Paul McCartney's handwritten lyrics to Maxwell's Silver Hammer are currently up for auction online through Gotta Have Rock and Roll.

The song, released on the Beatles' Abbey Road album in 1969, has long been a favourite with children for its jaunty tune and absurd words. Now it could prove equally popular with music memorabilia investors.

The lyrics, which have a top end estimate of $170,000, are written in black ballpoint pen on a sheet of Apple Corps Limited, 3 Savile Row letterhead.

They are accompanied by two further pages of handwritten lyrics for the song in assistant Mal Evans' hand which include variations to the released version.

It “never could have been” a single: Maxwell’s Silver Hammer

Fellow Beatle George Harrison described the song in 1969 as "one of those instant whistle-along tunes which some people hate, and other people really like.

"It's a fun song, but it's kind of a drag because Maxwell keeps on destroying everyone like his girlfriend then the school teacher, and then, finally, the judge."

John Lennon was less complimentary, once stating that McCartney "did everything to make it into a single, and it never was and it never could have been".

As with all Lennon or McCartney Beatles compositions, the song has the writing credit Lennon-McCartney.

The sale, which runs to March 25, also features the handwritten lyrics to McCartney's composition Honey Pie, from the 1968 White Album.