George Harrison’s iconic tune from 1971 was a massive hit for those who are and aren’t religious. There is a positive vibe that seems to encompass all spiritual walks, especially hinduism. Hint: “Hare Krishna.” The song is based on a basic message of longing to see the Lord and longing to be with Him all the days of eternity. There is more than a hint of hope that we will all be received by a loving God who cares immensely for us, despite all we have done in spite of Him.
Simple F-sharp minor and B major chords on the acoustic guitar start the song off. Cue in the organ and other sonics in E major and beyond and you have an anthem on your hands. The three words “my sweet lord” are the main mantra of the piece. It helps to lull you into a relationship with spirits. The fill of the drum in eighth notes marches into a key change into F sharp major that signals a new wind of hope as if he’s not done yet.
The backing vocals then go back and forth from “hallelujah” to “hare-krishna, krishna, krishna.” This is where the spirituality turns to hinduism.
This record is one of many that features Phil specter’s wall-of-sound mixing technique that uses a ton of reverb and ambience to make the record much bigger than originally intended in sound. It was this sound quality that I believe catapulted the record to number one on the charts.
There has been an uproar in the religious community, especially today, that Harrison did this song as a joke to lure people away from Christ, the true savior of faith. People have labeled him part of the anti-Christ scenario. He had a copyright infringement lawsuit with Bright Tunes for copying the Chiffons’ “He’s So Fine.” Maybe the joking they were referring to was the fact that he later joked about was about actually liking the latter song’s chord structure and emulating the sound. No matter what anyone says, it is a timeless spiritual anthem for the ages.
