Is there a single song that defines The Beatles?

no

that's pretty tough man...

a day in the life

I don't think you could ever come up with one song that defines their greatness but if pressed for an answer I would have to go with :

She Loves You

The words "yeah, yeah, yeah" have become one of the most iconic phrases in music history.

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She Loves You

The words "yeah, yeah, yeah" have become one of the most iconic phrases in music history.

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That's the point -- how can one song define a band that is "She Loves You", "Strawberry Fields Forever", and "Hey Jude"?

nope, but A Day in the Life is the closet you get. The lyrical attitudes of John & Paul in that song was also noticeable in some other songs

For instance, John would give you Strawberry Fields, and then Paul would give you upbeat Penny Lane right after. John would tell you about heiress blowing his mind out of a car while Paul would tell you about waking up and starting the day.

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nope, but A Day in the Life is the closet you get. The lyrical attitudes of John & Paul in that song was also noticeable in some other songs

For instance, John would give you Strawberry Fields, and then Paul would give you upbeat Penny Lane right after. John would tell you about heiress blowing his mind out of a car while Paul would tell you about waking up and starting the day.

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I dont get why everyone always regurgitates this day in the life is the Beatles ultimate masterpiece and shite. It is a great song and one of their best, but there are at least 10 of their songs that I would say are on the same level.

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I don't think it's their best. But when it comes to a song that defines them as a band, I think that's the only one who comes the closest to holding that distinction. A John Lennon song on it's own can't define the Beatles. A Paul McCartney or George Harrison song can't either.

Absolutely not

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If so…what song would that be?

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I think you have to have a certain perspective to appreciate the group - as a group or phenomenon. If you have to pick a song to represent the catalogue, that's probably impossible. No song can capture the various eras (and keep in mind, as we know them, the "recording" act of The Beatles was a mere 6 years and change, although the act lasted a solid decade), or even the variations between the Paul, John and George compositions.

However, I nominate, "I want to hold your hand" as representing "The Beatles" as a phenomenon (For me, it invokes the strongest imagery of Beatlemania, at least in the U.S., even though I wasn't born yet.) It was an actual joint composition by Lennon and McCartney, and not, as it would later become, a partnership in name only.

If you want a song to represent the group - the four of them individually working together to make the music they made, I think you have to select "The End". I can find no other example that equals this concept of this group. If pressed for a second choice, I would choose "Come Together".

(Neither of these are my favorite Beatles song - I would be hard pressed to select between "Let it Be" and "Hey Jude!")

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but my favorite Beatles song is the one they allowed Clapton to play guitar.

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"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"?

The same gal that Harrison wrote "Something" about, is the gal Clapton wrote "Wonderful Tonight" and "Layla" about - the woman, try though she may, couldn't break up the friendship.

Harrison brought Clapton in to try to ease tensions in the band.