Sometimes it’s the simplest of songs that connect with us the most and achieve immortality in our hearts. “Here Comes the Sun” is by far one of the most effortless tracks by The Beatles and one of the most successful and popular by the English band. 50 years after the song had released and its popularity not diminished, we take a look at the story behind the song and its lyrics.
“Here Comes the Sun” is the seventh track on The Beatles’ one of the most popular albums ‘Abbey Road’ released in 1969. Initially, the song was not released as a single off the album. But later on, when The Beatles’ songs were finally listed on Apple Music in 2010, the song became the highest-selling Beatles record for weeks.
This song is responsible for the most critical acclaims received by George Harrison. NME magazine rated the song at #4 on their ‘The 100 Greatest Beatles Songs’ list. The Rolling Stones magazine placed the song at #28 on ‘100 Greatest Beatles Songs‘ list. The song is certified Platinum in sales by BPI for having sold close to 1 million copies worldwide.
The Story Behind the Composition of “Here Comes the Sun”
George Harrison of The Beatles penned the lyrics to the song. As FabFourArchivist states, George Harrison was under quite some stress during this time. He had recently undergone surgery to remove his tonsils. Next, he got arrested for possession of drugs. Lastly, George Harrison also had learned that his mother had terminal cancer. There’s more! By 1969, Apple Records was going hard at contracts with the artists to get them to bow to their whims. George Harrison recalls this one specific day that he was just done;
“Apple was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: ‘Sign this’ and ‘sign that. 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.'”
1969 has also been a year with one of the worst winters the UK has seen for years. So it makes sense that George Harrison wrote a song about hoping for some rays of the sun to the world, to the band, as well as his personal life.
Download “Here Comes the Sun” on Apple Music and Amazon
Buy ‘The Beatles: White Album (Super Deluxe) on Apple Music and Amazon
In the intro to the song, George Harrison sings about the light that is coming across the world. The sun is the universal symbol of light. Light in its essence is the absence of darkness. All good in the world is represented with light and bad with darkness. Hence, the rising sun is a metaphor for something good happening or about to happen. And from what we have read, George Harrison could use some light in his life.
In the first verse of “Here Comes the Sun,” George Harrison talks about a daunting winter. This is also factually accurate with the actual winter of 1969 in the UK. Winters are, by nature, dark, cold, gloomy and lifeless. This weather has been a perfect representation of George’s life during this time. This would have added to his mental burden.
George Harrison is heard calling to one “little darling” in all three verses of the song. This is not for any person in particular, but rather a term of endearment out of his happiness that his troubles are finally being lifted.
The second verse of the song talks about the emotions that bloom with the hope of troubles fading away. George Harrison can finally smile, or he longs for a smile. The smile had gone away ever since the winter got here, which feels like years.
The third and final verse of the song is yet again the physical changes George notices as the sun finally peeks above the hilltops. The snow is melting, there are brand new leaves on trees, birds come out and chirp and all-around life kick in. This is a beautiful picture, and especially in the Hurtwood Mansion of Eric Clapton, these changes must have looked absolutely heavenly.
How do you feel about this re-energizing song “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles? Drop a comment below and share this article with your friends.