The Beatles beefed with each other quite a bit through music. It’s not entirely surprising, either. When you’ve been with the same people in a band for the better part of a decade, it only makes sense to get a little bit toxic about your grievances through song. Without further ado, let’s look at four songs that The Beatles wrote about each other!
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1. “How Do You Sleep?” by John Lennon
This is probably the most famous Beatles-related diss track out there. John Lennon wrote this song as a response to a few tracks on Paul McCartney’s solo album, Ram, which Lennon believed were digs at him.
Lennon does not hold back at all with “How Do You Sleep?” Some of the lyrics go beyond tame, poetic jabs at his former bandmate. “You live with straights who tell you, you was king / Jump when your momma tell you anything / The only thing you done was yesterday / And since you’re gone you’re just another day” is aparticularly brutal line.
2. “Sue Me, Sue You Blues” by George Harrison
When McCartney broke off from The Beatles, quite a few legal battles were fought. The first few years after The Beatles called it quits were rife with lawsuits, mostly between McCartney and Lennon. George Harrison, watching it all unfold, wrote the melancholy “Sue Me, Sue You Blues” about the depressing courtroom experiences that McCartney eventually won.
3. “Back Off Boogaloo” by Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr didn’t voice his rage at his fellow Beatles often. If anything, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were more likely to toss musical jabs at each other. That being said, Starr did put out at least one angry little tune about his bandmates: “Back Off Boogaloo”.
This Starr solo effort throws a few punches at Paul McCartney. With George Harrison on guitar, Starr directly calls McCartney a “meathead”. Pretty tame, but also pretty shocking for the normally chill Beatle.
4. “Silly Love Songs” by Paul McCartney
Two particular Beatles beefed with each other in song quite a few times, and you can probably name them easily. There are more painful, cruel songs from McCartney out there that were directed at Lennon, but “Silly Love Songs” is more sad than anything.
McCartney reflects on his friendship with Lennon, who he believed saw his songwriting efforts as “silly love songs” for old ladies. McCartney defies the label and sticks up for himself on this track.
Photo by David McEnery/Shutterstock
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