> In the first three lines "word" is by far the most stressed note, and they are all the SAME note. In the last line the stress is on "heard", which rhymes, and is again the same note.
That's how it's supposed to work. The downbeat (or the accent) is on "word" in each line and in the last line the lyric changes to "heard" instead of "word.
So I'm neither expecting syncopation here nor am I noticing anything unusual there.
I'm not either, but that doesn't have anything to do with the point. The point is that their classification model has Lennon staying on the same note, and that happens with "The Word" if you give the importance to the highly stressed note (which, as you point out, is on the downbeat). But, partly because the stressed notes are surrounded by other notes, they are assigning the melody to McCartney.
Say the word and you'll be free / Say the word and be like me / Say the word I'm thinking of / Have you heard the word is love?
In the first three lines "word" is by far the most stressed note, and they are all the SAME note. In the last line the stress is on "heard", which rhymes, and is again the same note.
I think there's something wrong with their model where they aren't looking for repetitions of stressed notes, which would actually be totally consistent with their existing characterization of Lennon's melodies.