Text · Lyrical device

Anaphora

Repetition of the same word(s) at the start of successive lines or clauses, creating rhythmic insistence (e.g. Because: 'Because the world is round... Because the wind is high...').

songs

It turns up in 89 of the 217 of their lyrics, close to half of everything they recorded, from 1963 to 1970, which is most of their years together. The first is 'There's a Place' and the last 'I Me Mine', with the Let It Be album leaning on it hardest, seven of its twelve tracks. This one is John's to sing, and he takes 39 of them, eighteen for Paul, and the two of them together on ten, with George on thirteen and Ringo on five. On 'Taxman': bridge, 'I'll tax the street / I'll tax your seat / I'll tax the heat / I'll tax your feet'. On 'With a Little Help from My Friends': choruses begin 'I get by / I get high / I'm gonna try'.

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Top lyrical devices by writer - Lennon: Anaphora (40), Wordplay (12), Simile (11); McCartney: Anaphora (19), Extended metaphor (8), Pastiche (8); Harrison: Anaphora (11), Extended metaphor (4), Double meaning (3).

John Lennon Paul McCartney George Harrison Wordplay Simile Extended metaphor Pastiche Double meaning Lyrical device

Analysis

By Year

Song count per year

By Songwriter

% of each member's catalogue with this tag (by writing credit)

By Era

Early15 · 19%

Mid-period27 · 34%

Late37 · 47%

By Album

The Beatles (The White Album)17

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band5

Magical Mystery Tour5

Book

Revolution in the Head

Ian MacDonald

Book

The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics

Alan Aldridge

Course

Singeo – Vocal Training

Musora

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Songs(82 of 89)

Year

Album

Writer

Lead vocal(s)

#	Title	Year	Album	Lead Vocal(s)	Notes
1	There's a Place	1963	Please Please Me	John, Paul	'When I feel low / When I feel blue'
2	From Me to You	1963	Past Masters	John, Paul	'If there's anything...' twice
3	I Wanna Be Your Man	1963	With The Beatles	Ringo	'I wanna...' line openings
4	This Boy	1963	Past Masters	John	Lines start with 'This boy'/'That boy'
5	Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand	1964	Past Masters	John, Paul	'Oh, komm doch, komm zu mir' opens lines
6	If I Fell	1964	A Hard Day's Night	John, Paul	'If I...' opens successive verse lines
7	And I Love Her	1964	A Hard Day's Night	Paul	Verses end with 'And I love her' repeated

8	I'm Happy Just to Dance with You	1964	A Hard Day's Night	George	Verses 1 & 2 open 'I don't want/need…'
9	Tell Me Why	1964	A Hard Day's Night	John	Successive 'Tell me why' / 'And why' line openings
10	When I Get Home	1964	A Hard Day's Night	John	Each verse opens 'Come on,...'
11	Any Time at All	1964	A Hard Day's Night	John	Successive lines open 'Any time at all'
12	I'll Be Back	1964	A Hard Day's Night	John	'But I'll be back...' / 'But I came back...'
13	She's a Woman	1964	Past Masters	Paul	Verse 2 lines start with 'She'
14	Every Little Thing	1964	Beatles For Sale	John	Verses begin 'Yes, I know'
15	I Don't Want to Spoil the Party	1964	Beatles For Sale	John	Bridge lines 'Though tonight...' / 'If I find her...'
16	Ticket to Ride	1965	Help!	John	'She ought to...' opens successive bridge lines
17	Help!	1965	Help!	John	'Help me...' starts successive chorus lines
18	The Night Before	1965	Help!	Paul	'Were you...' / 'Was I...' open successive lines
19	The Word	1965	Rubber Soul	John, Paul	'Say the word' opens successive lines
20	We Can Work It Out	1965	Past Masters	Paul, John	'Try to see it my way' / 'While you see it your way'
21	In My Life	1965	Rubber Soul	John	'Some... Some... Some...' opens successive lines
22	Nowhere Man	1965	Rubber Soul	John	'Nowhere man' opens successive bridge lines
23	You Won't See Me	1965	Rubber Soul	Paul	'I don't know... / I don't have...'
24	What Goes On	1965	Rubber Soul	Ringo	Chorus lines start with 'What goes on...'
25	Rain	1966	Past Masters	John	Verses start 'If the rain comes' / 'When the sun shines'
26	Taxman	1966	Revolver	George	Bridge: 'I'll tax the street / I'll tax your seat / I'll tax the heat / I'll tax your feet'
27	Here, There and Everywhere	1966	Revolver	Paul	Verses begin with 'Here', 'There'; outro stacks 'Here, there and everywhere'
28	And Your Bird Can Sing	1966	Revolver	John	Verses begin 'You say…' / 'You tell me…'

29	Doctor Robert	1966	Revolver	John	Bridge lines begin 'Well, well, well'
30	For No One	1966	Revolver	Paul	Verses begin with 'You'/'She' parallel clauses
31	Tomorrow Never Knows	1966	Revolver	John	Every couplet ends 'It is ___, it is ___'
32	Love You To	1966	Revolver	George	'Make love...' opens consecutive lines
33	Within You Without You	1967	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	George	Verses 1 & 2 open 'We were talking about...'
34	With a Little Help from My Friends	1967	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	Ringo	Choruses begin 'I get by / I get high / I'm gonna try'
35	A Day in the Life	1967	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	John, Paul	'I read the news today oh boy' / 'I saw a film today oh boy'
36	Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds	1967	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	John	Chorus lines all start 'Lucy in the sky...'
37	Good Morning Good Morning	1967	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	John	'Nothing to...' opens lines in verse 1
38	Baby, You're a Rich Man	1967	Magical Mystery Tour	John	Chorus lines start 'Baby, you're a rich man'
39	All You Need Is Love	1967	Magical Mystery Tour	John	Each verse line begins '(Love) Nothing you can...' or 'There's nothing/nowhere you can...'
40	Hello, Goodbye	1967	Magical Mystery Tour	Paul	'You say' / 'I say' open successive lines
41	I Am the Walrus	1967	Magical Mystery Tour	John	Successive 'See how they...' lines
42	Blue Jay Way	1967	Magical Mystery Tour	George	Chorus lines begin 'Please, don't…'
43	Lady Madonna	1968	Past Masters	Paul	Verses 1-4 open 'Lady Madonna,…'
44	The Inner Light	1968	Past Masters	George	Lines begin 'Without...'; 'The less...'; 'Arrive/See/Do...'
45	Revolution	1968	Past Masters	John	Verses open 'You say...' / 'You tell me...'
46	Hey Jude	1968	Past Masters	Paul	Verses open 'Hey Jude, don't...'
47	While My Guitar Gently Weeps	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	George	'I look at...' opens verse lines
48	Julia	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	John	Verses open 'Julia, Julia' / 'Julia, [image]'
49	Martha My Dear	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	Paul	Verse lines open 'Martha, my...'
50	Blackbird	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	Paul	Verses open 'Blackbird singing...'
51	Cry Baby Cry	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	John	'The king was...' / 'The queen was...' opening lines
52	Good Night	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	Ringo	'Dream sweet dreams for me / for you'
53	Piggies	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	George	'Have you seen the...' opens verses 1 & 2
54	Don't Pass Me By	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	Ringo	'Don't pass me by / Don't make me cry / Don't make me blue'
55	I Will	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	Paul	Bridge: 'Love you...' starts each line
56	Yer Blues	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	John	"Yes, I'm lonely / ... / Yes, I'm lonely"; "In the morning / In the evening"
57	Birthday	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	Paul, John	'Yes, we're goin' to a party' opens 3 lines
58	Helter Skelter	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	Paul	"Tell me, tell me, tell me" anaphoric repetition opening line 3 of each verse
59	Sexy Sadie	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	John	Every verse opens 'Sexy Sadie'
60	Glass Onion	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	John	'I told you about...' opens verses 1, 2, 3
61	Dear Prudence	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	John	Verses pair 'Dear Prudence' / 'Dear Prudence' line starts
62	Revolution 1	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	John	'You say...' / 'You tell me...' open verses; 'Don't you know' opens chorus lines
63	I'm So Tired	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	John	'You know...' starts successive chorus lines
64	Hey Bulldog	1969	Yellow Submarine	John	Successive lines begin 'Some kind of...'
65	Something	1969	Abbey Road	George	Verse lines start with 'Something in...'
66	I Want You (She's So Heavy)	1969	Abbey Road	John	Successive lines begin 'I want you'
67	Mean Mr. Mustard	1969	Abbey Road	John	'Such a... old man' closes both verses
68	Sun King	1969	Abbey Road	John	'Everybody's...' across bridge lines
69	Her Majesty	1969	Abbey Road	Paul	Successive lines open 'Her Majesty's a pretty nice girl'
70	Oh! Darling	1969	Abbey Road	Paul	'Believe me' opens multiple lines
71	Here Comes the Sun	1969	Abbey Road	George	'Little darling' opens successive verse lines
72	Come Together	1969	Abbey Road	John	Verse lines start 'He got...' / 'He one...'
73	Let It Be	1970	Let It Be	Paul	Successive lines start 'Let it be'
74	Dig a Pony	1970	Let It Be	John	Verse lines begin 'Well, you can…' / 'Yes, you can…'
75	I've Got a Feeling	1970	Let It Be	Paul, John	'Everybody had/saw/let/pulled/put...'
76	For You Blue	1970	Let It Be	George	'Because you're sweet and lovely' opens lines
77	Two of Us	1970	Let It Be	Paul, John	'Two of us...' / 'You and me...' open lines
78	The Long and Winding Road	1970	Let It Be	Paul	'Many times I've been... many times I've cried'
79	I Me Mine	1970	Let It Be	George	Verses begin 'All through the day/night', 'All I can hear'
80	Free as a Bird	1995	Reunion singles	John, Paul, George	Both bridges open 'Whatever happened to'
81	Real Love	1996	Reunion singles	John	'No need to be...' opens successive lines
82	Now and Then	2023	Reunion singles	John	Successive lines begin 'And'

Updated 2026-10-09

Anaphora

Analysis

By Year

By Songwriter

By Era

By Album

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Songs(82 of 89)

There's a Place

From Me to You

I Wanna Be Your Man

This Boy

Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand

If I Fell

And I Love Her

I'm Happy Just to Dance with You

Tell Me Why

When I Get Home

Any Time at All

I'll Be Back

She's a Woman

Every Little Thing

I Don't Want to Spoil the Party

Ticket to Ride

Help!

The Night Before

The Word

We Can Work It Out

In My Life

Nowhere Man

You Won't See Me

What Goes On

Rain

Taxman

Here, There and Everywhere

And Your Bird Can Sing

Doctor Robert

For No One

Tomorrow Never Knows

Love You To

Within You Without You

With a Little Help from My Friends

A Day in the Life

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Good Morning Good Morning

Baby, You're a Rich Man

All You Need Is Love

Hello, Goodbye

I Am the Walrus

Blue Jay Way

Lady Madonna

The Inner Light

Revolution

Hey Jude

While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Julia

Martha My Dear

Blackbird

Cry Baby Cry

Good Night

Piggies

Don't Pass Me By

I Will

Yer Blues

Birthday

Helter Skelter

Sexy Sadie

Glass Onion

Dear Prudence

Revolution 1

I'm So Tired

Hey Bulldog

Something

I Want You (She's So Heavy)

Mean Mr. Mustard

Sun King

Her Majesty

Oh! Darling

Here Comes the Sun

Come Together