♫ Something ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

Back in 2020, I played this song as part of a Beatles’ Week that I did at David’s suggestion.  Tonight it is not part of a week-long thing, but just one that I felt like playing for no particular reason!  George Harrison, sometimes referred to as the “quiet Beatle”, was greatly underappreciated, I think.  Most of us gravitated toward Paul and John, and of course Ringo was always good for a bit of admiration, but many didn’t even notice George, who was immensely talented!

Day #4 of Beatles’ Week …

This was the only song written by George Harrison released as a single by The Beatles.  Harrison wrote this during a break while they were working on The White Album. It was not recorded in time for the album, so Harrison gave this to Joe Cocker, but Cocker didn’t release it until after The Beatles did.

This seemed to be inspired by Harrison’s wife, Pattie, but he claimed he did not have anyone in mind when he wrote it. In her 2007 book Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me, Pattie Boyd wrote:

“George wrote a song called ‘Something.’ He told me in a matter-of-fact way that he had written it for me. I thought it was beautiful and it turned out to be the most successful song he ever wrote, with more than 150 cover versions. George’s favorite version was the one by James Brown. Mine was the one by George Harrison, which he played to me in our kitchen. But, in fact, by then our relationship was in trouble. Since a trip to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s ashram in India in 1968, George had become obsessive about meditation. He was also sometimes withdrawn and depressed.”

Harrison came up with the title and the first line after listening to a James Taylor song called Something In The Way She Moves.

There are over 200 cover versions of this song on record, making it The Beatles’ 2nd most covered song, after Yesterday, which has … wait for it … over 1,600!!!  The question here becomes, is there anyone who hasn’t covered Yesterday?

Frank Sinatra called this “The greatest love song ever written.” He often performed it in the ’70s.  High praise indeed!

The video is from the promotional clip for Something that was shot in late October 1969, not long after Lennon privately announced that he was leaving the band. By this time, the individual Beatles had grown apart and so the film consisted of separate clips of each Beatle walking around his home, accompanied by his wife, edited together. The four segments were edited and compiled into a single film clip by Neil Aspinall.

Something
The Beatles

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

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

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

Something in the way she knows
And all I have to do is think of her
Something in the things she shows me

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

Songwriter(s) George Harrison
Producer(s) George Martin

19 thoughts on “♫ Something ♫”

  2. If u haven’t seen already, there’s a cute fantasy comedy about the Beatles, aptly named “Yesterday”.
    The premise: what if nobody in the world has ever heard a Beatles song, would u capitalize on this and plagiarize the songs as ur own?
    Here’s a scene where the protagonist sings “Something”…. off the top of his head 😉

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    • I’m glad to be jogging your memory, then! I hope you have a beautiful day and a happy week ahead! I do hope it’s not as hot there as it has been? Take care, Michael. xx

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  8. Jill, this is a terrific song and not a surprise it has been covered so much. George’s guitar playing is what first caught the ear of George Martin, their eventual producer. The story goes a colleague was passing on them, when Martin walked by and heard the music and took them on. I also love “Here comes the sun” which I think rivals “Something.” While not my favorite, his blend of eastern and western music on “Within you, without you,” gets high critical praise. I love his solo album “All things must pass” which had a number of good songs, such as “My sweet Lord.” Keith

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    • I didn’t realize he had a solo album! I’ll have to check that one out … thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed this song … was pretty sure you would, since you liked it last time I played it. I’ll keep “Here Comes the Sun” in mind for a future post … I don’t know if I’ve done that one here or not … my memory isn’t what it once was 😉

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  10. First of all, I haven’t covered Yesterday.
    Second, I believe George was the best songwriter of the four of them. Paul is certainly the most successful one, but George’s songs are better in quality. My opinion.

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    • 🤣🤣 It took me a minute to figure out what the Sam Heck you were talking about! Good one … okay, so I now know one person who hasn’t covered “Yesterday” … what’re you waiting for?

      As a teenager and even into adulthood, I didn’t pay much attention to George. But somewhere along the line, I came to realize that he was an immensely talented artist and without him, the Beatles would not have gotten where they did. Paul & John were more ‘up front and out there’, but George worked quietly behind the scenes, hence his nickname “the quiet Beatle.”

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