DAY 27: 30-DAY BEATLES TRIBUTE My Sweet Lord George - Solo Artist “My Sweet Lord,” was composed by Beatle George Harrison as part of his triple album “All Things Must Pass” (November, 1970). My Sweet Lord was also released as a single and topped charts worldwide. In America and Britain, the song was the first number 1 single by an ex-Beatle. Harrison performed My Sweet Lord at the Concert for Bangladesh in August 1971, and that segment of the concert became by far the best-known video of “My Sweet Lord.” Harrison wrote My Sweet Lord in praise of the Hindu god Krishna, while at the same time intending to appeal to a universal spirituality, regardless of religion. With the use of the Hebrew hallelujahs with Vedic prayers and Hindu deities (which included Hare, Krishna, Rama, Shiva and more), George attempted to bridge Eastern and Western religion, and did so in an amazing way. When My Sweet Lord first was on the radio, it received great excitement. It’s a powerful spiritual pop/rock song that does not belong to any religion. On several occasions George joined Ravi Shankar at Prasanthi Nilayam, the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba, but George was not a Sai Baba devotee. After his death, there was some skirmishing about who should be involved with the memorial service. George loved SRF (Self-Realization Fellowship) and Yogananda but was not a member of SRF. He loved Krishna, but was not a member of the Hare Krishna organization. More than any other person, George looked to Ravi Shankar as his greatest teacher. George was a free-thinker and belonged to everyone…and was attached to no organized religion. The recording heralded the arrival of Harrisons much-admired slide guitar technique – described by one biographer as being musically as distinctive a signature as the mark of Zorro. Later in the 1970s, My Sweet Lord was at the center of a heavily publicized plagiarism suit, due to its similarity to the Ronnie Mack song Hes So Fine, a 1963 hit for the New York girl group the Chiffons. In 1976, Harrison was found to have subconsciously plagiarized the earlier tune, a verdict that had repercussions throughout the music industry. He claimed to have used the out-of-copyright Oh Happy Day, a Christian hymn, as his inspiration for the songs melody. George was rather appalled that he had been sued for the use of 3 notes: G, E, and D, and he half-jokingly, highly sarcastically commented that they might as well assign ownership of all musical notes. A brief explanation about “He’s So Fine.” “He” is played with a G (note, not chord). “So” is the note “E” and “Fine” is the note “D.” A bit of musical trivia about this issue. What is Handel’s most famous work? The Messiah. Within the Messiah, the Hallelujah chorus is his most famous work. But the notes (and their rhythm) to the word “Hallelujah” were not Handel’s discovery. There were 2 Baroque composers named “Boccherini.” Boccherini, the elder, composed the 4 notes (and their rhythm) that Handel later heard and liked a lot. Handel borrowed them to use for the most famous 4 notes he every composed, namely “Hallelujah.” But that was a different time, when great composers freely borrowed from other composers, and composed variations on previous themes. This was not an insult. It was a compliment to the previous composer. The greed of our era was not present at before the 1900’s. Lyrics to ”My Sweet Lord” My sweet lord Hm, my lord Hm, my lord I really want to see you Really want to be with you Really want to see you lord But it takes so long, my lord My sweet lord Hm, my lord Hm, my lord I really want to know you Really want to go with you Really want to show you lord That it wont take long, my lord (hallelujah) My sweet lord (hallelujah) Hm, my lord (hallelujah) My sweet lord (hallelujah) I really want to see you Really want to see you Really want to see you, lord Really want to see you, lord But it takes so long, my lord (hallelujah) My sweet lord (hallelujah) Hm, my lord (hallelujah) My, my, my lord (hallelujah) I really want to know you (hallelujah) Really want to go with you (hallelujah) Really want to show you lord (aaah) That it wont take long, my lord (hallelujah) Hmm (hallelujah) My sweet lord (hallelujah) My, my, lord (hallelujah) Hm, my lord (hare krishna) My, my, my lord (hare krishna) Oh hm, my sweet lord (krishna, krishna) Oh-uuh-uh (hare hare) Now, I really want to see you (Hare Rama) Really want to be with you (Hare Rama) Really want to see you lord (aaah) But it takes so long, my lord (hallelujah) Hm, my lord (hallelujah) My, my, my lord (Hare Krishna) My sweet lord (Hare krishna) My sweet lord (krishna krishna) My lord (Hare Hare) Hm, hm (Gurur Brahma) Hm, hm (Gurur Vishnu) Hm, hm (Gurur Devo) Hm, hm (Maheshwara) My sweet lord (Gurur Sakshaat) My sweet lord (Parabrahma) My, my, my lord (Tasmayi Shree) My, my, my, my lord (Guruve Namah) My sweet lord (Hare Rama) (Hare Krishna) My sweet lord (Hare Krishna) My sweet lord (Krishna Krishna) My lord (Hare Hare)
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 08:37:41 +0000