Tag Archives: the beatles

#761: The Beatles – Long, Long, Long

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Out of the four George Harrison songs that appear on The Beatles’ White Album, I would probably say that ‘Long, Long, Long’ is my favourite out of them. To that you’ll probably wonder, “Well, what about ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps?’“. And to that I’ll answer, I’ve never really enjoyed that track and I think that what ended up on the album pales in comparison to the demo that appeared on Anthology 3. ‘Piggies’, I like quite a bit, and ‘Savoy Truffle’ I feel neither here nor there about. Harrison wrote at least seven songs that could have been included on the double album, but as long as Lennon-McCartney were together he could never get a proper look in. Thankfully, ‘Long, Long, Long’ did make it considering it was one of the last songs the group made during the album sessions.

Coming in after the noisy ‘Helter Skelter’ on the tracklist, ‘Long, Long, Long’ has a much more dynamic approach, leading off with soothing acoustic verses backed by a ghostly organ played by Paul McCartney which are then followed by emphatic drum fills from Ringo Starr at occasional intervals. The song was written during the time the group were in India in the early part of 1968 for their Transcendental Meditation course and, according to Harrison, is about finding God, believing in him, wondering why did took so long to do so and never letting him go now that he has Him in his life. Though if you’re not into that sort of stuff, you can take it as a standard love song.

The band, excluding John Lennon who was doing God knows what somewhere else, pretty much pulled an all-nighter to get this song done. A session outtake that was made available on the 50th Anniversary issue of the album sees Harrison in somewhat high spirits but you can sense the tired atmosphere. He cracks jokes before the take and goes on a rambling monologue as the take leads to nowhere. He also messes up the intro, but gets right into it after a split second. I’ll link that below. It is certainly a song best suited for the night time or when it’s time to sleep, but the ending where every instrument rises to climactic roar is sure to wake you right up again.

#708: The Beatles – Lady Madonna

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So I guess around 2009/2010 would have been the first time I heard ‘Lady Madonna’ by The Beatles. I may have written here and there in the past about how that period was when The Beatles entered my life and how they’ve remained a permanent fixture in my life since. There are plenty of other songs by them that I probably prefer to this one but that doesn’t take anything away from the obvious quality it possesses.

It was February 1968 and the four guys were about to partake in Transcendental Meditation in India, and so they wanted to release a single that would be available for the public for the time they were away. ‘Lady Madonna’ was made and chosen for the A-Side. It was mainly written by Paul McCartney, John Lennon helped with some of the lyrics, and was influenced by the voice of rock and roll legend Fats Domino, a blues instrumental by Humphrey Lyttleton and the Virgin Mary.

‘Lady Madonna’ is led by a fantastic piano hook mirrored by the lead vocal initially, then the fuzzy guitars from Lennon and George Harrison and then a saxophone, played by Ronnie Scott, that takes the centre stage for the solo in the middle of the track. It’s a pleasant composition. McCartney sings very well, as he usually did in those times, and Ringo Starr does his thing on the drums (both with brushes and the sticks). I feel like it foreshadows what was to come on the White Album months afterward. It almost feels like a McCartney solo song. Doesn’t stop it from being good though.

#654: The Beatles – It’s Only Love

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‘It’s Only Love’ was written by John Lennon sometime during 1965 and ended up on the Beatles’ first album to be released that year – Help!. He went on to claim that he thoroughly disliked this song calling it ‘lousy’ and particularly taking umbrage with its ‘abysmal’ lyrics. Lennon said he hated a lot of Beatles songs during his lifetime…. though it can be agreed that he definitely wrote a better set of lyrics than those on display here.

“I get high when I see you go by, my oh my, when you sigh my my inside just flies, butterflies” are the words of the first verse. Laughable to those who take lyricism very seriously. But I don’t think ‘It’s Only Love’ is supposed to be a totally serious song. That’s probably what saves it from being disgraceful in the end. Plus Lennon delivers them with such a wilting energy to them that they pale in comparison when that fantastic chorus comes in.

There’s not much to say here. It’s a short, mainly acoustic number that lasts for just under two minutes. Due to the retro mixing of the 60s, it’s quite hard to pick out what each instrument is doing. The emphasis is on George Harrison’s descending guitar riff at the beginning and end of the track. So, to recap, Lennon’s vocal performance and that guitar are the best parts of it all. I still like this song quite a bit though. Not the best track on the album but it does the job.

#634: The Beatles – The Inner Light

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George Harrison began work on what would be his debut solo album in late 1967. Those sessions resulted in Wonderwall Music, released a year later. He travelled to Bombay in order to work with some musicians, and back to London to record some vocals. In that time, today’s song – ‘The Inner Light’ – was recorded. It was the last of Harrison’s songs during his time in the Beatles to explore the Indian influences that had been something of a trademark for him since 1966.

There’s a lot of information on its Wikipedia page that I don’t want to regurgitate. I’ve basically come to take it as an ode to meditation. Feeling content and peace within yourself and those around you. He took a lot of the lines from the Chinese Tao Te Ching text, putting a glorious melody on the words which are backed by a strong harmonium drone and floating Indian flutes.

Upon completion, it was made B-Side to ‘Lady Madonna’ and released in March 1968 while The Beatles went to India for some Transcendental Meditation. It was the first Harrison song to appear on a single. Harrison was proud of it, Paul McCartney held it in high regard. It worked out well in the end. For the song at least – the band were never quite the same from this year onwards.

#625: The Beatles – In My Life

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John Lennon and Paul McCartney could never agree on who wrote the music to this particular song. ‘In My Life’ was originally released on Rubber Soul as the album’s eleventh track. Nearing 55 years on and the track along with many others is still one of the band’s most celebrated.

It could have ended up as something entirely different. Initially Lennon’s lyrics for the song were something of a long poem about his childhood, based on a bus route he would usually take in Liverpool. He thought those lyrics sucked and eventually changed the majority of them. Either Lennon or McCartney put those lyrics to music, it’s still undecided, and the rest is history. Oh, and their longtime producer George Martin played the piano solo. That solo was performed at a slower tempo on a lower octave, so when the tape was sped up it resulted in the music you know all too well.

It’s a lovely tune. This is the only moment on the album where things really slow down. You can take a breather, cry about some family members/friends who have passed away and then carry on as if nothing’s happened when the next song comes on. There’s something very sparse about this song that I’ve noticed. There’s no emphasis on the guitar except for George’s lead that plays the song’s riff. There is this rhythm guitar that strums along, but that and the bass blend together that it’s barely noticeable. They cause this sort of low melodic hum that goes along with the track. It’s all about the vocals and Ringo Starr’s percussion.

Lennon was 24 going on 25 when he wrote this. His words go well beyond that age. One of the most admirable and earnest things he ever did.