How John Lennon’s Favorite Beatles Songs Foreshadowed the Band’s Breakup and the End of an Era
The Beatles’ breakup in 1970 marked the end of one of the most influential and beloved bands in music history. For fans, the dissolution of the group was a shocking and heartbreaking moment. But for John Lennon, one of the band’s primary songwriters and its most outspoken member, the end had been brewing for years. His choice of favorite Beatles songs, particularly those with deeper emotional or thematic undertones, offered early clues about the tensions that would ultimately lead to the band’s split. From his candid lyrics to the evolution of his artistic focus, Lennon’s musical preferences and his creative trajectory not only reflected his personal struggles but also hinted at the growing rift within The Beatles.
Throughout their decade-long career, The Beatles underwent significant transformations, both musically and personally. What started as a pop sensation with catchy melodies and harmonies in the early 1960s evolved into a band that pushed the boundaries of what rock music could be, experimenting with new sounds, studio techniques, and songwriting approaches. While Lennon and Paul McCartney had formed the band’s creative core, writing the vast majority of The Beatles’ songs, by the late 1960s, their relationship had begun to unravel. Lennon’s favorites from this period—often darker, more introspective tracks—offered subtle insights into the band’s future demise.
In this article, we explore how John Lennon’s favorite Beatles songs provided early foreshadowing of the breakup and what those tracks reveal about the underlying tensions within the band.
### The Early Days: A United Creative Front
In the early 1960s, The Beatles were riding a wave of unprecedented success. From the moment they burst onto the scene with their first major single, “Love Me Do” in 1962, the band became a global sensation. Their early albums, such as *Please Please Me* (1963) and *A Hard Day’s Night* (1964), were filled with infectious pop tunes and harmonies that reflected the band’s cohesive and joyful energy. During this period, Lennon and McCartney worked closely together, with their songwriting partnership still intact. Songs like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You” captured the youthful exuberance and tight-knit collaboration that defined the band’s early years.
Lennon later admitted that, at the time, he was content with the commercial success of their earlier work, but he also felt stifled creatively. While McCartney often focused on more optimistic, accessible pop songs, Lennon had always gravitated toward darker, more introspective themes. His favorite songs from the early Beatles period, like “Help!” and “Nowhere Man,” hinted at his growing frustration and dissatisfaction with fame, even as the band’s popularity soared.
“Help!” (1965), in particular, was a turning point for Lennon. Written during a period of personal turmoil, the song was a cry for assistance, hidden beneath a catchy, upbeat melody. In later interviews, Lennon confessed that the song was an honest reflection of his mental state at the time, and though it became a massive hit, it was a far more personal piece than many realized. The success of *Help!* as both an album and a film continued to solidify The Beatles’ place in pop culture, but Lennon was beginning to feel the strain of being constantly in the spotlight.
Lennon’s internal struggles, which he poured into songs like “Help!” and “Nowhere Man,” were early signs of his growing discomfort with the band’s trajectory. He felt disconnected from the persona that the public expected him to maintain, and as a result, his songwriting began to reflect a more personal and introspective approach.
### The Shift Toward Experimentalism: *Rubber Soul* and *Revolver*
As The Beatles progressed into the mid-1960s, their music took a dramatic turn. The release of *Rubber Soul* in 1965 marked the beginning of the band’s experimental phase, and Lennon’s songwriting became more reflective and complex. One of his personal favorites from this period was “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown),” a song that showcased his evolving lyrical style. Unlike the straightforward love songs of the early Beatles albums, “Norwegian Wood” featured ambiguous storytelling and explored themes of infidelity and emotional distance.
The song was notable for its use of the sitar, played by George Harrison, which gave it an exotic and otherworldly quality. For Lennon, this song represented a new direction in his songwriting, one that allowed him to move beyond the constraints of the typical pop song format. The introspective nature of “Norwegian Wood” also reflected Lennon’s desire to dig deeper into his own emotions and experiences, something that would become even more apparent on later albums.
*Revolver* (1966) took The Beatles’ experimentation even further, and Lennon’s contributions to the album reflected his growing interest in psychedelia and avant-garde music. Songs like “Tomorrow Never Knows” and “I’m Only Sleeping” highlighted his fascination with altered states of consciousness and his desire to push the boundaries of what pop music could achieve. “Tomorrow Never Knows,” in particular, was a favorite of Lennon’s, as it was unlike anything the band had ever done before. The song’s lyrics, inspired by Timothy Leary’s *The Psychedelic Experience*, and its use of tape loops and studio effects made it a pioneering track in the realm of psychedelic rock.
While *Revolver* was a critical success and cemented The Beatles as musical innovators, it also marked a period of increasing creative tension within the band. Lennon’s desire to explore new sounds and lyrical themes was at odds with McCartney’s more traditional approach, and this creative divergence was becoming more pronounced with each album. Lennon’s favorite songs from this period were those that allowed him to experiment and break free from the pop formula that had defined the band’s early success.
### The *Sgt. Pepper* Era: Collaboration vs. Individuality
By the time The Beatles released *Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band* in 1967, the cracks in their unity were starting to show. While the album was hailed as a masterpiece of the psychedelic era, it also represented a shift in the band’s internal dynamics. McCartney had taken the lead in conceptualizing and driving the project, and while Lennon contributed several key songs, including “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “A Day in the Life,” he later admitted that he felt less connected to the album as a whole.
One of Lennon’s favorite contributions from this period was “A Day in the Life,” the closing track of *Sgt. Pepper*. The song was a collaborative effort between Lennon and McCartney, with Lennon writing the haunting, surreal verses and McCartney contributing the upbeat middle section. The song’s fragmented structure and its dramatic orchestral build-up reflected the growing tension between Lennon and McCartney’s songwriting styles. For Lennon, “A Day in the Life” was a highlight of the album, showcasing his ability to blend introspective lyrics with experimental production techniques. However, it also underscored the widening gap between his artistic vision and that of his bandmates.
The period following *Sgt. Pepper* was one of increasing frustration for Lennon. The death of their manager, Brian Epstein, in 1967, left the band without a guiding figure, and the members began to drift apart. Lennon, who had always been the most outspoken and rebellious of the group, was becoming increasingly disillusioned with The Beatles as an institution. His favorite songs from this era, including “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “I Am the Walrus,” reflected his growing desire to break away from the band and pursue his own path.
### The *White Album*: A Band Divided
The recording of *The Beatles* (commonly known as *The White Album*) in 1968 was a tumultuous period for the band. While the double album contained some of their most innovative and diverse music, it also highlighted the growing divisions between the members. Each of the Beatles was working more independently, and the collaborative spirit that had defined their earlier work was beginning to fade.
Lennon’s contributions to *The White Album* were some of his most personal and experimental to date. Songs like “Happiness Is a Warm Gun” and “Revolution” reflected his political activism and his willingness to explore controversial themes. One of his favorite tracks from this period was “Julia,” a deeply personal song about his mother, who had died when he was a teenager. The song’s intimate lyrics and gentle acoustic arrangement stood in stark contrast to the chaotic and often discordant atmosphere of the album’s recording sessions.
For Lennon, *The White Album* was a reflection of the band’s fractured state. While he appreciated the freedom to experiment with different styles and genres, he also felt that the album lacked the unity of their earlier work. In interviews, Lennon later described *The White Album* as “the sound of The Beatles breaking up,” and his favorite songs from the album were those that allowed him to express his individuality.
### *Let It Be* and *Abbey Road*: The Final Days
The final two albums The Beatles recorded—*Let It Be* and *Abbey Road*—were marked by increasing tension and the sense that the band was nearing its end. Lennon’s favorite songs from these sessions, such as “Come Together” and “Across the Universe,” showcased his continued evolution as a songwriter, but they also hinted at his growing detachment from the band.
“Come Together,” the opening track of *Abbey Road*, was one of Lennon’s standout contributions to the album. Its cryptic lyrics and bluesy groove were a departure from the more polished, pop-oriented songs that McCartney had written for the album. For Lennon, “Come Together” represented a return to the raw, rebellious energy that had defined his early career, but it also highlighted the contrast between his musical direction
