Text · Lyrical device

Pastiche

Affectionate imitation of an existing style or genre.

songs

1964 was the Beatles' biggest year for new lyrical devices since they began recording: 6 debuts that hadn't appeared on a Beatles record before – including Pastiche, Beatles reference, and Rhetorical question.

1964 Beatles reference Rhetorical question Lyrical device

Analysis

By Year

Song count per year

By Songwriter

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

By Era

Early0 · 0%

Mid-period4 · 36%

Late7 · 64%

By Album

The Beatles (The White Album)4

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band2

Abbey Road2

Past Masters2

Rubber Soul1

Songs(11 of 13)

Year

Album

Writer

Lead vocal(s)

#	Title	Year	Album	Lead Vocal(s)	Notes
1	Michelle	1965	Rubber Soul	Paul	Imitates French chanson style
2	Paperback Writer	1966	Past Masters	Paul	Mimics a business query letter
3	Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!	1967	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	John	Imitates 1843 circus playbill prose
4	When I'm Sixty-Four	1967	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	Paul	Edwardian music-hall song style
5	Back in the U.S.S.R.	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	Paul	Cold War flip of Chuck Berry's homecoming song
6	Rocky Raccoon	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	Paul	Western/cowboy ballad parody
7	Honey Pie	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	Paul	Imitates 1920s music-hall idiom
8	Yer Blues	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	John	Parodies British blues-revival earnestness
9	Maxwell's Silver Hammer	1969	Abbey Road	Paul	Music-hall murder-ballad style
10	Oh! Darling	1969	Abbey Road	Paul	1950s doo-wop ballad style
11	You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)	1970	Past Masters	John, Paul	Cabaret/lounge MC pastiche