Here Comes the Sun

"Here Comes the Sun" is a song by George Harrison from The Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road.

"Here Comes the Sun"
Song by The Beatles
from Abbey Road"
Released26 September 1969
Recorded7 July-19 August 1969
GenreFolk rock, progressive rock
Length3:05
LabelApple Records
Songwriter(s)George Harrison
Producer(s)George Martin
Abbey Road track listing

Origin

Harrison stated in The Beatles Anthology:

"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' and 'sign that'. 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 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".[1]

Recording

Harrison, McCartney and Starr recorded the song in 13 takes on July 7, 1969. John Lennon did not contribute to the song as he was recovering from a car crash.[2] Towards the end of the session, Harrison spent an hour re-recording his acoustic guitar part. Harrison capoed his guitar on the 7th fret, resulting the final key of A major. He also used the same technique on his 1965 song "If I Needed Someone," which shares a similar melodic pattern. The following day he taped his lead vocals, and he and McCartney recorded their backing vocals twice to give a fuller sound.

A harmonium and handclaps were added on July 16. Harrison's guitar solo was overdubbed on 6 August, and the orchestral parts were added on 15 August. "Here Comes the Sun" was completed four days later with the addition of Harrison's Moog synthesizer part.[3]

Personnel

Personnel per Ian MacDonald[2]

Here Comes The Sun Media

Notes

Other websites

  • The Beatles (2000). The Beatles Anthology. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-3636-3.
  • "Here Comes the Sun". The Beatles Bible. 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  • "Here Comes the Sun". Fretbase.com. 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  • MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3.
  • Sagan, Carl; Drake, Frank D.; Lomberg, Jon; Sagan, Linda Salzman; Druyan, Ann; Ferris, Timothy (1978). Murmurs of Earth: The Voyager Interstellar Record. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-41047-5.