The 10 sexiest songs by The Beatles
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that The Beatles were one of the most influential bands of all time. Although the Liverpool foursome was only active for a decade, their innovative approach to songwriting, incorporating genres and instruments previously unheard in Western culture, completely changed the trajectory of popular music.
The band recorded hundreds of tracks during their time together, many of which have been considered some of the greatest songs of all time. However, when the topic of ‘sexiest songs’ comes up, The Beatles probably don’t spring to mind first; rather, something like ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ by Jimi Hendrix or ‘Wicked Game’ by Chris Isaak.
But The Beatles actually penned several songs you could label ‘erotic,’ particularly as they entered the latter half of the 1960s. Records such as The White Album and Abbey Road contain multiple cuts fit for a romantic night in, such as ‘Helter Skelter’ and ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’.
Listed below are tracks that contain the band’s sexiest-sounding instrumentation and most seductive lyrics, ranging from George Harrison-penned love songs to John Lennon’s proclamations of sexual desire for Yoko Ono.
The 10 sexiest songs by The Beatles:
‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’
‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’, taken from the band’s eleventh studio album Abbey Road, is arguably The Beatles’ sexiest song. The blues-inspired track, written by Lennon as a symbol of his love for Ono, uses a sleazy guitar riff in tandem with a rich Paul McCartney bassline. Lennon’s vocal delivery begins reserved before transforming into desperate growls and screams of “I want you so bad/It’s driving me mad” – the simplicity of his lyrics reflecting a primal urge for Ono.
According to Harrison: “It’s very heavy. John plays lead guitar and sings the same as he plays. It’s really basically a bit like a blues. The riff that he sings and plays is really a very basic blues-type thing. But again, it’s very original sort of John-type song.”
‘Helter Skelter’
In 1968, The Beatles released their self-titled double album, also known as The White Album, which contained a wealth of tracks ranging from folk to music hall to blues to proto-metal. ‘Helter Skelter’ fits into the latter and is acknowledged as a significant influence over the metal genre, which blossomed in the early 1970s. The track was written by McCartney and inspired by The Who’s Pete Townshend, who described his song ‘I Can See For Miles’ as “the raunchiest, loudest, most ridiculous rock and roll record you’ve ever heard”.
McCartney wanted to one-up him, as well as prove to critics that he could do more than write ballads, attempting to rid himself of being labelled the “soppy one”. Not only does the song contain suggestive lyrics such as “well, do you, don’t you want me to love you?” but it also features heavy guitar riffs and a strained vocal delivery from McCartney, giving it a distinctively erotic quality.
‘Don’t Let Me Down’
Written by Lennon, ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ was recorded during the Let It Be sessions, although producer Phil Spector decided to exclude the track from the band’s final album. However, the song was performed twice during their rooftop concert in 1969, appearing in the 1970 film Let It Be, 2022’s The Beatles: Get Back – The Rooftop Concert and several compilation albums, making it particularly popular. As a desperate love song, Lennon’s cries of “don’t let me down”, paired with the bluesy guitars, give the track an innately sexy sound.
Although ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ doesn’t possess the same type of heavy, dirty riffs as ‘Helter Skelter’ and ‘I Want You (She’s So Heavy)’, the song relies on its subtle verses and tempo changes to create a sensuous soundscape.
‘I Me Mine’
Towards the end of the 1960s, increasing animosity between the band members led to The Beatles’ eventual dissolution in 1970. Harrison penned ‘I Me Mine’ for the band’s final album, Let It Be, which reflected the tense atmosphere that arose from Lennon and McCartney vying for creative dominance in the studio and the presence of Ono. The song’s lyrics focus on egotism, with Harrison singing, “Even those tears/ I me mine, I me mine, I me mine.”
Although the song’s lyrics aren’t explicitly erotic, instrumentally, the track oozes sex appeal, drifting through steady verses before exploding into hard rock choruses involving an intense riff played with particular urgency.
‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road’
Taken from The White Album, ‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road’ was penned by McCartney, using a twelve-bar blues pattern. The singer wrote the track after witnessing two monkeys having sex in the middle of a road in India. According to McCartney: “A male [monkey] just hopped on the back of this female and gave her one, as they say in the vernacular. Within two or three seconds, he hopped off again and looked around as if to say, ‘It wasn’t me!’ and she looked around as if there’d been some mild disturbance. And I thought, that’s how simple the act of procreation is. We have horrendous problems with it, and yet animals don’t.”
‘Why Don’t We Do It In The Road’ is one of McCartney’s most impressive vocal performances, extending his voice to the point that he sounds almost unrecognisable, mirroring the animalism of the lyrics.
‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’
Another track written by Lennon for Ono, ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’ contains some of the band’s most sexually suggestive lyrics, wrapped up in not-so-subtle metaphors. The innuendo-laden lyrics, including: “When I hold you in my arms/And I feel my finger on your trigger/ I know nobody can do me no harm,” resulted in the BBC banning the song in the UK and the US.
Discussing the song, Lennon said: “I’m into double meanings. […] But that was the beginning of my relationship with Yoko, and I was very sexually oriented then. When we weren’t in the studio, we were in bed.” The track appears on The White Album, and despite rising tensions between the band, they worked closely together to perfect ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’, which was both Harrison and McCartney’s favourite from the album.
‘Something’
Undoubtedly one of Abbey Road’s greatest tracks, ‘Something’ is the ultimate love song. Penned by Harrison, the piece marked the musician’s talents as a songwriter as sufficient as Lennon or McCartney. ‘Something’ topped the charts in the US and peaked in the top five in various other countries, including the UK. Harrison smoothly sings, “Something in the way she moves/ Attracts me like no other lover/ Something in the way she woos me”, accompanied by an exquisite riff. The song’s slow, steady tempo allows Harrison’s lyrics to take centre stage before an intoxicating guitar solo dominates.
According to McCartney: “George’s ‘Something’ was out of left field. It was about Pattie, and it appealed to me because it has a very beautiful melody and is a really structured song.” Furthermore, producer George Martin stated: “When he brought in ‘Something,’ it was something else … It was a tremendous work – and so simple.”
‘Girl’
A slightly earlier cut, ‘Girl’ appears on Rubber Soul and was written by Lennon about a non-specific woman. He told Rolling Stone: “There’s no such thing as the girl; she was a dream, you know, but the words are all right, you know. It’s about ‘Was she taught when she was young that pain would lead to pleasure/Did she understand it?’, all that. They’re sort of philosophy quotes. […] it wasn’t just a song, and it was about, you know, that girl — which happened to turn out to be Yoko in the end.”
Lennon’s lyrics describe a cold-hearted girl, “She’s the kind of girl who puts you down”, yet that doesn’t stop him from wanting her. Lennon’s voice is particularly impressive as he sings a drawn-out “Oh, Girl” in the chorus.
‘Come Together’
When Lennon attempted to write a campaign song for Timothy Leary, who was running for Governor of California at the time, he came up with ‘Come Together’, although he described the track as “no good to him”. Still, the song became the opener to Abbey Road and ended up as one of the album’s most successful singles. The mysterious bass-heavy intro, accompanied by Lennon’s repeated whispers of “shoot me”, create an alluring atmosphere, punctuated by a heavy hard-rock-inspired riff.
Lyrically, the track is not innately sexual (unless you interpret “come together” with a dirty mind) but instrumentally, ‘Come Together’ is one of the band’s most dynamic and effortlessly evocative compositions.
‘Love You To’
Harrison’s ‘Love You To’ bears significant Eastern influence, becoming the first track by The Beatles to include such heavy classical Indian instrumentation. The song was inspired by Harrison’s philosophical interests and love for his then-wife, Pattie Boyd. He sings declarations such as “Make love all day long/ Make love singing songs” and “I’ll make love to you/ If you want me to” as sitar drones in the background.
The song represents a period of experimentation for the band, with Harrison stating: “We were listening to all sorts of things, Stockhausen, avant-garde music, whatever, and most of it made its way onto our records.”
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