Cringe-Worthy Lyrics?

We all know that Lennon/McCartney were master songwriters, and Mr. Harrison was no slouch himself.... BUT, even the great ones hit a wrong note from time to time. Are there any Beatles lyrics that you find cringe-worthy?

I have a few (just a few), but the most, uh, cringy to me is "I know that she's no peasant" from She's a Woman.

Anyone else brave enough to share?

Ok, so I'm gonna amuse myself. Here are a couple others:

~ "I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping" (has potential as a philosophical musing, but we all know he just needed something to rhyme with 'sleeping')

~ Of course, there's always the infamous "I'd rather see you dead little girl than to be with another man" (even though it was nicked, it's still pretty cringe-worthy)

Well, bearing in mind that "A Hard Day's Night" is one of my VERY favorite Beatles songs, and I know it was written very rapidly, I still think it has lousy lyrics.

"You know I work all day/To get you money to buy you things." Gah! And the rhyme is no better: "And it's worth it just to hear you say/You're gonna give me everything." Rhyming "things" with "everything"... no.

And while I'm at it, using two cliches right up front (working like a dog and sleeping like a log) isn't exactly stellar lyric writing.

In "Old Brown Shoe" the pairs of words that end with an "oo" sound before "I'm so glad..." sound kind of tacky. Like, "What else rhymes with shoe, you, and zoo? Ohhh, QUE!"

Originally Posted by flying_cupcake61842

In "Old Brown Shoe" the pairs of words that end with an "oo" sound before "I'm so glad..." sound kind of tacky. Like, "What else rhymes with shoe, you, and zoo? Ohhh, QUE!"

yeah line up in that queue, my love is something you can't reject.
nothing's gonna' change my world.

oops, I just realized I spelled "queue" wrong.

Originally Posted by ShowTunes

"You know I work all day/To get you money to buy you things." Gah! And the rhyme is no better: "And it's worth it just to hear you say/You're gonna give me everything." Rhyming "things" with "everything"... no.

And while I'm at it, using two cliches right up front (working like a dog and sleeping like a log) isn't exactly stellar lyric writing.

Yes, I agree with you on AHDN... a GREAT song, really rockin', but pretty facile lyrics... and a bit sexist, too. It was knocked off pretty quickly, and it shows...

Her name was McGill,
And she called herself Lil,
But everyone knew her as Nancy...

Can't really think of any right now. But there are some, for sure...

I believe it goes like this:

When I get home tonight
I'm gonna hold her tight
I'm gonna love her 'til the cows come home
(Not only do we get the easy rhyme of tonight/tight, but also the charming, pastoral reference to cows. Apparently, the loving will only continue until those bovines are back home, and not a second longer. It kinda makes you think: what will he get up to when the cows actually get home? Are they next in line for the loving?)

At any rate, the lyrics are stupid.

Originally Posted by SF4-EVER

Her name was McGill,
And she called herself Lil,
But everyone knew her as Nancy...

Actually, my dad always liked those lines. Dunno what that says about him.

Originally Posted by yol

I believe it goes like this:


i got a whole lot of things to tell her
when i get home
when I get home tonight
I'm gonna hold her tight
I'm gonna love her
'til the cows come home

i actually think that is quite clever of Lennon, there is actually alot going on underneath the outward context and/or subtext of the song. It sounds a bit like You Can't Do That, but someone has let the air out of the tires.

All Together Now:
"One, two, three, four
Can I have a little more?
Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
I love you."

I understand Paul wrote that song as kind of a children's song, but still.

Originally Posted by flying_cupcake61842

All Together Now:
"One, two, three, four
Can I have a little more?
Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
I love you."

I understand Paul wrote that song as kind of a children's song, but still.

Aw! That song is cute!

In "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da" I still cringe a little bit when Paul mixed up Desmond and Molly in the last verse, even though it was just a mistake. Still.

she thinks of him
so she dresses in black
and though he'll never come back
she's dressed in black

Originally Posted by kayinthelife

In "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da" I still cringe a little bit when Paul mixed up Desmond and Molly in the last verse, even though it was just a mistake. Still.

Those are the best lyrics in the song!

Originally Posted by SF4-EVER

Her name was McGill,
And she called herself Lil,
But everyone knew her as Nancy...

I always liked that line!

Originally Posted by Maia 66

Those are the best lyrics in the song!

They are, really. I can imagine Paul, right after the final take was recorded, listening to a playback of the song, hearing that, and saying, "D'oh!"

But it was still cute, and I bet he thought it would be a good laugh or something.

The " and sip their lemonade" line in Rain
The McGil-Lil-Nancy thing in Rocky Racoon
The Word, all of it