"HERE COMES THE SUN"

(George Harrison)

"I wasn't Lennon and I wasn't McCartney, I was me. The only reason I started to write songs was because I thought, 'Well, if they can write 'em, I can write 'em.'"

This 1969 interview with George Harrison by David Wigg explains in detail his experience as a songwriter for The Beatles. Apart from the song “Cry For A Shadow,” which was an early instrumental the group recorded in Hamburg, Germany in June of 1961 that was credited as a “Lennon / Harrison” composition, George's first official contribution to The Beatles catalog was “Don't Bother Me,” released in Britain on the November 1963 LP “With The Beatles.” This song was certainly worthy of being included amongst the “Lennon / McCartney” tracks on that album, as well as the groundbreaking “Meet The Beatles!” album in the US, but much growth and maturity was soon to appear in his compositions as the years progressed.

Harrison added: “It's by writing them, the same as writing books or writing articles or painting, the more you do it the better, or the more you can understand how to do it. I used to just write songs, I still do. I just write a song and it just comes out however it wants to. And some of them are catchy songs, like 'Here Comes The Sun,' and some of them aren't, but to me there's just songs and I just write them. And some will be considered as good by, maybe, the masses, and some won't, but to me they are just songs; they are things that are there that have to be got out.”

Of the twenty-three George Harrison songs that The Beatles officially released, “the masses” gradually began to respect them more and more, proving that "practice makes perfect." Some compositions that he introduced to the group, such as “You Know What To Do,” “Not Guilty,” “All Things Must Pass” and “Hear Me Lord,” were passed over by The Beatles and never released, some not considered even for a moment as being good enough. But he persisted and improved in his songwriting skill. The last song he ever offered for the group to record, the masterpiece “Here Comes The Sun,” showed everyone a successful solo recording artist in the making.

Songwriting History

In his 1979 book "I Me Mine," George explains in detail the writing of the song. "'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,' 'sign that.' Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever and 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 (Clapton)'s acoustic guitars and wrote 'Here Comes The Sun.'"

With the hiring of Allen Klein to sort out the legal and financial affairs of The Beatles as well as their fledgling company Apple Corps, each of the band members were immersed in business meetings and overall drudgery in early 1969. “As time went by, the atmosphere at Apple became terrible,” Apple secretary Dee Meehan recalls in the book “The Beatles Off The Record.” “(Allen) Klein was really mean,” she continued. “He just moved in and started firing people.” George Harrison stated at the time, “Personally, I hope to get to the point where I can completely retire from the business side of things. Business is one thing, writing and creating, which we all want to do, is another thing entirely.”

With this in mind, George decided to just not show up for a scheduled Apple business meeting in early Spring, likely in April of 1969, and instead went to visit Eric Clapton at his “Hurtwood Edge” home in Ewhurst, Surrey, this being about a half-hour's drive, or 20 miles south, from Harrison's 'Kinfauns' home. “We'd really been through hell with business and it was really heavy,” George stated around that time. “And on this day, I just felt that I had been slagging off from school. I just didn't come in one day and the release of being in the sun made the song just come to me. It was a bit like 'If I Needed Someone,' y'know, the basic riff going through it, you know all those 'Bells Of Rhymney' Byrds-type things. So, that's how I see it, anyway. It's quite vintage." As he had done on his "Rubber Soul" track "If I Needed Someone," George wrote "Here Comes The Sun" by experimenting with the D major chord with a capo on the seventh fret of one of Eric Clapton's acoustic guitars.

In Eric Clapton's biography, he himself recalled that day's events. “It was a beautiful spring morning, and we were sitting at the top of a big field at the bottom of the garden. We had our guitars and we were just strumming away when he started singing 'de da de de, it's been a long cold lonely winter,' and bit by bit he had fleshed it out, until it was time for lunch.” In Martin Scorsese's "Living In The Material World" documentary, Eric Clapton continued: "I think it was April...I just watched this come to life." Part of the 'fleshing out' that George needed to do included adding a winding guitar riff very reminiscent of what was included in their song “Badge,” which had been co-written by himself and Eric Clapton in 1968 and included on Cream's final album “Goodbye.”

Other than “Badge” and The Byrds' song “The Bells Of Rhymney,” George's inspiration was also thought to have come from other sources. “It reminds me of Buddy Holly, in a way,” John Lennon explained at the time. “This song is just the way he's progressing, you know. He's writing all kinds of songs and once the door opens, the floodgates open.” In regards to Buddy Holly, George himself had once stated: "One of the greatest people for me has been Buddy Holly. "Peggy Sue' - a little bit of that rubbed off. I no longer have a fear of changing from A to F," a chord sequence that does appear in "Here Comes The Sun" high up on the fretboard.

John himself may have been an inspiration for the song, if only subconsciously. When John was developing his song "Sun King" during the band's January 1969 sessions that evolved into the "Let It Be" film and album, he would sing the lyrics "here comes the sun" while playing it on guitar. George may have had this in the back of his mind in Eric Clapton's garden on that day in April. In addition, the unusual time changes heard various times in the song, such as at the end of each chorus, could also be attributed to his recent love for Indian music. In a bonus segment in the documentary film "Living In The Material World," George's son Dhani Harrison observed that the rhythm in this section of the song when counted out, namely '123 / 123 / 123 / 123 / 12 / 1,' is "almost like a Tihai," this term identified as a rhythmic cadence regularly found in Indian classical music.

"It was just the release of that tension that had been building up on me," Harrison stated in an interview. "It was the first time I'd played the guitar for a couple of weeks, because I'd been so busy. It just came and I finished it later when I was on holiday in Sardinia." This Mediteranean island vacation took place in June of 1969 according to Bruce Spizer's 2003 book “The Beatles On Apple Records,” the guitarist returning home two weeks before beginning recording the song with The Beatles. Having written the finished lyrics on stationary with letterhead which featured a Hindu drawing and spiritual writings, Harrison humorously described what would be his “doot-n-doo-doo” singing in the refrain as “scoobie doobie.” To identify his intricate guitar work in the bridge, he jotted down “son of Badge” as a reminder of the “Badge”-like guitar pattern that would go there. Other than his switching out the second and third verses, the lyrics and structure of the song were complete at the time this lyric sheet was written.

Since data from the London area shows the month of April in 1969 as setting the record for most sunlight hours for all of the 1960's, and that February and March were both unusually cold, “Here Comes The Sun” appears to have been written by Harrison between April and June of 1969. “A long, cold, lonely winter” had indeed just ended at that time!

Recording History

It may have been George's recent custom to sit down in EMI Studios and record demos for the compositions he was offering to The Beatles but, in this case, he did not. However, a simple acoustic guitar instrumental demo did surface which apparently had been recorded in George's "Kinfauns" home. He did not perfect all of the intricate parts yet, which were played high up on the neck with a capo way up on the seventh fret, but he was getting quite close. And it sounded beautiful!

Having decided to record one final Beatles album, the group started these sessions on July 1st, 1969. One week into the sessions, on July 7th, 1969, George brought in “Here Comes The Sun” as his second contribution to the new album, his “Something” having already been started. The band entered EMI Studio Two at 2:30 pm, this being Ringo's 29th Birthday, to focus entirely on George's new song, although only three Beatles were present because of John's recuperating from his recent car accident in Scotland.

Before recording commenced, much instruction needed to be given by George to his bandmates, most especially to the birthday boy because of the tricky timing contained in the song. In the documentary “Living In The Material World,” Ringo related: “He said, 'Oh, I've got this song. It's like seven-and-a-half time.' 'Yeah, so?' You know, he might as well have talked to me in Arabic, y'know what I mean?...I had to find some way that I could physically do it and do it every time so it came off on the time. That's one of those Indian tricks. I (didn't have a way) of going, 'one, two, three, four, five, six, seven...' It's not in my brain. So as long as I go (demonstrates), 'OK, that's seven. Got it!'”

Once that was worked out, thirteen takes of the rhythm track were recorded onto an eight-track tape with Paul's bass (track one), Ringo's drums (track two), George's acoustic guitar (track three) and George's guide vocals (track eight). Author Mark Lewisohn relates in his book “The Beatles Recording Sessions” that “the original tapes reveal a lighthearted atmosphere. When 'take one' broke down, George exclaimed, sadly, 'One of me best beginnings, that!' And at the end of 'take four,' Ringo...called up to the control room 'Turn me down a little bit, if you don't mind' – meaning, reduce the level of the drum sound in his headphones.”

"Take nine," which was included in various "Abbey Road" 50th Anniversary editions, showed that there were still a few bugs they needed to work out even though this take met with George Martin's approval at the time. Though minor arrangement details were deemed neccessary, the primary problem revolved around Ringo's drum work. It is evident that he was still being tripped up by Harrison's timing for the song's bridge, leaving small gaps in his playing to keep his place. As if to allow for Ringo to practice, the guitarist directed his bandmates through four extra chord sequences in the bridge until Ringo clumsily lands on his feet just before the final verse begins. "Take 13," which was announced at that session as "take 12 and a half" for superstitious reasons, was then deemed the "best," over which Harrison decided to overdub his acoustic guitar part onto track four of the tape. Perfecting this overdub took up the last hour of the session, which ended at 11:45 that evening.

On the following day, July 8th, 1969, more attention was given to “Here Comes The Sun,” George, Paul and Ringo entering EMI Studio Two again at 2:30 pm. Onto track five of the tape, Ringo added extra drum fills (possibly to fill in drum gaps he left in the bridge of the song during the rhythm track) along with Harrison playing electric guitar through a Leslie speaker. George then recorded a new lead vocal performance onto track six, complete with "doot-n-doo-doo" accentuations reminiscent of the band's backing vocals from their cover of "A Taste Of Honey" on their "Please Please Me" LP. George and Paul then supplied the harmonized backing vocals for "Here Comes The Sun" on track seven and then, since it was just the two of them without John, double-tracked them onto track eight to make the harmonies sound fuller. Harrison's guide vocals from the rhythm track were, therefore, wiped from track eight of the tape.

This filled up all eight tracks of the tape which meant that a reduction mix needed to be created to open up more tracks for more overdubs. Two attempts at the reduction mix were made, which resulted in the second attempt, jotted down as "take 15," becoming the master thus far. This mix combined Ringo's added drum fills and Harrison's electric guitar on track five with George's acoustic guitar on track three. The session was complete at 10:45 pm, but the group spent the next half-hour in the control room of EMI Studio Two so that producer George Martin, along with Phil McDonald and John Kurlander as engineers, could make a rough mono mix for George Harrison to listen to at home. This would help him determine what else he wanted to add to the song. At 11:15 pm, everyone left for the night.

Just over a week later, on July 16th, 1969, The Beatles returned to “Here Comes The Sun” for more overdub work in EMI Studio Three, this session beginning at 2:30 pm. The first element that Harrison decided was needed involved some strategically performed hand-clapping, this overdub to be recorded onto the newly vacated track eight. The composer painstakingly took all of the necessary time to instruct Paul, Ringo and producer Glyn Johns about the pattern he wanted the handclaps to be performed in during the complicated bridge section of the song. Engineer Alan Parsons, in an interview with author Andy Babiuk in 1998, remembers how it took a long time for them to get it right. In the book “Beatles Gear” he relates: “Glyn Johns was out there trying to do it – and he dropped out because he kept screwing up.” Interestingly, even though John Lennon had recovered from his car accident and had returned to recording sessions by this time, studio documentation intimates that he was either not present on this day or declined to participate.

Once this was complete to Harrison's satisfaction, he sat down at a harmonium to add one further overdub onto the newly vacated track five. This session was completed by 7 pm, but they all ushered themselves into EMI Studio Two for additional overdubs on the guitarist's other "Abbey Road" track, "Something," before the evening was over.

While work progressed on various other tracks for the LP, “Here Comes The Sun” took a back seat for the next couple of weeks or so. George knew that he wanted to add more to the song but wasn't sure what. Therefore, on August 4th, 1969, after they recorded their beautiful three-part harmonies for John's song “Because,” George ducked into the control room of EMI Studio Three at 7:15 pm with EMI engineers Phil McDonald and Alan Parsons to create a stereo mix of "Here Comes The Sun," as well as “Something,” for him to examine and determine what could be added. At 8:45 pm both stereo mixes had been created, documentation showing these mixes as being “produced” by George Harrison.

Within the next two days, George decided first of all that more guitar work was required for “Here Comes The Sun.” Therefore, on August 6th, 1969, Harrison entered EMI Studio Three at 2:30 pm to perform this overdub as, simultaneously in EMI Studio Two, Paul was adding overdubs to his song “Maxwell's Silver Hammer,” playing on George's Moog synthesizer. Engineer Tony Clark, in the book “The Beatles Recording Sessions,” related: “They kept two studios running and I would be asked to sit in Studio Two or Three – usually Three – just to be there, at The Beatles' beck and call, whenever someone wanted to come in and record an overdub. At this stage of the album I don't think I saw the four of them together.” This guitar overdub session, with George playing his Rosewood Fender Telecaster through a rotating B3 speaker onto track six, ran from 2:30 to 11 pm.

Interestingly, this overdub included a lead guitar solo that was recorded onto the mostly-instrumental bridge section. Not quite satisfied with this performance, George decided that he would add another guitar overdub to the song on August 11th, 1969, the deadline for the finished album getter ever closer. The Beatles entered EMI Studio Two at the usual 2:30 pm and, after putting more overdubs onto "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "Oh! Darling," George went to laying down this further "Here Comes The Sun" guitar overdub onto track seven. After more control room work was performed, this session ended at 11:30 pm.

George eventually decided, however, that both of these later guitar overdubs were not suitable for the bridge of the song. To make sure these guitar overdubs did not get included in the final mix, George wrote this instruction on the actual tape box: "Don't use guitars for solo from 6 + 7." George later decided to fill this section with other instrumentation, as we will see below, but this guitar solo was never recorded over and was left on the master eight-track tape on tracks six and seven. During a visit to what is now called "Abbey Road Studios" (formerly EMI) in 2012, producers George and Giles Martin, along with George Harrison's son Dhani Harrison, discovered this lost guitar solo while listening to the original eight-track master of the song, this new discovery being captured by the cameras during the making of a documentary segment.

George, however, was very proud of both of his contributions to “Abbey Road.” So much so, in fact, that he labored over the arrangement and production so as to perfect both songs, possibly with the knowledge that this was likely going to be The Beatles final album and thereby wanting to make a good impression.

With this in mind, Harrison decided that both of his "Abbey Road" contributions required an orchestral score. Three other songs on the album needed an orchestra score too so, for economical reasons, the classically-trained studio musicians laid down their performances for all of these songs on one day, August 15th, 1969. As outlined here in the “Recording History” section for the song “Something,” the orchestra set up in the larger EMI Studio One while the performance was being recorded onto the eight-track recording console in EMI Studio Two, both of these studios linked together via recording lines being run, close-circuit television, and walkie-talkies.

Two sessions were needed to get this all done on this day, the first one accommodating the songs “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End,” and the later session for recording both of Harrison's tracks, “Something” and “Here Comes The Sun.” There was an hour-and-a-half break in-between the sessions to give the musicians a rest, the later session beginning at 7 pm. After “Something” was complete, “Here Comes The Sun” got its orchestral overdub. Eight woodwind players recorded their parts on the open track four of the tape, while a nine-piece string section was recorded onto track five, which erased Harrison's harmonium overdub from July 16th. Documentation and photographs show that George was busy shuttling between both studios during this session, playing a key role in making sure his songs were recorded to his liking, even acting as “producer” in Studio Two while George Martin was busy conducting the orchestra in Studio One. At 1:15 am the following morning, this overdub was complete, which finished off “Here Comes The Sun.”

Or so you would think. Four days after this, August 19th, 1969, George wanted to add one more overdub before the final mix was created. “I first heard about the Moog synthesizer in America,” George explained in the 2000 book “Beatles Anthology,” recalling his buying the instrument in November of 1968 while producing Jackie Lomax's debut LP "Is This What You Want?" in Los Angeles. The instrument appears on several of the tracks of this album due to its sales representatives Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause bringing this very cumbersome instrument to the sessions in order to spark Harrison's interest. Former Beatles road manager Mal Evans, who was present in the studio at the time, predicted in the January 1969 edition of "The Beatles Book Monthly" fan magazine that "George could not resist the idea of ordering one. It will be installed at home. May well hear the results on 1969 Beatle records, folks."

“I had to have mine made specially 'cause Mr. Moog had only just invented it. (The device) was enormous, with hundreds of jackplugs and two keyboards. But it was one thing having one, and another trying to make it work. There wasn't an instruction manual, and even if there had been one 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 the songs like 'Here Comes The Sun,' it does do some good things, but they are all very much kind of infant sounds.”

Andy Babiuk's 2001 book “Beatles Gear” specifies that “Here Comes The Sun” has a “lovely ribbon-assisted downward slide on the intro, and glorious synth sounds filling the 'sun, sun, sun' middle section.” The ribbon controller mentioned above is described as “a long strip which induces changes in the sound being played depending on where it is touched and how the player's finger is then moved...like a violin and having to find every note." So this synthesizer overdub was recorded onto track four of the tape, thereby recording over the woodwind performance already allocated to that track wherever the synthesizer playing occurred. One trick that was used during this overdub was sticking some editing tape on the capstan of the tape machine used to create tape delay echo. This gave the synthesizer a slightly 'wobbled' sound.

This synthesizer overdub was performed in EMI Studio Two on this day, the session beginning at 2 pm. This day was primarily intended as a stereo mixing session for the album. However, since George insisted on adding this final overdub, it was done in the early morning hours of the following day, this session being a rather long one to facilitate the deadline for the finished album being very near. Immediately after the synthesizer overdubs were complete, the one and only stereo mix of "Here Comes The Sun" was performed by George Martin and engineers Geoff Emerick, Phil McDonald and Alan Parsons. This mix was made with the tape played back at a slightly faster than normal speed, thus raising the song's pitch by roughly a quarter-tone in the process. The song's orchestral overdub was mixed at a somewhat low volume and George's guitar solo in the bridge, per his instructions on the tape box, was omitted entirely from the mix.

Sometime between 2004 and 2006, George Martin and his son Giles Martin returned to the master recording of the song to create an innovative mash-up entitled “Here Comes The Sun (with 'The Inner Light' transition)” for the Cirque du Soleil production as well as the resulting LP “Beatles Love.” The entire “Here Comes The Sun” is heard in an amazing digitally remixed state, including the small phrase “and I say” from the final verse which was mixed out of the original version, with elements of “The Inner Light,” “Oh! Darling,” “Within You Without You” and “I Want You (She's So Heavy)” mixed in as well.

Giles Martin, along with engineer Sam Okell, returned to the master tapes of "Here Comes The Sun" sometime in 2019 to create a vibrant new stereo mix of this track for inclusion on various 50th Anniversary editions of "Abbey Road." In paying close attention to detail, the final "and I say" from Harrison's lead vocal track was faded down to be consistent with the originally released mix. While they were at it, they also did a mix of "take nine" of the rhythm track as recorded on July 7th, 1969.

Three live versions of the song have also been recorded by George, the first being a lovely acoustic guitar duet he performed with Pete Ham of the Apple band Badfinger on August 1st, 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York City for “The Concert For Bangladesh." George's next live version was on June 5th, 1987 at Wembley Arena in London for the Prince's Trust Rock Gala, George being joined by Eric Clapton, Elton John, Phil Collins and many others, the resulting LP not being released in the US. George's third live rendition was recorded sometime between December 1st and 17th, 1991, during his brief tour of Japan, the results appearing on the release “Live In Japan.” His band featured Eric Clapton, Ray Cooper and various other musicians and vocalists.

Song Structure and Style

The structure used for "Here Comes The Sun" consists of 'verse (instrumental)/ refrain/ verse/ refrain/ verse/ refrain/ bridge/ verse/ refrain/ refrain/ conclusion' (or abababcabbd). The first instrumental verse acts as an introduciton while the conclusion is an acoustic guitar instrumental sub-section of the bridge.

The instrumental verse is first, this being eight measures in length as are all of the other verses. Harrison's double-tracked acoustic guitar fills the first four measures, the downbeat to the opening measure not being heard but only implied. The first actual beat that we witness on the recording is the second beat of the opening measure. The synthesizer first appears in measures five through eight, this instrument performing a single-note melody line as heard within the acoustic guitar intro. The final note of the synthesizer descends, accomplished by George using the ribbon controller as described above, in the eighth measure as the acoustic guitars momentarily disappear for good effect. Gentle tapping from George on his guitar parses out the rest of the beats for the eighth measure.

The first refrain is then heard which, when we listen to it carefully, can be parsed out as seven full measures in 4/4 time even though measures six and seven are laid out as four triplets being followed directly afterward by a more standard measure of 2/4. Instrumentally, George's vocals and double-tracked acoustic guitars fill the first five measures along with the debut of the string section. The second “here comes the sun,” as well as “it's all right,” is joined by George and Paul's double-tracked background vocals, these appearing in measures three through five. When the intricate triplet guitar figure appears in the sixth measure, the vocals all disappear while the drums and bass kick in for the first time to round out the verse while the strings accentuate the melody line played by the guitars. Ringo's strategically played drum fill during this section concludes with his cymbal crash on the downbeat of the first vocal verse that appears next.

This is actually the second verse, which continues George's lead vocal work that is harmonized by Paul and himself both times that the phrase “little darling” is heard, these being in the first and fifth measures, while George continues his beautiful acoustic guitar performance. Ringo plods away nicely with a simple drum pattern focused on the closed hi-hat while McCartney performs a simple but appropriate figure using his Rickenbacker bass. The strings follow along nicely through all of these measures to act as a pad to fill out the sound.

Then comes the second refrain which, this time, includes the full instrumentation as heard in the verse that precedes it. Both “here comes the sun” phrases, as well as “it's all right,” are now sung with backing harmonies. A brief injection of synthesizer can be heard in the second measure during the “doot-n-doo-doo” vocal line. One difference with this refrain is that it contains an added measure that acts as a transition into the next verse, making this refrain a full eight measures long. This additional measure continues the usual instrumentation but allows Ringo to interject an additional drum fill in measure eight to lead into the next verse.

The third verse and fourth refrain come next, both of which essentially feature the identical instrumentation and vocals as we have been hearing. One addition here, however, is the synthesizer playing along with George's vocal melody line, this trailing off in a descending fashion within the eighth measure, not unlike what was heard in the instrumental first verse. The synthesizer also continues to be detected playing the intricate triplet melody line in the latter measures of the refrain that comes next. The second addition is an electric guitar being played on top of the “doot-n-doo-doo” in the second measure of the refrain, this trailing off into the third measure thereafter.

An interesting feature of the third refrain is how it concludes. Considering what George Harrison described to Ringo as a “seven-and-a-half time” song, as mentioned above, the guitar figure that encompasses the bridge that follows this refrain starts out this somewhat unusual time signature. Therefore, half of the final beat of the eighth measure of this refrain appears to be chopped off, making the final measure 7/8 time. First to be heard, though are two accent beats from all of the instruments in that 7/8 measure. These accent beats are then followed by the first three notes of George's complicated guitar figure that continues into the bridge that follows.

The bridge actually totals to 21 measures in length, this parsing out into six sets of three measures of odd time signatures followed by three measures in the standard 4/4 time. American musicologist Alan W. Pollock, in his online “Notes On...Series,” explains this inventive three-measure set in this manner: “The meters of these three measures are 11/8, 4/4, and 7/8, respectively. The special effect of running even eighth notes accented as if triplets against the grain of the underlying backbeat is carried to a point more reminiscent of Stravinsky than of The Beatles. Compared to the refrain section of this song, no attempt is made at all here to make the arithmetic balance out in the end; quite the opposite.”

The first of the three-measure sets consist of George on double-tracked acoustic guitar, Paul on bass and Ringo on drums playing a slight drum fill at the end followed by three beats on top of the repeat of George's first three guitar notes in anticipation of the second three-measure set. This second set is then injected with some double-tracked harmonies from George and Paul singing “sun, sun, sun, here it comes,” these appearing during the second 11/8 measure of the bridge. The 7/8 measure of this second set brings in a low-toned synthesizer sound which continues for the rest of the bridge while raising by an octave with each successive three-measure set. The third three-measure set debuts the above detailed intricate hand-clapping overdub along with the strings, this appearing somewhat low in the mix.

As the bridge reaches a crescendo during its sixth three-measure set, the finishing three 4/4 bars continue the same instrumentation that include a tricky hand-clapping pattern. Also, high pitched synthesizer notes mimic George's ending guitar phrases that act as a transition to the verse that follows. Possibly somewhat confused by the whole process, Ringo adds drum fills at the end of measures eighteen and twenty and not in the final twenty-first measure where it would be expected to appear. Nonetheless, it all worked together most impressively!

After the dust settles from this climactic bridge, we all settle down nicely into the final verse, which is essentially identical to previous verses with the addition of a gentle and soothing counter-melody from Harrison on synthesizer. This is followed by a twice repeated refrain to conclude the song, the synthesizer counter-melody line continuing nicely as the orchestra provides a beautiful backdrop. The last refrain is actually extended to ten measures due to a repeat of the final two measures of the refrain that contain George's guitar figure. This happens just after all vocalists repeat one last “it's all right” in the eighth measure with George appropriately dipping the final word in anticipation of the repeated guitar phrase. As Ringo's final cymbal crash rings out and most of the other instruments fade away, George once again repeats the 11/8 measure guitar phrase from the bridge to act as the song's conclusion with only a simple synthesizer note accompanying the gorgeous closing guitar strum. Thus ends the George Harrison songwriting era within The Beatles.

This brilliant composition and production was the result of George Harrison being finally given free reign and studio time to fully articulate his thoughts and present himself satisfactorily. Paul did well in taking a backseat as an instrumentalist and arranger to let George take the lead, instructing Paul and Ringo through the intricacies of what he had in mind, undoubtedly allowing George Martin to put his two cents in at times to turn his song into a magnificent presentation. George's guitar work is stellar and well thought-out, not to mention his accomplished finishing touches on Moog synthesizer. Ringo's predominantly flawless performance was due to his painstaking study of what George wanted, and Paul cooperated appropriately on backing vocals and suitable bass playing that wasn't too gaudy.

American Releases

On October 1st, 1969, the last album The Beatles recorded was released in America, simply titled "Abbey Road." "Here Comes The Sun" had the prestigious honor of being the opening track of side two, which was very well deserved considering its upbeat feel and commercial appeal. The album took only three weeks to jump into the top spot on the Billboard album chart, raking in a grand total of eleven weeks in the #1 position. The album first appeared on compact disc on October 10th, 1987, and then as a remastered release on September 9th, 2009. A 50th Anniversary CD and vinyl release occurred on September 27th, 2019, not to mention an opaque green vinyl edition coming out on October 10th, 2025 as an exclusive release available only at Target Department Stores.

The next official release of the song was on April 2nd, 1973, on the second of two double compilation-albums released on that day, “The Beatles / 1967-1970” (aka, the “Blue Album”). “Here Comes The Sun” was featured here as the first track on side four, with George's equally respected track “Something” as track number three, showing that his songwriting skills had flourished as the band's career was winding down. This #1 album was first released on compact disc on October 5th, 1993 and then as a remastered CD re-release on October 19th, 2010 and on vinyl on October 31st, 2014.

Interestingly, in the mid 1970's, all four individual Beatles had solo “Greatest Hits” albums released, but only one of them dipped into their contribution to The Beatles catalog. “The Best Of George Harrison,” which was released on November 8th, 1976, contained seven Beatles' songs that were composed by George on side one and six Harrison solo hit singles on the other side. “Here Comes The Sun” appeared as the third track on side one, this being an obvious choice for such a representation of George's accomplishments in The Beatles. The album peaked at #31 on the Billboard album chart and was released on CD in 1987.

Sometime in 1978, Capitol re-released the "Abbey Road" LP as a picture disc. Side one featured their iconic front cover while side two contained a close-up of the wall photo of the back cover minus the song title listings. This release quickly went out of print but was eventually re-released on 180-gram vinyl on September 27th, 2019 for its 50th Anniversary.

An interesting US vinyl edition of “Abbey Road” was released on December 28th, 1979, this being created by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab located in Chatsworth, California as their very first Beatles offering for their "Original Master Recording" series. Their practice was to prepare a new master using half-speed mastering technology from the original master tapes, in this case using the leased sub-master from Capitol Records. Stickers on the shrinkwrap proclaimed this LP as being “A Brand New Experience,” which had proved to be the case. This version of the album sounded superior to all previous British and American pressings at that time. Unfortunately, this excellent edition of “Abbey Road” was only available for a short time and is quite collectible today.

In July of 1982, Capitol/Evatone released a flexi-disc that paired “Here Comes The Sun” with the song “Magical Mystery Tour” to be given out free with every Capitol Beatles LP that was purchased at the time from “Musicland” “Discount” or “Sam Goody” record stores. This promotion started just as Capitol came out with “Reel Music,” their new Beatles' compilation album, this giveaway timed perfectly to encourage good success for the LP. It was printed on blue vinyl with a photo from the “I Am The Walrus” film embossed on it, the appropriate record store name also appearing on the disc. This release is quite hard to find today.

Although “Here Comes The Sun” was indeed an obvious candidate for a single when the “Abbey Road” album was released due to its popularity and commercial appeal, it wasn't released as such at the time. However, Capitol did eventually release the song as a single on their Cema “For Jukeboxes Only” series during March of 1994 with the equally popular “Octopus's Garden” as the b-side. This 45 was printed on orange vinyl and had indeed been considered quite the collector's item in later years.

The above described 2000's mix/mashup of “Here Comes The Sun (with 'The Inner Light' transition)” was contained on the November 20th, 2006 released “Love,” which was put together by George and Giles Martin to be utilized in conjunction with the Cirque du Soleil show of the same name. This successful album peaked at #4 on the Billboard album chart.

On September 27th, 2019, various "Abbey Road" editions were released to commemorate its 50th Anniversary that featured interesting versions of "Here Comes The Sun." The "Deluxe" 2CD set, the "Triple Album" vinyl set, and the "Super Deluxe" 3CD + Blu-ray edition all contain the newly created Giles Martin mix of the entire album as well as the never-before-heard "take nine" of the rhythm track as recorded on July 7th, 1969.

A 50th Anniversay edition of the compilation set "The Beatles / 1967 - 1970" ("The Blue Album") was released on November 10th, 2023, the Giles Martin 2023 stereo mix of "Here Comes The Sun" being included here. This newly expended release included 12 additional songs for a new total of 38 tracks, and was made available as a double CD and as a triple vinyl release on both black and blue vinyl.

On November 21st, 2025, "Anthology 4" was released on both CD and vinyl, this album also being made available within the "Anthology Collection" box set on CD and on vinyl. "Take nine" of "Here Comes The Sun" as recorded in EMI Studio Two on July 7th, 1969 was included on this new release as it had been on various 2019 editions of the "Abbey Road" album detailed above..

Not to be forgotten are both George Harrison live albums that contain “Here Comes The Sun,” the first being “The Concert For Bangladesh,” which was released on December 20th, 1971 and reached #2 on the Billboard album chart. So respected was this triple-album that it won the Grammy for “Album Of The Year” in 1973. It first appeared on compact disc on July 30th, 1991 and then as a remastered release on October 24th, 2005.

The second release to include George performing “Here Comes The Sun” in concert was “Live In Japan,” which was released on July 13th, 1992. While peaking at a disappointing #126 on the US Billboard album chart, reviews had been favorable. For instance, AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine says that it “easily surpasses Paul McCartney's double-disc 'Tripping The Live Fantastic' or 'Paul Is Live.'"

Live Performances

The Beatles may not have ever performed "Here Comes The Sun" live, but George Harrison has. The first time was on August 1st, 1971 at the legendary "Concert For Bangladesh." There were two performances on this day, one at 2:30 pm and then at 8 pm. Both shows included Harrison and Bandfinger guitarist Pete Ham doing an impressive acoustic rendition of the song. "George just said he wanted to keep it simple," stated Pete Ham. "He told me that he used a capo on it and what changes were important. Then I went back to the hotel and listened to the 'Abbey Road' tape. We never rehearsed it - no time!" His girlfreind Beverly Tucker explained in Dan Matovina's book ""Without You: The Tragic Story Of Badfinger" that her boyfriend Pete Ham was very "thrilled that someone he admired thought enough of him to do that stage spot at the Bangladesh concert. It was really a buzz for him."

Then, on November 20th, 1976, Harrison appeared on an episode in the second season of the new popular late night NBC show “Saturday Night Live.” He pre-taped a segment of himself playing an acoustic rendition of “Here Comes The Sun” as a guitar/vocal duo with that week's host Paul Simon, as well as the host's 1966 hit "Homeward Bound."

George shied away from live performances for quite a long time, only periodically gracing a stage. Harrison's appearance at the Prince's Trust Rock Gala at Wembley Arena in London on June 5, 1987 was quite a welcome surprise, his performance of “Here Comes The Sun” being almost expected but very well received. This amazing star-studded performance included Elton John, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Jeff Lynne, Ben E. King and many others.

George was talked into engaging in a small Japanese tour, which spanned from December 1st to the 17th of 1991, “Here Comes The Sun” being among the nine Beatles songs he performed during this tour. A few months later, on April 6th, 1992, George performed a concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, this being a benefit for the Natural Law Party. This concert, George's last stage performance, featured the identical set list as contained in his Japanese tour, including "Here Comes The Sun."

One interesting performance of "Here Comes The Sun" was made acoustically by George Harrison in honor of friend and Brazilian race car driver Emerson Fittipaldi (an inspiration for his song "Faster" as contained on his 1979 album "George Harrison"), who suffered an injury at Michigan International Speedway in 1996, thus ending his racing career. This ad-lib performance, which included the lyrics "Hello Emo, you've been through difficult times these past couple of months...so good to see you well again...Here comes Emerson, and I say...we love you, Emerson, Emerson, Emerson Fittipaldi," was broadcast on Brazillian TV show "Gente Que Brilha (People Who Shine)" on October 31st, 1996.

Conclusion

It was well noticed by Beatles fans and reviewers alike that George Harrison put in a very impressive showing on the "Abbey Road" album. With the news the following year that The Beatles had broken up, speculations abounded as to how each band member would do as solo artists.

No one doubted that both Lennon and McCartney would flourish individually because both of them had proven themselves as songwriters in the past seven years or so. There was a bit of speculation concerning Ringo's music career, many imagining that he would continue the acting career he had begun to immerse himself in. But as for Harrison, however, having recently proven himself to be a heavy-hitter in the songwriting department with both “Something” and “Here Comes The Sun,” anticipation was probably the highest for what could now be expected from the “Quiet Beatle.” After all, it was felt, he had been overlooked and overshadowed by the “Lennon / McCartney” songwriting team for so long that he must by now have a huge backlog of compositions that were overlooked for Beatles albums.

This appeared to be accurate. In late November of 1970, George released his first post-Beatles solo album entitled “All Things Must Pass.” And, not too surprisingly, this was a three-album box set, primarily featuring a plethora of George Harrison compositions, some of which were written during the later Beatles years. Being considered in many polls to be the best of all the former Beatles solo albums, Melody Maker magazine likened the LP to Greta Garbo's first talking picture by stating, “Garbo talks! - Harrison is free!” Seven weeks at #1 on the US Billboard chart, along with its single “My Sweet Lord” spending a total of four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, solidified that George had finally come into his own and thereby commanded due respect from the masses for his amazing talent.

Song Summary

“Here Comes The Sun”
Written by: George Harrison

• Song Written: April to June, 1969
• Song Recorded: July 7, 8 and 16, August 6, 11, 15 and 19, 1969
• First US Release Date: October 1, 1969
• First US Album Release: Apple #SO-383 “Abbey Road”
• British Album Release: Apple #PCS 7088 “Abbey Road”
• US Single Release: Capitol Cema #S7-17700
• Highest Chart Position: n/a
• Length: 3:04
• Key: A major
• Producers: George Martin, George Harrison
• Engineers: Phil McDonald, Geoff Emerick, John Kurlander, Alan Parsons

Instrumentation (most likely):

• George Harrison - Lead and Backing Vocals, Rhythm Guitar (1968 Gibson J-200 Sunburst), Lead Guitar (1968 Fender Rosewood Telecaster), Synthesizer (1967 Moog IIIp), handclaps
• Paul McCartney - Bass (1964 Rickenbacker 4001 S ), backing vocals, handclaps
• Ringo Starr - Drums (1968 Ludwig Hollywood Maple), handclaps
• unknown - viola
• unknown - viola
• unknown - viola
• unknown - viola
• unknown - cello
• unknown - cello
• unknown - cello
• unknown - cello
• unknown - string bass
• unknown - clarinet
• unknown - clarinet
• unknown - alto flute
• unknown - alto flute
• unknown - flute
• unknown - flute
• unknown - piccolo
• unknown - piccolo

"Clarity" by Dave Rybs

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