The Best Beatles Melody George Harrison Ever Wrote, According to Himself

George Harrison wasn’t the most prolific songwriter in the Beatles, but he certainly snuck in a few timeless hits. Harrison had one of the keenest senses of melody in the band, which is perhaps why his songs stood out from the pack. Fans might have their opinions on which Harrison melody is the best, but the artist himself left us the definitive answer. Find out below which Beatles melody Harrison considered his best.

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The Best Beatles Melody Harrison Ever Wrote Was One He Envisioned for Ray Charles

Something in the way she moves
Attracts me like no other lover
Something in the way she woos me

I don’t want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

Harrison had an unparalleled ability to capture a feeling in his songwriting. Take “Here Comes the Sun” for example. Few songs bottle up the essence of summer better than this Beatles hit. Moreover, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is emblematic of how unexpected life is. These songs are great examples of Harrison’s melody-making ability, but they weren’t his favorite. That prize belongs to “Something.”

This simple, guitar-led song is one of the most tender tracks in the Beatles’ discography. The melody is as infectious as it is soothing. Harrison once credited it as the best melody he ever wrote. His secret? Imagining an artist he admires singing it.

“When I wrote it, I imagined somebody like Ray Charles doing it,” Harrison once said. “It’s, you know, that’s how I–the feel I imagined. But because I’m not Ray Charles. Then you know, I’m sort of much more limited in what I can do, then it came out like this. It’s nice. It’s probably the nicest melody tune that I’ve written.”

Despite Harrison’s belief that he was “limited”, we can’t imagine anyone singing “Something” quite as intimately as he did. Revisit this Beatles hit below. What do you think? Do you think this is Harrison’s best melody?

Somewhere in her smile, she knows
That I don’t need no other lover
Something in her style that shows me

I don’t want to leave her now
You know I believe and how

You’re asking me, will my love grow?
I don’t know, I don’t know
You stick around, now, it may show
I don’t know, I don’t know

(Photo by Pierluigi Praturlon/Shutterstock)