George Harrison quit The Beatles on January 10, 1969. He was persuaded to rejoin the band after just a few days but faced other obstacles soon after. He had his tonsils removed just a week after the famous rooftop concert and then faced an arrest for possession of cannabis the following month. It was a winter that had taken its toll on the quiet Beatle.
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After several weeks of not even playing guitar, Harrison found himself in the garden of his friend Eric Clapton’s house, just trying to avoid the reality of what the business of The Beatles had become. He would write a song that would go on to become the most streamed of the entire Beatles catalog despite the fact it was not released as a single. Let’s take a look at the story behind “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles.
Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo
Here comes the sun
And I say, it’s alright
Playing Hooky
“‘Here Comes the Sun’ was written at the time when Apple [Records] was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: ‘Sign this’ and ‘Sign that,'” Harrison wrote in his memoir I, Me, Mine. “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 and 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.”
Little darlin’, it’s been a long, cold, lonely winter
Little darlin’, it feels like years since it’s been here
The Sun Was Shining
Clapton remembered the occasion in the documentary, George Harrison: Living In the Material World. “It was one of those beautiful spring mornings. I think it was April,” he said. “We were just walking around the garden with our guitars. I don’t do that, you know? This is what George brought to the situation. He was just a magical guy. … We sat down at the bottom of the garden, looking out, and the sun was shining. It was a beautiful morning, and he began to sing the opening lines, and I just watched this thing come to life. I felt very proud that it was my garden that was inspiring it.”
Harrison shared his memory of events in a BBC interview in 1969: “It was just a really nice sunny day, and I picked up the guitar, which was the first time I’d played the guitar for a couple of weeks because I’d been so busy. And the first thing that came out was that song. It just came. And I finished it later when I was on holiday in Sardinia.”
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say, it’s alright
Little darlin’, the smile’s returning to their faces
Little darlin’, it seems like years since it’s been here
No John Lennon
Violas, cellos, double bass, piccolos, flutes, and clarinets were overdubbed on the sessions arranged by producer George Martin. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr provided bass and drums behind Harrison’s acoustic guitar. John Lennon was recovering from a car accident and was not involved in any of the recording sessions.
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say, it’s alright
The Moog
Harrison had recently purchased a synthesizer from Robert Moog. It became a vital part of “Here Comes the Sun.” Harrison spoke about it in The Beatles Anthology: “I first heard about the Moog synthesizer in America. I had to have mine made specially because Mr. Moog had only just invented it. It was enormous, with hundreds of jack plugs and two keyboards.
“But it was one thing having one and another trying to make it work,” he continued. “There wasn’t an instruction manual, and even if there had been it would probably have been a couple of thousand pages long. I don’t think even Mr. Moog knew how to get music out of it; it was more of a technical thing. When you listen to the sounds on songs like ‘Here Comes the Sun,’ it does do some good things, but they’re all very kind of infant sounds.”
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 darlin’, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darlin’, it seems like years since it’s been clear
The Beatles Never Performed the Song Live
The Beatles ended their touring after their 1966 U.S. tour, and their only other live show was on the rooftop of the Apple offices, where they performed songs from Let It Be. They never had the opportunity to perform any of the songs from Abbey Road in front of a live audience. Harrison performed “Here Comes the Sun” at the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh with Badfinger lead singer Pete Ham. Harrison performed the song with Paul Simon on Saturday Night Live on November 20, 1976.
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
And I say, it’s alright
Other Versions
Hundreds of people have recorded “Here Comes the Sun.” Just a few of the notables include Booker T. & the M.G.’s, George Benson, Lloyd Green, Hugo Montenegro, Paul Gadd, Richie Havens, Peter Tosh, Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, The Terry Baxter Orchestra, Sergio Mendes, Sandy Farina, The Runaways, Voodoo Glow Skulls, John Pizzarelli, Lou Rawls, Allison Moorer, Dan Fogelberg, Travis, Nick Cave, John Entwistle, Joe Brown, Grant Lee Phillips, Phil Keaggy, Sheryl Crow, Chuck Leavell, Yo-Yo Ma, James Taylor, Belle & Sebastian, Paul Simon, Herb Alpert, Perry Farrell, Randy Bachman, Mike Love, and Leo Sayer.
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
It’s alright
It’s alright
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Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
