The Story Behind the Song
George Harrison started writing “Within You Without You” after attending a dinner party in London of friend Klaus Voormann, who is arguably best-known for designing the cover of the Beatles’ seventh studio album Revolver.
“Within You Without You’ came about after I had spent a bit of time in India and fallen under the spell of the country and its music,” Harrison said about the song. “I had brought back a lot of instruments. It was written at Klaus Voormann’s house in Hampstead after dinner one night. The song came to me when I was playing a pedal harmonium.”
Musically, the song was heavily inspired by sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, who functioned as Harrison’s mentor and sitar teacher. “Within You Without You’ was a song that I wrote based upon a piece of music of Ravi’s that he’d recorded for All-India Radio,” Harrison stated.
Read more: The Meaning Behind “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison
“It was a very long piece – maybe 30 or 40 minutes – and was written in different parts, with a progression in each. I wrote a mini version of it, using sounds similar to those I’d discovered in his piece. I recorded in three segments and spliced them together later.”
The Meaning of the Song
“Within You Without You” reflects George Harrison’s deep interest in Indian culture. His study of Hinduism and Vedanta were the main inspirations behind the lyrics. They convey the idea that we are not just separate individuals but part of a larger whole, connected to everything around us.
The song is told from the perspective of an awakened Harrison, who has transcended individual concerns and is able to perceive a deeper reality of interconnectedness and universal love. Harrison addresses those who hide behind ‘a wall of illusion’ and advises them to look ‘beyond themselves’ to see that ‘we’re all one’ and that life flows ‘within you and without you’.
In Jenny Boyd’s (sister of Harrison’s first wife Pattie) book Jennifer Juniper, she explained how Harrison got the song’s title. “I picked up a book called Karma And Rebirth by Christmas Humphries. I began reading it until I came across a passage that said, ‘Life goes on within you and without you.”
“I read it again and then again, marveling at the double meaning. It was so clever and so true. My first inclination was to call Pattie and George. George answered the phone. ‘Listen to this,’ I said, and then repeated the sentence. It inspired him to write ‘Within You Without You,’ which he later recorded for The Beatles.”
Sgt. Pepper
While Sgt. Pepper is often considered The Beatles’ magnum opus, Harrison himself wasn’t a fan of the album. He considered the recording sessions to be an ‘assembly process’ and claimed ‘his heart was still in India’, which he visited before the recording of Sgt. Pepper. Therefore, it’s no surprise that “Within You Without You” is the only song Harrison contributed to the album.
Read more: How Paul McCartney Came Up With The Idea For ‘Sgt. Pepper’
Release of Within You Without You
“Within You Without You” was released on The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper on 26 May 1967. The song received mixed reactions. Some believed the song perfectly captured the feel of the album and the Summer of Love, while others considered it boring, trivial, and one of the weaker tracks on the album.
When asked about “Within You Without You” in his last major interview, bandmate John Lennon stated he loved the song. “One of George’s best songs. One of my favourites of his, too.” Lennon said. “He’s clear on that song. His mind and his music are clear. There is his innate talent; he brought that sound together. George is responsible for Indian music getting over here. That song is a good example.”
