{"id":101015,"date":"2025-05-14T14:38:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T14:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/101015\/"},"modified":"2025-05-14T14:38:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T14:38:12","slug":"beatles-song-was-aimed-at-john-lennon-and-paul-mccartney-but-they-cut-it-from-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/101015\/","title":{"rendered":"Beatles song was ‘aimed at John Lennon and Paul McCartney’ but they cut it from album"},"content":{"rendered":"

George Harrison later released it as a solo songDan Haygarth<\/strong><\/a> Liverpool Daily Post Editor and Regeneration Reporter<\/p>\n

13:27, 14 May 2025<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Beatles play cards during a scene from the film ‘Help!'(Image: Mark and Colleen Hayward\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

At times while in The Beatles, George Harrison had to fight to make his voice heard. With John Lennon and Paul McCartney assuming creative control of the band as their primary songwriters, George’s writing did not always take centre stage.<\/p>\n

The Wavertree-born<\/a> star had written some songs that The Beatles<\/a> recorded on their early records – he was given a quota of compositions for each album. When the band retired from touring in 1966 and focused on recording innovative music in the studio, George grew frustrated with the supporting role he had to play on ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’<\/a> and ‘The White Album’.<\/p>\n

This came to a head in January 1969, as The Beatles<\/a> began work on what would become their final album ‘Let it Be’.<\/a> George walked out of the band temporarily<\/a>, fed up with the mood and the way he was being treated.<\/p>\n

The bad mood that marked the recording of ‘Let it Be’ had its roots in the 1968 sessions for ‘The White Album’, which had been notoriously tempestuous. Ringo Starr<\/a> departed the band for a period during the recording of ‘Back in the USSR’<\/a> and it seems George was also affected by that time.<\/p>\n

The sessions for ‘The White Album’ came after The Beatles’<\/a> retreat in India. George had led the band’s interest in the culture of India and meditation.<\/p>\n

However the trip to Asia did not end well – the band had a fall out with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who they had studied under. Ringo<\/a> and Paul<\/a> left early anyway, heading back to England to focus on their new business interests at Apple Corps.<\/p>\n

John<\/a> and George<\/a> then left after hearing accusations about the Maharishi relating to a female member of the party. George stayed in India rather than going home with John, instead he went to meet his mentor in Chennai.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Beatles and their wives at the Rishikesh in India with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, March 1968(Image: Hulton Archive\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Indian trip and the beginning of Apple Corps as a business venture seemed to be the point at which schisms within the band truly emerged – and they were not properly resolved by the time they went their separate ways in 1970.<\/p>\n

It was during this time that George wrote the song ‘Not Guilty’. As was the case with songs like ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’<\/a>, he had to work hard to make John and Paul take it seriously.<\/p>\n

After coming back from India, George was brimming with new songs, seemingly given a new lease of creative life while away. However, most of these songs did not appear until his first solo album, 1970’s ‘All Things Must Pass’, such was the struggle for him to compete with John<\/a> and Paul.<\/p>\n

‘Not Guilty’ includes a number of lyrics which could be read as jibes at John<\/a>, Paul and the company Apple. It begins: “For getting in your way, while you try to steal the day, not guilty.<\/p>\n

“I’m not nodding for the rest, I’m not trying to steal your vest. I am not trying to be smart I only want what I can get. I’m really sorry for your aging head, but like you heard me said.<\/p>\n

“Not guilty. Though you signing me a writ, while I’m trying to do my bit. I don’t expect to take your heart I only want what I can get. I’m really sorry that you’re underfed, but like you heard me said. Not guilty.”<\/p>\n

The band recorded the song at Abbey Road in 1968, intending for it to be part of ‘The White Album’. They recorded more than 100 takes of the song, with George singing but they did not get it to a level they were happy with and tensions ran high.<\/p>\n

However, it was cut from the album. According to music writer Simon Leng, its “barbs about The Beatles<\/a>” meant it “was just a little too candid in airing the band’s dirty laundry”.<\/p>\n

Likewise, journalist Mikal Gilmore said it wasn’t used: “perhaps because it was apparent to everybody that Harrison had aimed the song at Lennon and McCartney”<\/p>\n

\"GeorgeGeorge Harrison in 1968(Image: Mirrorpix)<\/p>\n

Though the song didn’t see the light of day as a Beatles<\/a> release, George<\/a> included it on his self-titled 1979 album. He revisited it in 1978 and made song changes.<\/p>\n

About the track, George said: “Actually, I wrote that in 1968. It was after we got back from Rishikesh in the Himalayas on the Maharishi trip, and it was for ‘The White Album.’ We recorded it but we didn\u2019t get it down right or something.<\/p>\n

Then I forgot all about it until a year ago, when I found this old demo I\u2019d made in the Sixties. The lyrics are a bit pass\u00e9 \u2013 all about upsetting ‘Apple carts’ and stuff \u2013 but it\u2019s a bit about what was happening at the time. ‘Not guilty for getting in your way\/While you\u2019re trying to steal the day’ \u2013 which was me trying to get a space.<\/p>\n

“‘Not guilty\/For looking like a freak\/Making friends with every Sikh\/For leading your astray\/On the road to Mandalay’ \u2013 which is the Maharishi and going to the Himalayas and all that was said about that. I like the tune a lot; it would make a great tune for Peggy Lee or someone.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"George Harrison later released it as a solo songDan Haygarth Liverpool Daily Post Editor and Regeneration Reporter 13:27,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3936],"tags":[77,26608,8345,269,11693,20686,4162,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-101015","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-george-harrison","10":"tag-john-lennon","11":"tag-music","12":"tag-paul-mccartney","13":"tag-ringo-starr","14":"tag-the-beatles","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114506701942046689","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}