Song: Blue Jay Way
Lyrics: There's a fog upon L.A. And my friends have lost their way They'll be over soon they said Now they've lost themselves instead. Please don't be long please don't you be very long Please don't be long for I may be asleep Well it only goes to show And I told them where to go Ask a policeman on the street There's so many there to meet Please don't be long please don't you be very long Please don't be long for I may be asleep Now It's past my bed I know And I'd really like to go Soon will be the breath of day Sitting here in Blue Jay Way Please don't be long please don't you be very long Please don't be long for I may be asleep. Please don't be long please don't you be very long Please don't be long Please don't be long please don't you be very long Please don't be long Please don't be long please don't you be very long Please don't be long Don't be long - don't be long - don't be long Don't be long - don't be long - don't be long
Instruments & additional info.: [*1:] Harrison: double-tracked vocal, backing vocal, Hammond organ McCartney: backing vocal, bass Lennon: backing vocal Starr: drums, tambourine Uncredited: cello Rec.: 6th/7th September, 6th October 1967 Rel. UK: 8th December 1967 (2-EP Magical Mystery Tour) Rel. US: 27th December 1967 (LP Magical Mystery Tour)
Song: Don't Bother Me
Lyrics: Since she's been gone I want no one to talk to me It's not the same but I'm to blame, it's plain to see So go away, leave me alone Don't bother me I can't believe that she would leave me on my own It's just not right when ev'ry night I'm all alone I've got no time for you right now Don't bother me I know I'll never be the same If I don't get her back again Because I know she'll always be The only girl for me But till she's here please don't come near, just stay away I'll let you know when she's come home, till that the day Don't come around, leave me alone Don't bother me I've got no time for you right now Don't bother me I know I'll never be the same If I don't get her back again Because I know she'll always be The only girl for me But till she's here please don't come near, just stay away I'll let you know when she's come home, till that the day Don't come around, leave me alone Don't bother me Don't bother me (repeat and fade)
Instruments & additional info.: [*1:] Harrison: double-tracked vocal, lead guitar Lennon: rhythm guitar, tambourine McCartney: bass, claves Starr: drums, bongos Rec.: 11th/12th September 1963 Rel. UK: 22nd November 1963 (LP With The Beatles) Rel. US: 20th January 1964 (LP Meet The Beatles!)
Song: For You Blue
Lyrics: Because you're sweet and lovely, girl, I love you Because you're sweet and lovely, girl, it's true I love you more than ever, girl, I do I want you in the morning, girl, I love you I want you at the moment I feel blue I'm living every moment, girl, for you (Walk, walk cat, walk) (Go, Johnny, go) (Same old tale of blues) (Elmo James got nothin' on this, baby) I've loved you from the moment, I saw you You looked at me that's all you had to do I feel it now, I hope you feel it too Because you're sweet and lovely, girl, I love you Because you're sweet and lovely, girl, it's true I love you more than ever, girl, I do [*]
Instruments & additional info.: [*1:] Harrison: vocal, acoustic guitar McCartney: piano Lennon: slide guitar Starr: drums Rec.: 25th January 1969 Rel. UK: 8th May 1970 (LP Let It Be) Rel. US: 18th May 1970 (LP Let It Be)
Song: Here Comes The Sun
Lyrics: Here comes the sun (Du du du du) Here comes the sun And I say It's alright Little darling It's been a long cold lonely winter Little darling It feels like years since it's been here Here comes the sun (Du du du du) Here comes the sun And I say It's alright Little darling The smiles returning to the faces Little darling It seems like years since it's been here Here comes the sun Here comes the sun And I say It's alright Sun, sun, sun, here it comes (five times) Little darling I feel that ice is slowly melting Little darling It seems like years since it's been clear Here comes the sun Hy Bonnie was more than just the Beatles' first appearance on commercial disc: it also brought them to the attention of Brian Epstein... Tony Sheridan rocked-up the arrangement they called My Bonnie, delivered the spoken-word introduction, sang and played lead guitar. George Harrison played the opening lead guitar passage, Paul McCartney is clearly evident, not only for his bass but also for his background shouts, and John Lennon and drummer Pete Best - who had joined the group's line-up in August 1960 - also played. Ain't She Sweet did not feature Sheridan, John Lennon singing the lead vocal. A staple of their 1961 stage act, the Beatles usually performed this in the more mellow style of Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps' influential 1956 version. However, when it came to Hamburg audiences, and this recording, the Beatles delivered the song in what John Lennon later described as "a harder version ... more like a march". Cry For A Shadow is a rare instrumental performance by the Beatles; the composer credit, Harrison-Lennon, was the only such occurrence on disc.
Song: You Know What To Do
Lyrics: When I see you I just don't know what to say I'd like to be with you ev'ry hour of the day So if you want me just like I need you You know what to do I watch you walking by and you looked alone I hope that you won't mind if I walk you back home But if you want me just like I need you You know what to do Just call on me when you're lonely I'll keep my love for you only I'll call on you if I'm lonely too Understand that I'll stay with you every day Make you lonely more on every way So if you want me just like I want you You know what to do Just call on me when you're lonely I'll keep my love for you only I'll call on you if I'm lonely too Understand that I'll stay with you every day Make you lonely more on every way So if you want me just like I need you You know what to do [**]
Instruments & additional info.: You Know What To Do (George Harrison) No Reply (demo) (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) Recorded EMI Studios, London, 3 June 1964 Producer George Martin Engineer Norman Smith Two demo recordings taped by the Beatles at EMI the day before they flew to Denmark to begin an inter-continental concert tour. The drummer on the first few dates of that tour was a substitute, Jimmy Nicol, drafted in at the eleventh hour after Ringo had been taken ill morning of 3 June. The EMI recording session booked for the remainder of the day was thrown into disarray by Ringo's indisposition; instead of taping the fourteenth and final song for the album A Hard Day's Night, John, Paul and George spent an hour listening to playbacks and running Nicol through some of the songs in their stage repertoire. Then, after the drummer had gone to pack his suitcase, they remained at Abbey Road and, during a four-hour evening session in Studio Two, loosely recorded three songs, two of which are presented here. The tape of the session was misfiled and´ re-discovered in 1993. Incorporating vocal, guitar, bass and tambourine tracks, this is believed to be the only existing recording of George Harrison's second song composition You Know What To Do. (The first was Don't Bother Me, issued on With The Beatles in 1963.) George did not contribute any songs to the albums A Hard Day's Night and Beatles For Sale and then added two to the next, Help!, but You Know What To Do never re-surfaced and has remained unissued until now. With greater application extended during a session on 30 September 1964, John Lennon's No Reply was issued, on the album Beatles For Sale, but this 3 June demo recording of the song certainly has not been heard before. It was announced at the time that John was giving No Reply to Tommy Quickly, another Brian Epstein's artists, and - as John sings it in a staccato, jaunty style more typical of Quickly's than his own - it's feasible that this demo was recorded with that donation in mind. (All the same, if he recorded it at all, Quickly never issued his version.) Intriguingly, a drummer is evident, even though no recognised player - neither Ringo nor Jimmy Nicol - was present.
Song: Taxman
Lyrics:
Instruments & additional info.: Taxman (George Harrison) Recorded EMI Studios, London, 21 April 1966 Producer George Martin Engineer Geoff Emerick The opening title on Revolver, Taxman was George Harrison's acerbic and witty view of the inescapable realities of life. Take 12 was the master recording, this being a "reduction", or "bounce", of take 11. (These are terms for a recording process, taken up by the Beatles around this time, where, by merging two or more existing tracks of a tape while copying it across to a second tape, vacant tracks are created, allowing for further overdubbing. Abbey Road was still using four-track recording machines in 1966, so this process was often necessary.) Issued here for the first time is that Take 11, not dissimilar to the master but with some notable differences, principally in the clean, full ending (instead of the repeated guitar solo) and the "anybody got a bit of money?" backing vocals (instead of "Mister Wilson, Mister Heath" reference).
Song: Only A Northern Song
Lyrics: If you're listening to this song You may think the chords are going wrong But they're not I just wrote it like that When you listen late at night You may feel the words are not quite right But they are I just wrote them myself And it doesn't really matter what chords I play What words I say Or time of day it is As it's only a Northern Song It doesn't really matter what clothes I wear Or how I fare Or if my hair is brown When it's only a Northern Song If you think the harmony Is a little off and out of key Then you're right 'Cause I sing it myself [*]
Instruments & additional info.: Only A Northern Song (George Harrison) Recorded EMI Studios, London, 13, 14 february and 20 April 1967 Producer George Martin Engineer Geoff Emerick Although not issued on disc until the Yellow Submarine soundtrack album, in January 1969, George's Only A Northern Song was written and first intended for Sgt Pepper, its place in the recording chronology coming between other Phpper tracks Fixing A Hole, composed by Paul, and Being For The Benefit Of Mr Kite!, by John. The master of Only A Northern Song combined Take 3 (with overdubs) and a "reduction" of this, Take 11 (which further overdubs), synchronously mixed into mono. The mix presented here, in stereo and slightly speeded up, is Take 3 - the basic track from 13 February, with bass and guitar added on 20 April - with unused vocal tracks (yielding a number of lyric variations from the master) overdubbed on to a seperate "reductions", Take 12, flown in.
Song: Within You Without You (Instrumental)
Lyrics: - Instrumental -
Instruments & additional info.: Within You Without You (instrumental) (George Harrison) Recorded EMI Studios, London, 15, 16 and 22 lection. The song would undergo two re-makes between this date and 6 September, when the master was completed, and become significantly heavier in the process - the final version featuring a lead guitar track played by guest Eric Clapton. This first studio recording could scarcely be more different, George singing live to his own acoustic guitar accompaniment (augmented by an organ part played by Paul), and incorporating an additional verse omitted from latter versions.
Song: Not Guilty
Lyrics: Not guilty Of getting in your way While you're trying to steal the day Not guilty And I'm not here for the rest I'm not trying to steal your vest. I am not trying to be smart I only want what I can get I'm really sorry for your ageing head But like you heard me said Not guilty. No use handing me a writ While I'm trying to do my bit. I don't expect to take your heart . . . I only want what I can get I'm really sorry that you're underfed . . . But like you heard me said . . . Not guilty. Not guilty For looking like a freak Making friends with every Sikh Not guilty For leading you astray On the road to Mandalay. I won't upset the apple cart I only want what I can get I'm really sorry that you've been misled . . . But like you heard me said . . . Not guilty. [*]
Instruments & additional info.: Not Guilty (George Harrison) Recorded EMI Studios, London, 8, 9, 12 August 1968 Producer George Martin Engineer Ken Scott The Beatles spent three nights recording the basic track of George Harrison's Not Guilty, until they pronounced the 99th take the "best" take and freed space in a tape-to-tape reduction mixdown for George to overdub hios vocal. Curiously, though, once he had done so, and the recording was completed, it was decided to leave it off the White Album, the song remained unheard until 1979, when George recorded an acoustic re-make for his album George Harrison. But the Beatles version (Take 102), heavier in approach, has not been issued until now.
Song: For You Blue
Lyrics: Because you're sweet and lovely, girl, I love you Because you're sweet and lovely, girl, I do I love you more than ever, girl, it's true I want you in the morning, girl, I love you I want you at the moment I feel blue I'm living every moment, girl, for you I loved you from the moment that I saw you You looked at me that's all you had to do I feel it now, I hope you feel it too Because you're sweet and lovely, girl, I love you Because you're sweet and lovely, girl, it's true I love you more each moment I'm with you [*]
Instruments & additional info.: For You Blue (George Harrison) Recorded Apple Studios, London, 25 January 1969 Producer George Martin Engineer Glyn Johns A good band performance - acoustic guitar (George), slide guitar (John), piano (Paul) and drums (Ringo) - of George Harrison's happy twelve-bar blues. All the recordings of this song were done on the same day, but the version on the album Let It Be featured a lead vocal re-recorded by George on 8 January 1970.
Song: All Things Must Pass
Lyrics: Sunrise doesn't last all morning A cloudburst doesn't last all day Seems my love is up And has left you with no warning It's not always bed and it may show But I don't know, I don't know No I love that woman ' mine And I need her all of the time No I'm telling you That woman that woman don't make me blue [*]
Instruments & additional info.: Something* (George Harrison) Recorded EMI Studios, London, 25 February 1969 Engineer Ken Scott The final solo demo recorded by George Harrison on his 26th birthday resulted in the first commitment to tape of the beautiful Something, destined for the album Abbey Road (recording spanned April to August 1969), George's first A-side composition for the Beatles when it was issued as a single that October, and hundreds of cover versions. The demo is simplicity itself: a live-in-one-take electric guitar/vocal performance that, in addition to the definitive lyric, also embraced a counter-melody verse later dropped. Shortly after taping this demo George participated in a session during which Joe Cocker became the first artist - ahead of the Beatles, even - to record this major new composition; his version did not come out until November 1969, however, by which time Abbey Road and the Something single had been issued. * MONO track
Song: I Me Mine
Lyrics: All through the day I me mine, I me mine, I me mine All through the night I me mine, I me mine, I me mine Now they're frightened of leaving it Ev'ryone's reading it Coming on strong all the time All through the day I me mine I me me mine, I me me mine, I me me mine, I me me mine All I can hear I me mine, I me mine, I me mine Even those tears I me mine, I me mine, I me mine No one's frightened of playing it Everyone's saying it Flowing more freely than wine All through your life I me mine [*]
Instruments & additional info.: I Me Mine (George Harrison) Recorded EMI Studios, London, 3 January 1970 Producer George Martin Engineer Phil McDonald A quick run-through of George Harrison's I Me Mine (shot in early January 1969 during the Twickenham rehearsal period of the Get Back project) was set for inclusion in the Let It Be film, indicating that it also should feature on the accompanying album. But as the song had never been committed to tape with any serious endeavour the Beatles convened again in number two studio at EMI - some five month after completing Abbey Road - and recorded their last new piece together. (The word "new" is an important qualifier, for work polishing up previously recorded material for Let It Be continued through to April.) But not all of the Beatles participated: John Lennon was on holiday, his absence prompting a telling remark - like a mock press statement - from George during the session, which precedes this Anthology recording. As George, Paul and Ringo recorded it, I Me Mine was short, running just 1.34. For the Let It Be album, Phil Spector - brought in by George and John in March 1970 to "re-produce" the tapes - extended the length to 2.25 by means of editing, and also supervises the overdubbing of orchestral tracks. Although the same master (Take 16) has been used for the Anthology, the song appears here as its true length and as the three Beatles recorded it during what turned out to be their last session together for 24 years.
