Text · Lyrical device

Simile

Explicit comparisons using 'like' or 'as'

songs

From 1963 to 1970, almost the whole of the writing, it is in the words of twenty songs. It sits thickest on the A Hard Day's Night album, three of its thirteen tracks. The first is 'A Taste of Honey' and the last 'One After 909'. John owns the singing here, nine of them, four for Paul, and the two of them together on three, with Ringo on two. On 'I'll Cry Instead': 'Chip on my shoulder that's bigger than my feet'. On 'I Am the Walrus': 'like pigs from a gun' and 'like pigs in a sty'.

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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 Anaphora Wordplay 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

Early6 · 38%

Mid-period3 · 19%

Late7 · 44%

By Album

A Hard Day's Night3

The Beatles (The White Album)3

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band1

Magical Mystery Tour1

Book

The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics

Alan Aldridge

Book

Revolution in the Head

Ian MacDonald

Album

Revolver

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Songs(18 of 20)

Year

Album

Writer

Lead vocal(s)

#	Title	Year	Album	Lead Vocal(s)	Notes
1	I Wanna Be Your Man	1963	With The Beatles	Ringo	'Like no other can'
2	Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand	1964	Past Masters	John, Paul	'Schön wie ein Diamant'
3	I'll Cry Instead	1964	A Hard Day's Night	John	'Chip on my shoulder that's bigger than my feet'
4	And I Love Her	1964	A Hard Day's Night	Paul	'A love like ours could never die'
5	A Hard Day's Night	1964	A Hard Day's Night	John, Paul	'Working like a dog', 'sleeping like a log'
6	I'm a Loser	1964	Beatles For Sale	John	'Tears are falling like rain from the sky'
7	What Goes On	1965	Rubber Soul	Ringo	'A girl like you'

8	Lovely Rita	1967	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	Paul	'Look a little like a military man'
9	I Am the Walrus	1967	Magical Mystery Tour	John	'like pigs from a gun'; 'like pigs in a sty'
10	Lady Madonna	1968	Past Masters	Paul	'Creeping like a nun'
11	Dear Prudence	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	John	'Like a little child'
12	Happiness Is a Warm Gun	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	John	'Like a lizard on a window pane'
13	Yer Blues	1968	The Beatles (The White Album)	John	"Just like Dylan's Mr. Jones"
14	Across the Universe (Wildlife version)	1969	Past Masters	John	'Like endless rain', 'like a million eyes'
15	Across the Universe	1970	Let It Be	John	'Like endless rain', 'like a million suns'
16	One After 909	1970	Let It Be	John, Paul	'Cold as ice'
17	Free as a Bird	1995	Reunion singles	John, Paul, George	'Like a homing bird, I'll fly'
18	Real Love	1996	Reunion singles	John	'Like little girls and boys / Playing with their little toys'