took a ride….another road where maybe I could see another kind of mind there.” Ah. No matter; it’s the punchy brass arrangement and Motown-inspired sound that puts it on my underrated list. Released in 1966 on the Revolver album, it easily could have been saved for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band the following year.

6) “She’s Leaving Home” (1967)

Another song that makes me a bit teary-eyed and, again, sounds like its writer should be an aging empty-nester vs. a single, 20-something kid. Like “Eleanor Rigby,” there’s no guitars or percussion on this Sgt. Pepper track — it was recorded entirely with a backing string orchestra, which really shows the chances that the Beatles were taking at the time with their sound.

Its lyrics were developed from a Daily Mail story about British teenager Melanie Coe, who ran away from home and was missing for more than a week. Her distraught father was quoted in the piece as saying, “I cannot imagine why she should run away. She has everything here.” The strangest twist to the story is that Coe actually met The Beatles in 1963 when she won a Ready, Steady, Go! mime competition. It wasn’t until Coe was in her 20s that her mother saw McCartney interviewed on TV about the song and realized it was about her.

Maybe not quite as romantic as a song like the Pattie Boyd-inspired “Something,” but pretty cool nonetheless. And McCartney and Lennon’s overlapping vocals on the track are just stunning.

7) “Flying” (1967)

The Beatles didn’t record too many instrumentals,“Flying” being their second. (The first was “12-Bar Original” from 1965.) Written for the Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack, it is the first composition credited to all four Beatles: Harrison/Lennon–McCartney/Starkey.

The song features a mellotron, which is an “electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard.” I’m not even going to get into the mechanics of what it does, but let’s just say it is a fancy-shmancy keyboard. It makes sense that the Beatles were drawn to it, since they were experimenting with unique musical instruments around this time. Originally over nine minutes long, the track as it appears on the album was cut to a little over two minutes. It’s a really soothing chill out song — I don’t think there’s any explanation needed as to why it’s called “Flying.”

8) “Yer Blues” (1968)

“Yer Blues” was written by John Lennon while the Beatles were spending time with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India. Lennon admits that he was feeling depressed and even suicidal during this period, but thankfully he channeled his angst into his musical talent. “Yer Blues” is supposed to be a classic blues song parody (even making a reference to Bob Dylan’s “Ballad of a Thin Man”), but I actually think it comes across as a raucous, overlooked rocker of a tune. And those lyrics! “My mother was of the sky / My father was of the earth / But I am of the universe / And you know what it’s worth!”

9) “Hey Bulldog” (1969)

This is a really addictive, fun song that always puts me in a good mood, and I am never satisfied just playing it once. Maybe it’s because it’s one of the only Beatles songs centered around a piano riff, or that it has an absolutely awesome, screaming George Harrison guitar solo, or that Lennon and McCartney throw in a bit of their trademark silly fun at the end. It was supposed to appear in the movie Yellow Submarine but was cut from the version shown on American screens. Why it wasn’t a “hit” in the traditional sense I’ll never understand.

10) “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” (1969)

I’ve often believed that the Rolling Stones sang about sex, while the Beatles sang about love. “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” is one of those exceptions. It just reeks of unlawful carnal knowledge to me. The ponderous, repetitive guitar riff is almost stalker-like in its obsessiveness; the lyrics state quite frankly the singer’s intentions.

John Lennon said it was written about his wife, Yoko Ono (of course!), while Guitar World once speculated that the song might have inspired “doom metal” originating with Black Sabbath in the early 1970s. I’ve also found it interesting that the song is cut off in mid-note, which was Lennon’s intention. The first time I ever played Abbey Road, I thought the abrupt ending was a defect of my cassette tape (yes, cassette tape).

Which Beatles songs do you feel are the most underrated?

Pamela Sosnowski

Pam Sosnowski's love of retro music and pop culture all started when she saw the Beatles cover band 1964 in concert in the early '90s. It wasn't long before her obsession with the Fabs led to an interest in all things 1960s, probably because she never actually lived in the decade. Today she is the author of Go Retro where she ruminates about the people, places, and things of the pop culture past and is also a freelance writer.