DM's Beatles forums
Beatles forums => Songs => Song Of The Week Series => Topic started by: nimrod on February 10, 2014, 08:16:45 AM
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Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
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, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
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 all right
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
It's all right, it's all right
"Here Comes the Sun" is one of Harrison's best-known Beatles contributions alongside "Something" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". The year 1969 was difficult for Harrison: he had quit the band temporarily, he was arrested for marijuana possession, and he had his tonsils removed.
Harrison stated in his autobiography, I, Me, Mine:
"Here Comes the Sun" was written at the time when Apple was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: 'Sign this' and 'sign that'. Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever, by the time spring comes you really deserve it. So one day I decided I was going to sag off Apple and I went over to Eric Clapton's house. The relief of not having to go see all those dopey accountants was wonderful, and I walked around the garden with one of Eric's acoustic guitars and wrote "Here Comes the Sun".
As Clapton states in his autobiography, the house in question is known as "Hurtwood". When interviewed in the Martin Scorcese documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Clapton said he believed the month was April. Data from two meteorological stations in the London area show that April 1969 set a record for sunlight hours for the 1960s. The Greenwich station recorded 189 hours for April, a high that was not beaten until 1984. The Greenwich data also shows that February and March were much colder than the norm for the 1960s, which would account for Harrison's reference to a "long, lonely winter".
Personnel
George Harrison – lead and backing vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, Moog synthesizer, handclaps
Paul McCartney – backing vocal, bass, handclaps
Ringo Starr – drums, handclaps
Orchestra
Uncredited – four violas, four cellos, double bass, two piccolos, two flutes, two alto flutes, two clarinets
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John was slacking off again I see
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with Yoko
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Feel good tune. Clearly one of his best.
My oldest, best friend recently passed, and it was a particular fave of his. I'll always think of him when I hear it.
:)
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Definitely a top song. It's rightly become a pop/rock standard. George manages to make it light lyrically and musically. You feel the uplifting mood in the arrangement. The lyrics are simple and the song is stronger for that.
If George had tried more songs like this rather than trying to teach us heavy handed spiritual and life lessons his solo career might have had a few more highs than it did.
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with Yoko
I'd say that's really putting unpleasant ages in my head, but John and Yoko already did that with their own photo shoots.
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I think George always liked that arpeggio D chord shape, he wrote 'If I Needed Someone' around it and I think he knew there was another great song to write around it - and this was it.
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"Here Comes the Sun" was written at the time when Apple was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: 'Sign this' and 'sign that'. Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever, by the time spring comes you really deserve it. So one day I decided I was going to sag off Apple and I went over to Eric Clapton's house. The relief of not having to go see all those dopey accountants was wonderful, and I walked around the garden with one of Eric's acoustic guitars and wrote "Here Comes the Sun".
As Clapton states in his autobiography, the house in question is known as "Hurtwood". When interviewed in the Martin Scorcese documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Clapton said he believed the month was April. Data from two meteorological stations in the London area show that April 1969 set a record for sunlight hours for the 1960s. The Greenwich station recorded 189 hours for April, a high that was not beaten until 1984. The Greenwich data also shows that February and March were much colder than the norm for the 1960s, which would account for Harrison's reference to a "long, lonely winter".
I've always thought that a guitar portion of Cream's "Badge" (recorded in October 1968, with George on rhythm guitar, being co-author of the song with Eric) was pretty similar to a part of "Here Comes The Sun".
BADGE / CREAM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7rHCYtbZRo#)
Listen at 1:07
Was that recycled to be used in "Here Comes The Sun"?
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Top 2 or 3 for me. Song is my ringtone and my alarm in the morning on my phone. Song is brilliant. Hearing others cover it is nice too but George's voice fits if that makes sense.
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I've always thought that a guitar portion of Cream's "Badge" (recorded in October 1968, with George on rhythm guitar, being co-author of the song with Eric) was pretty similar to a part of "Here Comes The Sun".
Yes I can hear the similarities Hombre, but it being in a different key and being electric changes the mood a fair bit.
btw one of my favourite bass lines is in Badge (put your headphones on and listen to what Jack Bruce does on that song) very inventive, it made me want to play Bass aged 16
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The best Beatles song George ever did. Happy, infectious tune with a great, clean production. I love it.
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I've always thought that a guitar portion of Cream's "Badge" (recorded in October 1968, with George on rhythm guitar, being co-author of the song with Eric) was pretty similar to a part of "Here Comes The Sun".
Yes I can hear the similarities Hombre, but it being in a different key and being electric changes the mood a fair bit.
btw one of my favourite bass lines is in Badge (put your headphones on and listen to what Jack Bruce does on that song) very inventive, it made me want to play Bass aged 16
Yes, love those bass lines too. "Badge" is a wonderful song; and "Here Comes The Sun" is great too, beyond that little similarity.
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For me his 2 nd best Todd
I think Something is possibly the best, not only George song but Beatle song :o
Were not far apart in our opinions though ha2ha
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I must admit I'm not a great fan of George's compositions during the Beatles, but Something and especially Here Comes The Sun are the best song on Abbey Road. HCTS is such an uplifting song, it's extremely hard to maintain a bad mood when this song is on.
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For me his 2 nd best Todd
I think Something is possibly the best, not only George song but Beatle song :o
I think Something deserves its position as George's most acclaimed song. It's a great mix of inspiration and songwriting craftmanship. But I think I enjoy listening to Here Comes the Sun the most. It's cheery, optimistic. Just a pleasure to listen to.
I also like how George used the moog (surprising I know ;D). It was a new toy but he didnt overdo it. Just a bit of colour here and there.
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'Something' is a great tune too. Its just that i'm a little bored of it lately and I have a better time listening to HCTS.
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Yes! It's one of Georges best and one of the best of the Beatles. I like it's positive outlook. George kept his signature sarcastic humor in his pocket and just wrote a great song that everyone can like. The acoustic work he did is perfect for the song.
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I agree that "Something" is better than "Here Comes The Sun", but both songs are wonderful. However, my favorite George's song has always been "Taxman".
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I must admit I'm not a great fan of George's compositions during the Beatles
On the other side, I tend to like most of George's songs with the Beatles. I think the proportion of weak songs in John and Paul's catalogs is higher, even though the number of great songs by both geniuses is still higher than George's.
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I've always thought that a guitar portion of Cream's "Badge" (recorded in October 1968, with George on rhythm guitar, being co-author of the song with Eric) was pretty similar to a part of "Here Comes The Sun".
BADGE / CREAM ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7rHCYtbZRo#[/url])
Listen at 1:07
Was that recycled to be used in "Here Comes The Sun"?
It sounds more like the intro to It Don't Come Easy to me...
Ringo Starr - It Don't Come Easy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGlOUc0LTiE#)
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It sounds more like the intro to It Don't Come Easy to me...
Ringo Starr - It Don't Come Easy ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGlOUc0LTiE#[/url])
Yes, that's true! And that was played by George too, right? ;)
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Right. Here's George providing the guide vocals...
George Harrison - It don't come easy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sANF19pLaF8#)
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Beautiful and lilting song, Here Comes The Sun. The perfect way to start off Side 2 of Abbey Road. In those days we had LPs and you had to take the time to flip the record on the turntable.
I always liked how George Harrison and Paul Simon performed it on Saturday Night Live...
(http://25.media.tumblr.com/c20b57aed4bc6630a5cc72de5c7005da/tumblr_moiaq89kPx1s9nul2o1_500.jpg)
George Harrison & Paul Simon - Here Comes The Sun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiOr5WoAJgg#noexternalembed)
1976
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I've always thought that a guitar portion of Cream's "Badge" (recorded in October 1968, with George on rhythm guitar, being co-author of the song with Eric) was pretty similar to a part of "Here Comes The Sun"
Was that recycled to be used in "Here Comes The Sun"?
This copy of lyrics by George seems to suggest so. Son of Badge I think it says?
(http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e224/jfwiblin/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps1f2a47e4.jpg) (http://s40.photobucket.com/user/jfwiblin/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps1f2a47e4.jpg.html)