McCartney Times

The Beatles came from the school of pop that The Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly presided over. These seminal artists predominately shaped pop and rock music by the late ’50s and early ’60s. So when The Beatles exploded onto the scene, their music was the offspring of this and the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership operated within these predetermined parameters.

Their music during the early days was designed with pop hooks, undeniable harmonies and rhythm and blues presentations. The type of lyrics that Lennon and McCartney were writing at this time were fairly ‘safe’ and conveyed emotional stories of ’50s doo-wop heartbreak and romantic relationships all befitting the rock ‘n’ roll tropes of old. It wouldn’t be until Lennon’s ‘I’m a Loser’, directly inspired by Bob Dylan, when the intent of their songs began to explore more elaborate themes.

Rubber Soul, released in 1965, would mark a milestone for the Liverpool lads as their transformation from live touring band to solely a ‘studio band.’ This album would feature another song of Lennon’s that marked an evolutionary step in his songwriting, and it is no coincidence that it happens to be in large part due to Bob Dylan’s influence once more. Lennon’s ‘Norwegian Wood’, is considered, even more so than ‘I’m a Loser’, an homage paid to Dylan and Lennon’s relationship.

Of course, it wasn’t all down to Dylan. Lennon certainly had a very deep and promising writer inside him. In 1964, John Lennon published a book called In His Own Write which really represented Lennon’s wit and non-sensical childish sense of humour. He has referenced fantasy writers such as C.S Lewis as influences and was an avid reader of all kinds of literature.

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Source: John Lennon’s 10 best lyrics with and without The Beatles