John Lennon wrote many songs for The Beatles, some by himself and some with frequent collaborator Paul McCartney. However, Lennon wasn’t proud of every song he wrote for the band and once called a song he wrote a “piece of garbage.”
John Lennon called one song by The Beatles a ‘piece of garbage’
John Lennon was an incredible songwriter and lent his talents to The Beatles for over a decade. However, he doesn’t share an equal amount of pride for every song he wrote. In All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Lennon spoke with David Sheff about many of the songs he wrote for The Beatles. When Sheff brought up “Sun King,” Lennon said, “That’s a piece of garbage I had around.”
“Sun King” was written primarily by Lennon but is credited to the Lennon-McCartney duo. “Sun King” appeared on 1969’s Abbey Road, the final album recorded by The Beatles. The song is unique because the last three lines include a mix of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. There is also “chicka ferdy,” a Liverpool slang phrase often used profanely. Guitarist George Harrison said the recording for the song was based on Fleetwood Mac’s “Albatross.”
Lennon shared a similar sentiment for ‘Dig a Pony’
“Sun King” is not the only song by The Beatles scorned by John Lennon. When Sheff mentioned “Dig a Pony,” Lennon shared a similar sentiment, calling the song “another piece of garbage.” “Dig a Pony” is the second track on Let it Be, the last album released by The Beatles. Lennon originally titled the song “All I Want Is you” but later changed it. It was recorded during The Beatles’ rooftop concert on Jan. 30, 1969.
Lennon wrote the song for his widow, Yoko Ono. The song features plenty of strange phrases connected to create a song that is hard to decipher. Despite the emotional message within the song, the British artist doesn’t appear to be a fan of the track. However, Lennon publicly trashed many songs he wrote, especially ones he made during his time with The Beatles.
Both songs Lenno hated were parts of iconic albums
While “Dig a Pony” and “Sun King” never charted as they were not released as singles, Abbey Road and Let it Be were both commercially successful. In the U.K., Abbey Road reached No. 1 for 17 weeks and remained on the chart for 97 weeks. Abbey Road returned to the No. 1 spot almost 50 years later when a 50th-anniversary edition was released.
Meanwhile, Let it Be reached No. 1 on the U.K. official charts for three weeks and remained on the chart for 53 weeks. In the U.S., Abbey Road peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks and remained on the chart for 479 weeks. Let it Be also reached No. 1 in the U.S. for four weeks and remained on the chart for 79 weeks. Both albums are also historically significant as they are two of the final records by The Beatles before the band’s split in 1970.