November 2, 2006

"All Those Years Ago"

Written and recorded during the nearly two year effort that went into Somewhere in England (1981), "All Those Years Ago" started with Harrison having fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr lay down the drums when it was simply a track he was composing for John Lennon. Harrison had heard Lennon was hurt over his biography I Me Mine. John Lennon would never hear it; on December 8, 1980, he was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman.

Harrison changed the lyrics of the song and retitled it "All Those Years Ago." With Starr's pre-recorded drum track in place, Harrison invited Paul and Linda McCartney (that would explain the strangely Wings-esque sound), to record backing vocals in early 1981. Pauly even played bass.

Reaching #13 in the UK and #2 in the US, it was Harrison's biggest hit since "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" in 1973. Watch the awesome video (from YouTuber brotownkiwi):

I'm shouting all about love
While they treated you like a dog
When you were the one who had made it
so clear
All those years ago.

Talking all about how to give
They don't act with much honesty
But you point the way to the truth when you say
All you need is love.

Living with good and bad
I always looked up to you
Now we're left cold and sad
By someone the devil's best friend
Someone who offended all.

We're living in a bad dream
They've forgotten all about mankind
And you were the one they backed up to
the wall
All those years ago
You were the one who Imagined it all
All those years ago.

Deep in the darkest night
I send out a prayer to you
Now in the world of light
Where the spirit free of the lies
And all else that we despised.

They've forgotten all about God
He's the only reason we exist
Yet you were the one that they said was
so weird
All those years ago
You said it all though not many had ears
All those years ago
You had control of our smiles and our tears
All those years ago

2 comments:

Unknown said...

WOW. Seeing the lyrics of the song brings a tear to my eyes. I was never a big John fan, but I adored George. He appeared as a private person and I always felt like he was really know the secret of life which the rest of the world keeps searching for it.

Chris said...

It's a very moving song, no doubt about it. George was definitely the most spiritual Beatle. Eastern mysticism, religion, and philosophy were frequent sources of inspiration for many of his songs.