{"id":623263,"date":"2026-10-07T12:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/623263\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T12:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T12:00:11","slug":"4-beatles-songs-paul-mccartney-and-john-lennon-wrote-as-teenagers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/623263\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Beatles Songs Paul McCartney and John Lennon Wrote as Teenagers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote dozens of songs for the Beatles, most of which are credited to the iconic “Lennon-McCartney” and, on rare occasions, “McCartney-Lennon.” As teenagers, the duo made a pact<\/a> that both their names would appear on their songs, regardless of who wrote them. This partnership set the stage for one of music history\u2019s most legendary songwriting collaborations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some of the Beatles<\/a>\u2019 fan favorites actually began as songs penned by a young Lennon and McCartney in Liverpool, both before and during their days with the Quarrymen<\/a>. Whether written solo or as a team, these tracks foreshadow the artists\u2019 creative genius; a genius that would one day set the tone for the musical landscape of the 1960s and 70s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here are four Beatles songs John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote as teenagers.<\/p>\n

“Hello Little Girl” <\/a>“One After 909” <\/a>“I’ll Follow the Sun” <\/a>“Love Me Do” <\/a>“Hello Little Girl” <\/p>\n

John Lennon wrote his first song, “Hello Little Girl<\/a>,” in 1957 when he was just 16. Inspired by a 1930s or \u201840s tune his mother used to sing to him, Lennon\u2019s first musical endeavor is credited to Lennon-McCartney. The Beatles performed it during their 1962 Decca audition<\/a>. The Fourmost and Gerry & The Pacemakers recorded their own versions, and the Beatles followed in 1963. “Hello Little Girl<\/a>,” an idea jotted down by a young Lennon, eventually appeared on the Fab Four’s Anthology 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was me. That was actually my first song. That always fascinated me for some reason or another. It\u2019s also connected to my mother. It\u2019s all very Freudian. She used to sing that one. So I made \u2018Hello Little Girl\u2019 out of it,\u201d Lennon revealed during his \u201clast major interview<\/a>\u201d with David Sheff.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“One After 909” <\/p>\n

Lennon, still just 16, also wrote “One After 909<\/a>,” though it wouldn\u2019t be released for another 13 years. Credited to Lennon-McCartney, as McCartney gave his “input,” the song was finally recorded during the Beatles\u2019 legendary rooftop concert in 1969 and released on Let It Be in 1970, shortly after their breakup<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The lyrics paint a picture of a man trying to travel with his “honey,” only to miss the train by showing up at the wrong station.<\/p>\n

“That was something I wrote when I was about 17,” Lennon told Sheff<\/a> of the inspiration behind the title, “I lived at 9 Newcastle Road. I was born on the ninth of October, the ninth month. It\u2019s just a number that follows me around, but, numerologically, apparently I\u2019m a number six or a three or something, but it\u2019s all part of nine.”<\/p>\n

“I’ll Follow the Sun” <\/p>\n

Paul McCartney wrote “I’ll Follow the Sun<\/a>” around 1958, also at age 16. Credited to Lennon-McCartney, the song appears on Beatles For Sale, released in 1964 with McCartney on lead vocals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Quarrymen, the duo\u2019s original band that also featured George Harrison, performed the song years earlier. “I\u2019ll Follow The Sun,” a bit more serious than McCartney\u2019s usual style, was later released as the B-side to “Baby It\u2019s You” in 1995.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the song\u2019s origins in The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions<\/a>, McCartney recalled:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll Follow The Sun was one of those very early ones. I seem to remember writing it just after I\u2019d had the flu and I had that cigarette \u2013 I smoked when I was 16 \u2013 the cigarette that\u2019s the \u2018cotton wool\u2019 one. You don\u2019t smoke while you\u2019re ill, but after you get better you have a cigarette, and it\u2019s terrible; it tastes like cotton wool, horrible. I remember standing in the parlor, with my guitar, looking out through the lace curtains of the window, and writing that one.”<\/p>\n

“Love Me Do” <\/p>\n

“Love Me Do<\/a>” was among McCartney and Lennon\u2019s first true collaborations. According to the Beatles Bible<\/a>, McCartney wrote the verses at 16, and Lennon contributed the bridge. Written around 1958 and released in 1962, “Love Me Do” was the Beatles\u2019 debut single, with “P.S. I Love You” as the B-side. It was later featured on the group\u2019s first studio album, Please Please Me, and hit number one in the U.S. in 1964.<\/p>\n

McCartney remembers the track as their first attempt to mimic the blues. <\/p>\n

“‘Love Me Do’ was us trying to do the blues. We were just young Liverpool musicians. We didn’t have any finesse…But ‘Love Me Do’ was probably the first bluesy thing we tried to do,” he shared in Mark Lewisohn’s book “The Beatles Recording Sessions<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

“Love Me Do” remains a Beatles classic and a testament to the songwriting skills of a teenage Lennon and McCartney. Its simple lyrics and timeless melody have kept it spinning for over 60 years, much like the entirety of their catalog.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read More: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote dozens of songs for the Beatles, most of which are credited to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-623263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}