HANDS DOWN, THE BEST

The latest Entertainment Weekly celebrates The Beatles by listing their 50 best songs--not according to sales but in the opinions of the magazine’s music writers. Apparently the decisions were based upon a lot of arguing, and blood, sweat, and tears. Ooops. Sorry. Wrong band.

The song that garnered the top spot was “A Hard Day’s Night.” Not my fave, but EW said it was special because the lyrics represented the lives of the Fab Four during their 1964 tour of the United States. “The song hints at the weariness” the group felt as “unwitting passengers on a manic locomotive” being “chased by a mob of screaming, ravenous fans.”

I, too, recall, that those girls who loved The Beatles were crazed. Okay, had I not been stuck in Kansas and had I lived anywhere near New York City at the time, I would have been in hot pursuit, as well. Alas, I had to be content with parking in front of the television on Sunday nights to catch the group on The Ed Sullivan Show. At the time, “I Saw Her Standing There” (#29 on the EW list) was my top Beatles song. When the Liverpool Lads warbled, “….well, my heart went boom when she crossed that room, and I held her hand in mi----eee---een….” I was certain they were speaking of me. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

As I’ve gotten older, my Beatles best picks have gone from their energetic songs to their ballads: “With a Little Help From My Friends,” (#40), “Blackbird” (#18), and “If I Fell” (#22). I especially like the latter. It’s about the risk one takes in falling in love. Haven’t we ALL been there before? “If I fell in love with you, would you promise to be true and help me understand, ‘cause I’ve been in love before, and I found that love was more than just holding hands….”

Well, in 1964, about all I ever did was make googly eyes at guys, only dreaming that I could get past first base (hand holding) with them, much to my mother’s relief. And apparently The Beatles didn’t do much more than that, either, because in 1963 they made it big with “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” (#43). What gentlemen.

Ah, to return to the simpler times of sweet, innocent love. After all, "Yesterday" (#3) "was such an easy game to play."