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In this thread I rank my favorite Beatles songs: 204-1. (2 Viewers)

Guesses at my #1:

  1. simey – Abbey Road medley
  2. Mister CIA – She Said She Said
  3. timschochet – Paperback Writer
  4. pecorino – Hey Jude
  5. Binky the Doormat – In My Life
  6. wikkidpissah – Taxman
  7. Dr. Octopus – Got To Get You Into My Life
  8. Nigel Tufnel – You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
  9. Uruk-Hai – Ticket to Ride
  10. Dinsy Ejotuz – Let It Be
  11. Tom Hagen – Eleanor Rigby
  12. Spock – Rain
  13. Leroy Hoard – A Day in the Life
  14. rockaction  - I Want to Hold Your Hand
  15. Ted Lange as Your Bartender – In My Life
  16. shuke – Abbey Road medley
  17. Alex P Keaton – Something
  18. Getzlaf15 – With A Little Help From My Friends
  19. zamboni – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
  20. neal cassady – I Am the Walrus
  21. Shaft41 – Hey Bulldog
  22. Ilov80s – Norwegian Wood
  23. Officer Pete Malloy – I Want to Hold Your Hand
  24. Godsbrother – Dear Prudence
  25. ManofSteelhead – Eleanor Rigby
  26. mike9289 – I’m Looking Through You
  27. heckmanm: Eleanor Rigby
  28. Atomic Punk – A Day in the Life
  29. [Mrs. Punk – In My Life]
  30. bananafish – Abbey Road medley
  31. bonzai – Abbey Road medley
  32. fatguy – Here Comes the Sun
  33. ScottNorwood- Yesterday
 
66.  Paperback Writer (single, 1966)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

Might be surprising not to see this one higher, because it's a helluva jam, with memorable guitar licks, amazing bass line, and Ringo wailing fantastically on the drums.  The vocals are particularly tight and beautiful.  But...that title...those lyrics...they're just so...dumb.  The premise of the song is clever enough, written as a letter a la their previous work on "P.S. I Love You."  It's just the notion of the "paperback writer" that gets on my ever-loving nerves.  Unfortunately, the beautiful harmonies are used to sing this title over and over, and so I'll be rocking along to the song realizing the lyrics are going nowhere but thinking that's OK, and then I'm hit with that "paperback wri-i-terrrr" and I cringe.  It's just a personal quirk that no one could have predicted since this song is otherwise up my alley.  Gonna be a curveball thrown now and then.  Obviously still a big fan of the song outside of that part.        

Mr. krista:  "I think it’s a great rock song, that would work better as an instrumental because the lyrics are distractingly dumb.  Who writes a song about being a writer and makes it a giant run-on sentence?  It could just as easily be about a sanitation worker.  [singing] San-ita-tion wor-ker.  But it really rocks and the bass line is incredible.  It’s so propulsive I can’t help but really like it.  A song like that is really hard to keep time to, and Ringo crushes it."

Suggested cover:  The B-52s
While the whole premise of the song is dumb, it still works for me, as the lyrics are great IF you just accept the stupid premise.  There are movies that I love that fit this profile as well.

 
Guesses at my #1:

  1. simey – Abbey Road medley
  2. Mister CIA – She Said She Said
  3. timschochet – Paperback Writer
  4. pecorino – Hey Jude
  5. Binky the Doormat – In My Life
  6. wikkidpissah – Taxman
  7. Dr. Octopus – Got To Get You Into My Life
  8. Nigel Tufnel – You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
  9. Uruk-Hai – Ticket to Ride
  10. Dinsy Ejotuz – Let It Be
  11. Tom Hagen – Eleanor Rigby
  12. Spock – Rain
  13. Leroy Hoard – A Day in the Life
  14. rockaction  - I Want to Hold Your Hand
  15. Ted Lange as Your Bartender – In My Life
  16. shuke – Abbey Road medley
  17. Alex P Keaton – Something
  18. Getzlaf15 – With A Little Help From My Friends
  19. zamboni – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
  20. neal cassady – I Am the Walrus
  21. Shaft41 – Hey Bulldog
  22. Ilov80s – Norwegian Wood
  23. Officer Pete Malloy – I Want to Hold Your Hand
  24. Godsbrother – Dear Prudence
  25. ManofSteelhead – Eleanor Rigby
  26. mike9289 – I’m Looking Through You
  27. heckmanm: Eleanor Rigby
  28. Atomic Punk – A Day in the Life
  29. [Mrs. Punk – In My Life]
  30. bananafish – Abbey Road medley
  31. bonzai – Abbey Road medley
  32. fatguy – Here Comes the Sun
  33. ScottNorwood- Yesterday
LOL @ Tim being the first goner.

 
Baffled by the ranking of Sgt Peppers.   It's in my top 25 and such a fun song.  I love the transition from section to section.  Ringo's drumming takes such a back seat which allows all the other stuff to happen around him.  This is the Beatles at their finest when they work together and make creative gems.   
I'm baffled that you would be baffled that someone else's preferences wouldn't align exactly with yours.  I mean that sincerely and not as snark.  I'm going to have a lot of differences with any one individual, and with the FBG consensus that Getz is doing.  That's the nature - and in my opinion the benefit - of being individuals.  I like seeing in this post what you love about that song, and that's what I enjoy most in the thread - everyone has something different that is meaningful to him/her.  When we get to my top 10, I expect that I will have a couple that don't make anyone else's top 10, and maybe even top 25.  It would never occur to me to find that baffling or unexpected; to the contrary, that's great because it means a wider range of songs are speaking to different people.

As for this particular song, I had it pretty high, and I don't know where it is in your top 25.  I doubt we see it terribly differently in terms of our appreciation of it.   :)  

 
While the whole premise of the song is dumb, it still works for me, as the lyrics are great IF you just accept the stupid premise.  There are movies that I love that fit this profile as well.
Oh, I still can't resist the song.  These are small differences at this point.  Until we get to my top 30 or so, these are fairly interchangeable for me.

 
I'm baffled that you would be baffled that someone else's preferences wouldn't align exactly with yours.  I mean that sincerely and not as snark.  I'm going to have a lot of differences with any one individual, and with the FBG consensus that Getz is doing.  That's the nature - and in my opinion the benefit - of being individuals.  I like seeing in this post what you love about that song, and that's what I enjoy most in the thread - everyone has something different that is meaningful to him/her.  When we get to my top 10, I expect that I will have a couple that don't make anyone else's top 10, and maybe even top 25.  It would never occur to me to find that baffling or unexpected; to the contrary, that's great because it means a wider range of songs are speaking to different people.

As for this particular song, I had it pretty high, and I don't know where it is in your top 25.  I doubt we see it terribly differently in terms of our appreciation of it.   :)  
This is what is so remarkable about their catalogue. There are over 60 songs left but you could easily see any of the remaining songs on a top 10 list. As much as one song or another may not be my bag, one can still see how it could be for someone else. This more than anything else is what makes the Beatles so special.

 
This is what is so remarkable about their catalogue. There are over 60 songs left but you could easily see any of the remaining songs on a top 10 list. As much as one song or another may not be my bag, one can still see how it could be for someone else. This more than anything else is what makes the Beatles so special.
9 of the remaining 65 on the Composite list did not get at least one Top 10 ranking.

That means 56 of the remaining got at least one Top 10 vote!

 
66.  Paperback Writer (single, 1966)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

Might be surprising not to see this one higher, because it's a helluva jam, with memorable guitar licks, amazing bass line, and Ringo wailing fantastically on the drums.  The vocals are particularly tight and beautiful.  But...that title...those lyrics...they're just so...dumb.  The premise of the song is clever enough, written as a letter a la their previous work on "P.S. I Love You."  It's just the notion of the "paperback writer" that gets on my ever-loving nerves.  Unfortunately, the beautiful harmonies are used to sing this title over and over, and so I'll be rocking along to the song realizing the lyrics are going nowhere but thinking that's OK, and then I'm hit with that "paperback wri-i-terrrr" and I cringe.  It's just a personal quirk that no one could have predicted since this song is otherwise up my alley.  Gonna be a curveball thrown now and then.  Obviously still a big fan of the song outside of that part.        

Mr. krista:  "I think it’s a great rock song, that would work better as an instrumental because the lyrics are distractingly dumb.  Who writes a song about being a writer and makes it a giant run-on sentence?  It could just as easily be about a sanitation worker.  [singing] San-ita-tion wor-ker.  But it really rocks and the bass line is incredible.  It’s so propulsive I can’t help but really like it.  A song like that is really hard to keep time to, and Ringo crushes it."

Suggested cover:  The B-52s
wOw. considered this in #1 pool. Turns out i don't know you at all....

 
I remember from another thread that you were posting one of the countdowns that the Beatles channel does (every year?) of favorites from their subscribers.  Your favorites and mine were very different in some key respects.   :)  
All the Top 25 lists were so vastly different.      I'm surprised that there is only one song you have left that I really don't care for.

 
66.  Paperback Writer (single, 1966)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

Might be surprising not to see this one higher, because it's a helluva jam, with memorable guitar licks, amazing bass line, and Ringo wailing fantastically on the drums.  The vocals are particularly tight and beautiful.  But...that title...those lyrics...they're just so...dumb.  The premise of the song is clever enough, written as a letter a la their previous work on "P.S. I Love You."  It's just the notion of the "paperback writer" that gets on my ever-loving nerves.  Unfortunately, the beautiful harmonies are used to sing this title over and over, and so I'll be rocking along to the song realizing the lyrics are going nowhere but thinking that's OK, and then I'm hit with that "paperback wri-i-terrrr" and I cringe.  It's just a personal quirk that no one could have predicted since this song is otherwise up my alley.  Gonna be a curveball thrown now and then.  Obviously still a big fan of the song outside of that part.        

Mr. krista:  "I think it’s a great rock song, that would work better as an instrumental because the lyrics are distractingly dumb.  Who writes a song about being a writer and makes it a giant run-on sentence?  It could just as easily be about a sanitation worker.  [singing] San-ita-tion wor-ker.  But it really rocks and the bass line is incredible.  It’s so propulsive I can’t help but really like it.  A song like that is really hard to keep time to, and Ringo crushes it."

Suggested cover:  The B-52s
Welp, my 25 list has been officially breached  :(

 
66.  Paperback Writer (single, 1966)

Mr. krista:  "I think it’s a great rock song, that would work better as an instrumental because the lyrics are distractingly dumb.  Who writes a song about being a writer and makes it a giant run-on sentence?  It could just as easily be about a sanitation worker.  [singing] San-ita-tion wor-ker.  But it really rocks and the bass line is incredible.  It’s so propulsive I can’t help but really like it.  A song like that is really hard to keep time to, and Ringo crushes it."
That's great.  :lmao:

 
I'm baffled that you would be baffled that someone else's preferences wouldn't align exactly with yours.  I mean that sincerely and not as snark.  I'm going to have a lot of differences with any one individual, and with the FBG consensus that Getz is doing.  That's the nature - and in my opinion the benefit - of being individuals.  I like seeing in this post what you love about that song, and that's what I enjoy most in the thread - everyone has something different that is meaningful to him/her.  When we get to my top 10, I expect that I will have a couple that don't make anyone else's top 10, and maybe even top 25.  It would never occur to me to find that baffling or unexpected; to the contrary, that's great because it means a wider range of songs are speaking to different people.

As for this particular song, I had it pretty high, and I don't know where it is in your top 25.  I doubt we see it terribly differently in terms of our appreciation of it.   :)  
I should have explained better.  I'm not baffled because your taste is different.   People have different tastes in many things including music of course.  I should have written that the ranking was unexpected on such an iconic song   That doesn't make it wrong   People like what they like and that is great because it makes us different and interesting   I still love my wife even though country is her favorite music!  

I'm not trying to be snarky either.  This thread is an addiction.  I'm working tons of hours these days but I find time to keep up.  I have to keep up!   I threw together my top 25 at 11pm after working for 15 hours that day since I wanted to compare my list to others.   I don't know how you ranked 204 songs.    

Carry on.  Please.  

 
Oh, I still can't resist the song.  These are small differences at this point.  Until we get to my top 30 or so, these are fairly interchangeable for me.
I was born in 65, so I didn't get to experience the evolution of the Beatles (and rock music in general) firsthand, during the crucial 60s.  I'm sure that must have been an awesome experience, and I'm more than a little jealous of those that did.

That said, I still got to experience the evolution of the Beatles, as my Mom gifted me much of the Beatles catalog in sequence over the course of a couple of years, I think between ages 8-9.  She might have got a little impatient in the middle, I got The Beatles 1962-1965 instead of Beatles for Sale/Help/Rubber Soul/Revolver, which I think was due to her love for certain key Revolver tracks.

I played the hell out of each album in turn.   This definitely contributed to my love for Paperback Writer, as it was a standout on that double album, at least from my perspective.

I'd like to add that I just played it on Spotify, and it's followed by Eleanor Rigby, so I listened to that as well, of course.   As Eleanor Rigby was finishing I started humming Yellow Submarine, which is the next track in sequence and the final track on the album.  I haven't listened to The Beatles 1962-1965 in 35 years, and the sequence is still deeply imprinted in my memory.   

 
65.  I Want To Tell You (Revolver, 1966)

Beatles version:  Spotify  YouTube

The second of three George Revolver songs that will be on this list - go George!  I figure the dissonance in this song might not be for everyone, but...wait for it...I love it!  The off-key vocals and especially those harshly discordant piano parts.  The song starts with a fade-in of George's guitar on some staggered triplets and weird syncopation, and you know immediately this isn't going to sound like anything else the Beatles have put out.  After the guitar fades in, it continues this riff two more times, first adding some piano jabs and snare, then a hissing tambourine, and finally Paul's bass, before finally launching into the vocal.  It's all rather disorienting, as are the unusual 11-meter verses that lead to the awkward but pleasing sound of the last line of each verse.  And of course, each time you think you're getting the groove, that some of the dissonance has been resolved, then BAM! come those jarring discordant piano parts. After a couple of verses of this, you find yourself in the lovely bridge, which sounds a bit more usual with George on a sweet vocal, and even the piano at the end is melodic in leading you back into the verse.  Oh no!  Another verse means...more off-key piano blasts!  A repeat of the bridge, and then you come to the fade-out ending that I love as much as the fade-in, with the Indian-inflected three-part harmonies and George repeating the guitar riff and Paul meandering around on piano and John doing something with a tambourine.  The dark journey of this song was a worthwhile adventure.

George wrote this song to describe "the avalanche of thoughts that are so hard to write down or say or transmit."  Perhaps more than any other Beatles song, this one seems to me to convey its feeling through the music in a way that makes the lyrics superfluous.  I do think the lyrics are fantastic at expressing what George said in that quote (I'll copy the lyrics below this), but even if you stripped the lyrics away, I would fully understand the import of what the music itself is telling me.  All that dissonance, all those parts bouncing off one another - George trying to align his thoughts all comes out in the music.  The piano parts in the verses feel like a huge avalanche exploding down on your head.  Even the voices are allowed to go slightly off-key at times, to show an inability to express exactly what one wants to.  This arrangement of this song to underscore the meaning behind it is simply brilliant.  Like most George songs, I only wish it were longer.

I want to tell you
My head is filled with things to say
When you're here
All those words they seem to slip away


When I get near you
The games begin to drag me down
It's all right
I'll make you maybe next time around


But if I seem to act unkind
It's only me, it's not my mind
That is confusing things
I want to tell you
I feel hung up and I don't know why
I don't mind
I could wait forever, I've got time


Sometimes I wish I knew you well
Then I could speak my mind and tell
Maybe you'd understand


I want to tell you
I feel hung up and I don't know why
I don't mind
I could wait forever, I've got time
I've got time
I've got time


Mr. krista:  "Yeah, that piano is like the Exorcist theme.  Very dissonant.  Also some Eastern influences.  I really like it.  Just a great song.  This hasn’t happened to you.  Probably.  I don’t know if you’ve ever been the only high person in the room. [Narrator:  No.]  Sometimes when you’re high, you have a thought or idea that seems to have importance outside of what it actually is and to other not-high people, the difficulty in communicating that it impossible.  It can be really frustrating or exhilarating, but that’s what that song sounds like.  'You can wait.'  I like that time when you’re not burdened with practicality.  You just feel the rush of coming up with an idea."

Suggested cover:  Melvins

 
This has been an amazing thread for me.  Surprisingly emotional  

I grew up entrenched in this music. Both my parents were musicians, mom has a wicked voice and my dad played the guitar.   my dad even gave it a go with country joe and the fish.  My step dad,  what’s up 60’s!,  would babysit me, cause you know, he lived in the basement of our house.  He says the only failsafe way to get me stop crying, was to play the Beatles.  

As I listen to your selections, long untapped memories are rising from the depths of my youth.  My parents, especially my dad, would have people over to the house, all the time, for jam sessions. Some of them, were big time musicians of the future. It was fun to hear my dad talk about those days.  

My dad died 27 years ago. This is  the first tangible memory of life, that I have.  My dad, sitting on the couch, with my mom behind him, her hands on his shoulders.  He’s playing this song and my mom is singing   :cry:  

not the Beatles, sorry.  Not sorry  

Simon and Garfunkel.  One I like better. Mumford and sons. 

Thanks krista.   :wub:  

 
This is what is so remarkable about their catalogue. There are over 60 songs left but you could easily see any of the remaining songs on a top 10 list. As much as one song or another may not be my bag, one can still see how it could be for someone else. This more than anything else is what makes the Beatles so special.
Exactly!  It seems like people see "#75" or whatever and think that's bad.  It's #75 of Beatles song, which means it's still fantastic.

I know some people have preferences of early v. old, Paul v. John v. George, or in my case I've come to realize I have a Help!-to-Revolver sweet spot, but I think most of us have an appreciation of the entirety of the catalogue, which encompasses so many genres and types that it seems impossible to distinguish favorites.

 
9 of the remaining 65 on the Composite list did not get at least one Top 10 ranking.

That means 56 of the remaining got at least one Top 10 vote!
I"m enjoying all your math nerd posts, but I find this one particularly interesting.

All the Top 25 lists were so vastly different.      I'm surprised that there is only one song you have left that I really don't care for.
I think I know which one it is, and it is very high on my list.   :lol:  

 
I"m enjoying all your math nerd posts, but I find this one particularly interesting.
Yep, just shows how amazing all of this is.


It's also amazing that some songs were only listed on ONE list, or others that didn't get listed on the first 20 lists, and then made 5 or 6 of the final 12.


We have one song that was listed just once on a list, and it was there #1 choice.

 
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I should have explained better.  I'm not baffled because your taste is different.   People have different tastes in many things including music of course.  I should have written that the ranking was unexpected on such an iconic song   That doesn't make it wrong   People like what they like and that is great because it makes us different and interesting   I still love my wife even though country is her favorite music!  

I'm not trying to be snarky either.  This thread is an addiction.  I'm working tons of hours these days but I find time to keep up.  I have to keep up!   I threw together my top 25 at 11pm after working for 15 hours that day since I wanted to compare my list to others.   I don't know how you ranked 204 songs.    

Carry on.  Please.  
Thanks so much for this post.  I misunderstood your intent, but get it now!

Sometimes I know a ranking is going to different from consensus - see, e.g., Penny Lane - and sometimes it comes as a surprise - see, e.g., The Fool on the Hill.  The responses to the former aren't as interesting to me because I know they'll be there and generally along the "you monster" lines (which I take with what I hope is the intended humor).  The latter is interesting to me because then I know that there's something others see in the song that I'm not connecting with and I wonder if I could listen differently and find that.  When I posed Sgt. Pepper's, I didn't have any idea what the reaction would be - it's iconic, but I hear people talking about the album as a whole more than that particular song.  So hearing that it's a top favorite for at least one person, and why, is good to hear.  You've consistently had some of the best content in this thread and I appreciate that!

Lol you did that on purpose 
Mr. krista, who likes the song more than I do, can testify that it was genuine!  Like everything at this point, though, it could go 20 spots higher and 5-10 lower on any given day.

 
I was born in 65, so I didn't get to experience the evolution of the Beatles (and rock music in general) firsthand, during the crucial 60s.  I'm sure that must have been an awesome experience, and I'm more than a little jealous of those that did.

That said, I still got to experience the evolution of the Beatles, as my Mom gifted me much of the Beatles catalog in sequence over the course of a couple of years, I think between ages 8-9.  She might have got a little impatient in the middle, I got The Beatles 1962-1965 instead of Beatles for Sale/Help/Rubber Soul/Revolver, which I think was due to her love for certain key Revolver tracks.

I played the hell out of each album in turn.   This definitely contributed to my love for Paperback Writer, as it was a standout on that double album, at least from my perspective.

I'd like to add that I just played it on Spotify, and it's followed by Eleanor Rigby, so I listened to that as well, of course.   As Eleanor Rigby was finishing I started humming Yellow Submarine, which is the next track in sequence and the final track on the album.  I haven't listened to The Beatles 1962-1965 in 35 years, and the sequence is still deeply imprinted in my memory.   
Lucky.  

Love that you still have that order of the songs imprinted in your brain.

 
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This has been an amazing thread for me.  Surprisingly emotional  

I grew up entrenched in this music. Both my parents were musicians, mom has a wicked voice and my dad played the guitar.   my dad even gave it a go with country joe and the fish.  My step dad,  what’s up 60’s!,  would babysit me, cause you know, he lived in the basement of our house.  He says the only failsafe way to get me stop crying, was to play the Beatles.  

As I listen to your selections, long untapped memories are rising from the depths of my youth.  My parents, especially my dad, would have people over to the house, all the time, for jam sessions. Some of them, were big time musicians of the future. It was fun to hear my dad talk about those days.  

My dad died 27 years ago. This is  the first tangible memory of life, that I have.  My dad, sitting on the couch, with my mom behind him, her hands on his shoulders.  He’s playing this song and my mom is singing   :cry:  

not the Beatles, sorry.  Not sorry  

Simon and Garfunkel.  One I like better. Mumford and sons. 

Thanks krista.   :wub:  
Oh man.  Beautiful post.  

 
There are videos of me playing guitar and singing two of the remaining songs, everybody prepare to get your faces rocked off when the songs appear in the countdown.
My face is ready to be rocked.

The rest of me might never rock again.  After my last post I stepped outside and noticed every male in my neighborhood shoveling snow and Ice.  It occurred to me that I live within a couple blocks of three schools, and it would be good to clear all this #### out before classes resume tomorrow (assuming they do), so I joined in the fun.  But through a combination of multiple snow events and poor decision-making, my "fun" consisted of shoveling all the snow along with a 2.5" layer of solid ice beneath it.  I can barely move my arms, and my fingers won't bend.  This will get better, right?

I was reminded that there are three kinds of neighbors:

1.  The neighbor who shovels to within an inch of the property line and no farther.

2.  The neighbor who shovels his own walkway and part of yours just to be nice.

3.  The neighbor across the street who's almost done with his driveway and asks if you want him to do yours, and when you politely decline proceeds to jabber at you until he decides to dig his car out, throwing snow back onto Neighbor #1's walkway and then getting stuck because he's from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and isn't used to driving in snow, so then you not only have to spend all your time digging him out, but afterward you have to re-shovel Neighbor #1's walkway because you feel like somehow it's your fault.

[Chicago only:  4.  The neighbor who digs his car out and then puts furniture in the spot to reserve it.]

Anyway, I have two Neighbor #1s and one Neighbor #3.  Need wine.

 
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I'm neighbor #2, but only b/c I don't want to try to pull a #1 and accidentally leave a few inches of my snow for my neighbor to clear.

It's moot anyways, as the new neighbor is #5: the guy who doesn't believe in shoveling his sidewallk.  Given that he's got a 17y.o. son, I'm kinda surprised.

 
I'm neighbor #2, but only b/c I don't want to try to pull a #1 and accidentally leave a few inches of my snow for my neighbor to clear.

It's moot anyways, as the new neighbor is #5: the guy who doesn't believe in shoveling his sidewallk.  Given that he's got a 17y.o. son, I'm kinda surprised.
With all the kids is this neighborhood, I was surprised no enterprising lad came and asked for an exorbitant sum to do it, which I would have happily paid.  Where is Caleb, the kid who mows my lawn without asking and then demands payment, when I need him?

 
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