Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)
Describing the song as "fetching, vintage McCartney" and a "warm, cheerful folk-rock treasure", journalist Mark Hertsgaard commends the song's "thigh-slapping beat, sing-along melody, and cheerful, isn't-love-great lyrics", designating it "the musical equivalent of an armful of freshly picked daisies". Critic Rob Sheffield calls it the "most romantic [song ever]", and "almost as funny as 'Drive My Car. He is especially fond of the "magnificent one-two punch" that opens the North American version of "Rubber Soul", with "I've Just Seen a Face" leading into "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)". Richie Unterberger of AllMusic describes the song as "almost pure country", continuing the trend established the previous year by band's "Beatles for Sale" album and the song "I'll Cry Instead" from "A Hard Day's Night". Music historian Peter Doggett refers to it as "[a] folk song taken at a bluegrass tempo" and "a McCartney gem" made more remarkable by being recorded during the same session as the "screaming rocker" "I'm Down".