Dylan's lyric ambition and folk-singer-songwriter craft as a model.
John Lennon's three most-cited musical influences in his Beatles songs: Blues influence (15), R&B influence (15), Bob Dylan influence (14).
Song count per year
% of each member's catalogue with this tag (by writing credit)
| # | Title | Year | Album | Lead Vocal(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I'll Get You | 1963 | Past Masters | John, Paul | Lennon cited Dylan-style harmonica and 'I, me, mine' personal address |
| 2 | I Don't Want to Spoil the Party | 1964 | Beatles For Sale | John | Confessional first-person, country-folk register |
| 3 | I'm a Loser | 1964 | Beatles For Sale | John | Lennon's first explicit Dylan-style song |
| 4 | Help! | 1965 | Help! | John | Confessional folk-rock lyric mode |
| 5 | I Need You | 1965 | Help! | George | Folk-rock idiom |
| 6 | You've Got to Hide Your Love Away | 1965 | Help! | John | Talk-sung confessional style |
| 7 | Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) | 1965 | Rubber Soul | John | Cryptic confessional storytelling |
| 8 | In My Life | 1965 | Rubber Soul | John | Personal, non-romantic introspection |
| 9 | If I Needed Someone | 1965 | Rubber Soul | George | Detached, dismissive address |
| 10 | Nowhere Man | 1965 | Rubber Soul | John | Introspective non-love lyric subject |
| 11 | Think for Yourself | 1965 | Rubber Soul | George | Dismissive address echoes 'Positively 4th Street' |
| 12 | I'm Looking Through You | 1965 | Rubber Soul | Paul | Acoustic folk-rock idiom |
| 13 | The Word | 1965 | Rubber Soul | John, Paul | Message-song mode |
| 14 | I'm Only Sleeping | 1966 | Revolver | John | Lennon's conversational first-person defense of an attitude |
| 15 | Long, Long, Long | 1968 | The Beatles (The White Album) | George | Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands progression |
| 16 | Yer Blues | 1968 | The Beatles (The White Album) | John | Lyrical name-check of Dylan |
| 17 | Old Brown Shoe | 1969 | Past Masters | George | A dusty shuffle-beat and ironic lyrics in Dylan's manner |
| 18 | Across the Universe (Wildlife version) | 1969 | Past Masters | John | Stream-of-consciousness imagery |
| 19 | Dig It | 1970 | Let It Be | John | Quotes 'Like a Rolling Stone' |
| 20 | Dig a Pony | 1970 | Let It Be | John | Lennon called it Dylan-style nonsense |
Lennon cited Dylan-style harmonica and 'I, me, mine' personal address
Confessional first-person, country-folk register
Lennon's first explicit Dylan-style song
Confessional folk-rock lyric mode
Folk-rock idiom
Talk-sung confessional style
Cryptic confessional storytelling
Personal, non-romantic introspection
Detached, dismissive address
Introspective non-love lyric subject
Dismissive address echoes 'Positively 4th Street'
Acoustic folk-rock idiom
Message-song mode
Lennon's conversational first-person defense of an attitude
Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands progression
Lyrical name-check of Dylan
A dusty shuffle-beat and ironic lyrics in Dylan's manner
Stream-of-consciousness imagery
Quotes 'Like a Rolling Stone'
Lennon called it Dylan-style nonsense
Updated
Book
Revolution in the Head
Ian MacDonald
Book
The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics
Alan Aldridge
Course
Herbie Hancock – Teaches Jazz
MasterClass · Jazz harmony + composition – foundation for McCartney's jazz-inflected writing.
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