DAILY DIRT: Not all of those Beatles songs were great

Daily Dirt for Sunday, March 16, 2025

For the record, my guitar has never wept, gently or otherwise … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,230 of The Daily Dirt.

1. First of all, I grew up with the Beatles. And I’ve listened to their music since the early-to-mid 1960s.

But I have always found a handful of their major offerings some sort of a combination of annoying, boring or simply overrated. Does that mean I feel the Fab Four themselves are overrated? Hardly. We could argue all day over who the No. 1 band of the rock era is, and I feel it would be safe to wager the Beatles, if not No. 1, would certainly be on the medal stand.

That does not mean, however, that every song the Beatles have released should be considered regal. (Hey, even Sir Rod Stewart has laid an occasional egg.) 

So here’s my top 10 Beatles songs that I find … the most annoying, boring or simply overrated. Only the group’s major releases, plus often-played album cuts, were considered for the ensuing list:

1. “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967): This song is often revered as one of the group’s magnificent efforts, with John Lennon’s lyrics highly regarded. I almost feel guilty saying I was never a fan of the song, whose “Strawberry Fields” title is taken from an orphanage in Liverpool. For me, it has always been oh-so-dull. I always preferred the flip side of the .45, “Penny Lane,” much more.

2. “Let It Be” (1970): I know, I know … it’s probably illegal to actually say you don’t care for “Let It Be,” but I don’t. Never did, never will. And at more than 7 minutes long, it just never ends. Never, never, never.

3. “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” (1967): Once depicted as a Lennon-McCartney “psychedelic patchwork”.

4. “I Am The Walrus” (1967): The most entertaining review of this effort described Lennon “spewing clever nonsense about nothing”.

5. “All You Need Is Love” (1967): If my count is correct, “all you need is love/love is all you need” is repeated, in some form, more than 50 times.

6. “Norwegian Wood” (1965): From the “Rubber Soul” album, this song is said to rival Bob Dylan songs of the same period. I never could see that. Maybe it was because this was the first Beatles song to incorporate the sitar. Mostly, it just didn’t sound like a Beatles song at that time.

7. “Get Back” (1970): While I have never cared for the song, the lyrics about “Sweet Loretta Martin” are rather interesting. 

8. “Blackbird” (1968): From the famous “White Album”, it also includes guitar work from Eric Clapton. I don’t care for the pace, the lyrics, anything.

9. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (1968): I have always loved the title, but the song is  .. well, a yawner. PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Holy Hell, Steve. Now you are just trolling. This is my favorite Beatles song of all time. JRG

10. “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967): Just an overrated mish-mash.

2. Did you know (Part 304)

• That Dairy Queen has a banana cream pie blizzard in the works. Be still my beating heart.
• That Dairy Queen will also have (if it has not arrived already) an enticement called S’mores Galore Parfait.
• That McDonald’s new Big Arch Burger may be the next big thing in fast food. It’s scheduled for some time this calendar year and is scheduled to be twice as large as the Big Mac and pack a whopping 1,030 calories. The Big Arch sandwich was tested in Canada, Germany and Portugal earlier this year, combining the familiar flavors of McDonald’s with new unique ingredients, including a tangy burger sauce specifically made for the Big Arch. This new sandwich features two quarter pound beef patties, layered with three slices of cheese, pickles, lettuce, slivered and crispy onions, and the new Big Arch sauce on a toasty sesame and poppy seed bun.
• That Baskin-Robbins is introducing Lucky Scoops, which is its festive green scoops for the St. Patrick’s Day holiday. They’ve got Pistachio Almond, Mint Chocolate Chip and Wild ‘n Reckless, all bearing the same green color. If you’re not in the mood for ice cream, you can get them as a shake.
• That McAlister’s Deli is adding something lucky to the menu for a limited time at its locations nationwide. Through March 26, McAlister’s will feature Leprechaun Lemonade and Corned Beef Spud. The Leprechaun Lemonade features a mix of the brand’s Old-fashioned Lemonade with a blend of blue raspberry syrup and peach puree. The Corned Beef Spud features a giant spud that is loaded with corned beef, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing. 

3. Here are some more quality collective nouns when it comes to animals:

• A coalition of cheetahs.
• A crash of rhinos.
• A confusion of wildebeest.
• A mob of kangaroos.
• A business of ferrets.

(Note: These are the actual names for such things, not an extension of my smart-aleckness.)

Steve Thought O’ The Day – That Leprechaun Lemonade sounds mighty interesting.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Numbers 2, 5, 7, 8 and 9 on his Beatles list are probably five of their best songs, according to anyone who ever actually listened to them.