George Harrison, “the quiet Beatle,” is never given nearly as much credit as Lennon and McCartney are for their songwriting chops. However, listening to some of his work will probably make you think he should’ve been. Here are some of Harrison’s best lyrics that really showcase his songwriting abilities.
“Here Comes The Moon”
“Everybody’s talking up a storm / Act like they don’t notice it / But here it is, and here it comes / Here comes the moon.”
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If you know “Here Comes The Sun”, you’ll likely be able to appreciate “Here Comes The Moon”. This song, also written by Harrison, appears on his self-titled album. In a way, it feels like a metaphor for Harrison himself. The songwriter was often much less appreciated for his efforts than, say, Paul or John. One might compare this to the sun, which tends to get a lot more credit than the moon. Who knows what Harrison was really trying to say here, though?
“I was in a particularly great place when I saw the moon coming up, and I thought, ‘Wow, you know, all this, and here comes the moon!’” he told the BBC. “And then I thought, ‘No, I couldn’t write a song called that, they’ll kill me.’ But as it happened, I wrote the song, and it turned out really nice, so it stands up in its own right.”
“Within You Without You”
“Try to realize it’s all within yourself / No one else can make you change / And to see you’re really only very small / And life flows on within you and without you.”
Wow, this one definitely hits you where it hurts. “Within You Without You” sings of more than one harsh truth. One, that you’re the only person ultimately responsible for your life experience. And two, that nothing really matters at the end of the day.
Even Lennon spoke highly of this one. “[‘Within You Without You’ is] one of George’s best songs,” he told David Sheff. “One of my favorites of his, too. He’s clear on that song. His mind and his music are clear. There is his innate talent; he brought that sound together.”
“All Things Must Pass”
“Sunset doesn’t last all evening / A mind can blow those clouds away / After all this, my love is up / And must be leaving / It’s not always been this grey / All things must pass / All things must pass away.”
Released in 1970, this song addresses the daunting yet hopeful truth that nothing lasts forever. It’s often believed to be about the breakup of The Beatles and Harrison’s desire to move forward and do his own thing.
Photo by: Mark and Colleen Hayward/Redferns