In parts one and two of this mini-series, we went over Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s best songs with The Beatles. In the final part of this series, we’re going over George Harrison’s 10 best songs with The Beatles. Known as the quiet Beatle, Harrison always moved in the shadows of his bandmates McCartney and Lennon as a songwriter. But in the later stages of the band’s career, Harrison proved to the world that he was an elite songwriter too. The ranking of Harrison’s best songs with The Beatles is based on personal preference, although cultural importance was a small factor too. Let’s dive into the list!
Read Part 1 – Paul McCartney and Part 2 – John Lennon here
10. Savoy Truffle
I start this list with “Savoy Truffle”. The song was inspired by the sweet tooth of Harrison’s friend Eric Clapton, who couldn’t stop eating chocolate despite having a toothache. “He couldn’t resist them, and once he saw a box he had to eat them all,” George Harrison wrote in his biography I Me Mine. “He was over at my house, and I had a box of Good News chocolates on the table and wrote the song from the names inside the lid.”
9. Don’t Bother Me
“Don’t Bother Me” is the only early Beatles song on this list. Its inclusion proves George Harrison was a great songwriter long before he got recognized as one. Although he himself thought lightly of the song. “I don’t think it’s a particularly good song; it mightn’t be a song at all,” He said. “But at least it showed me that all I needed to do was keep on writing and maybe eventually I would write something good.
8. I Me Mine
In the later stages of the band’s career, the Fab Four were no longer a band of ‘we’ and ‘us’. It was all about “I Me Mine”. The division and egos within the band were George Harrison’s inspiration for the song. I personally love the verses of the song, but I’m not a big fan of the I-Me-Me-Mine chorus.
7. Piggies
Released on The White Album, the baroque-inspired “Piggies” is Harrison’s not-so-subtle commentary on consumerism and class division. The song references George Orwell’s Animal Farm and includes lyrical contributions from John Lennon and George Harrison’s mother.
6. If I Needed Someone
For number 6 I’ve picked “If I Need Someone”. The guitar riff on this song is one of my favorite Beatles riffs. The guitar work on the song was inspired by The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn and the lyrics reportedly addressed Pattie Boyd, Harrison’s girlfriend at the time. The Hollies had a hit with a cover of “If I Needed Someone”, and the song became Harrison’s first charting composition.
5. Taxman
“Taxman” is the opening track of the iconic Revolver. George Harrison wrote the song after finding out how much money he had to pay to the Treasury. “In those days we paid 19 shillings and sixpence out of every pound, and with supertax and surtax and tax-tax it was ridiculous – a heavy penalty to pay for making money,” Harrison reflected. “That was a big turn-off for Britain. Anybody who ever made any money moved to America or somewhere else.”
4. Within You Without You
My number 4 is Harrison’s sole composition on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band “Within You Without You”. Known as being greatly immersed in Indian culture, music, and spirituality, Harrison’s Indian-inspired song perfectly reflects his interest at that time. “Within You Without You” is a trip on its own and a Raga rock essential.
Read more: Ranking The Beatles Albums From Worst To Best
3. Here Comes The Sun
In early 1969, A bored George Harrison decided to skip a Beatles business meeting and pay a visit to his good friend Eric Clapton instead. Upon arriving, he grabbed one of Clapton’s guitars, walked into the garden, and wrote “Here Comes The Sun” – or so the story goes. “Here Comes The Sun” is arguably the most popular Beatles track, as it is by far the most streamed song of the band.
Read more: The Story Behind “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles
2. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
The White Album is known as one of the most diverse albums ever released. The album jumps from the acoustic “Blackbird” to the heavy “Helter Skelter” and from the ska-inspired “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” to the bluesy “Revolution 1”. But the album’s stand-out track is easily Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.
George Harrison came up with the song’s title based on the theory that every item has a purpose, which he read in the Chinese book I Ching. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ was a simple study based on that theory,” Harrison said. “I decided to write a song based on the first thing I saw upon opening any book – as it would be a relative to that moment, at that time. I picked up a book at random, opened it, saw ‘gently weeps’, then laid the book down again and started the song.”
I’m sure a lot of you will consider “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” to be Harrison’s best contribution to The Beatles. But I believe there’s one that’s better!
1. Something
My number one on the list of greatest George Harrison songs with The Beatles is “Something”. Many consider the song ‘one of the greatest love songs ever written’, including Frank Sinatra, who assumed the masterpiece was a Lennon-McCartney composition. “Something”, together with “Here Comes The Sun”, proved Harrison could contribute songs just as good – or even better – as John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
Bandmates Lennon, McCartney, and Starr held the song in high regard, with Lennon stating the song was the best on Abbey Road. Starr stated the song was ‘on par with what John and Paul or anyone else of that time wrote’. As a result, “Something” was released as an A-side single in October 1969. It was the first A-side single for George Harrison with The Beatles, a feat achieved with what I consider to be his best song!
Read more: The Story Behind “Something” by The Beatles
That wraps up my list (and mini-series)! I surely forgot to mention songs that could’ve ranked on this list. I’m thinking of “Blue Jay Way”, “Love You To”, “Long, Long, Long”, and “I Need You”, among others. What are some of your personal favorites from George Harrison with The Beatles? Please let me know in the comments below!
