Words that imitate sounds – bang, buzz, tick-tock
Paul McCartney's most distinctive lyrical device is Onomatopoeia – it shows up on 7% of his songs (6 of 89), roughly 1.6× the catalogue baseline (4%).
Song count per year
% of each member's catalogue with this tag (by writing credit)
| # | Title | Year | Album | Lead Vocal(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Saw Her Standing There | 1963 | Please Please Me | Paul | 'My heart went boom' |
| 2 | Drive My Car | 1965 | Rubber Soul | Paul, John | 'Beep-beep'm-beep-beep' |
| 3 | Lovely Rita | 1967 | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | Paul | 'Tchic, tchic, tchic' comb-and-paper |
| 4 | Happiness Is a Warm Gun | 1968 | The Beatles (The White Album) | John | – |
| 5 | Don't Pass Me By | 1968 | The Beatles (The White Album) | Ringo | – |
| 6 | Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da | 1968 | The Beatles (The White Album) | Paul | 'Choo-choo-choo' for the trolley |
| 7 | Hey Bulldog | 1969 | Yellow Submarine | John | 'Woof', barking sounds |
| 8 | All Together Now | 1969 | Yellow Submarine | Paul, John | 'Bom bom bom bompa bom' |
| 9 | Maxwell's Silver Hammer | 1969 | Abbey Road | Paul | 'Bang! Bang!'; 'Clang! Clang!' |
'My heart went boom'
'Beep-beep'm-beep-beep'
'Tchic, tchic, tchic' comb-and-paper
'Choo-choo-choo' for the trolley
'Woof', barking sounds
'Bom bom bom bompa bom'
'Bang! Bang!'; 'Clang! Clang!'
Updated
Book
Revolution in the Head
Ian MacDonald
Book
The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics
Alan Aldridge
Album
Magical Mystery Tour
CD
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