WHEN in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary….
My Sweet Lord
byVanderleunonDecember 15, 2021
I really want to know you (hallelujah) Really want to go with you (hallelujah) Really want to show you Lord(AhhhAhhhh) But it won’t take long, my Lord (hallelujah) My sweet Lord (hallelujah) My, my, my Lord (hallelujah)
On the subject of the yearning to see the Lord, this just in courtesy of an HT from Gagdad Bob:
George Harrison – My Sweet Lord (Official Video) Premiered 2 hours ago. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of George Harrison’s classic solo album, All Things Must Pass.
Wow! I’ve now hated this insipid, redundant, boring, uninspiring song since I was 10.
I have always thought that God took him out, just because of this (un)musical dross. (While forgiving all his other sins, musical and other.)
I have always thought that of all the “Fab Four”, only Harrison made quality music since their breakup. Ringo’s was—thankfully—invisible; Lennon’s was childish; McCartney’s was insipid. I should mention that George Harrison was the finest slide guitarist since Duane Allman.
ghostsniperDecember 15, 2021, 12:13 PM
Though kind of monotonous I’ve always liked how that song sounds.
For some reason it makes me think of a vanilla milkshake.
Maybe I was ripping one up the first time I heard it.
I like Dark Horse better.
Kevin in PADecember 15, 2021, 3:39 PM
With respect to vanilla milkshakes, ghost, how does one go about “ripping one up”?
JackDecember 19, 2021, 2:31 PM
I always kind of liked it too but good grief, it’s 4x too long. Every time I hear it, I always groove a little on the intro but almost right away I suddenly envision a bunch of f’d up Hari Krishnas and I have to turn it off.
The video is somewhat amusing – a bunch of celebrities searching for something for which they lack the eyes to see…
Kevin in PADecember 15, 2021, 3:49 PM
“a bunch of celebrities searching for something for which they lack the eyes to see…”
Wow! An excellent perspective, Julie.
I must admit that when M-TV and the whole era of rock video thing came along, I felt disconnected from the pop/rock music….almost like a feeling of M-TV ruined rock music. There were so many rock videos that just never seemed to make any sense to me….but I really like your take on this one.
As to the song itself, there’s a certain [ ] which, if you’ve been there, you understand perfectly what he’s saying and why, and it’s lovely because maybe it brings you back to that moment for just a brief glimpse.
If not, it all sounds, well… insipid, boring, childish, yadda yadda yadda.
To my ear Harrison’s rip-off is one of the dreariest pop songs . . . ever. And it’s got none of the pep of “He’s So Fine.”
Bear in mind, now, de gustibus non est disputandum.
JackDecember 19, 2021, 2:38 PM
I agree…..how can you account for it if you can’t dispute it; ‘taste’ I mean? I liked a lot of GH’s stuff but had I been in charge of Guantanamo during the housing of the muslim terrorists MSL would have the song of the day, all day, every day. On off days I’d play it backward at 78 rpm and give them Jolly Ranchers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Can you imagine a bunch of psychotic mussies terrorists waddling around in wherever, after a few years at Gitmo, with that thing imbedded in their brains?
TerryDecember 15, 2021, 5:32 PM
He’s So Fine, by The Chiffons. I bought the 45 around 1962 or 63, played it until I wore the grooves out. Then bought another copy in 45. I danced to the song with the next door neighbor girl who was three years older until my jeans fell off. I was seventeen and getting wild. What else would you expect from hillbillies.
It’s a great song and “All Things Must Pass” is a great album. Been listening to both since 1970. I bought the original triple album when it first came out.
SteveSDecember 15, 2021, 11:23 PM
I guess you had to be there. The song was intended as praise to the Hindu god Krishna. George was the one Beatle who stayed with eastern religion after the others had given the Maha a go and moved on. It always struck me as a very simple, sweet, longingly spiritual piece of music coming after the Beatles psychedelic period. Having lived in a small Sierra foothill town with a sizable Krishna community for 35 years we’ve gotten to know many of them as very fine people. {and great cooks}.
According to international Christian Evangelist preacher Louis Palau Harrison converted to Christianity before he died.
“‘My Sweet Lord’ was originally written in praise of the Hindu god Krishna. It reached number one on singles charts globally in 1971. After his Christian conversion, George changed the emphasis. He told the evangelist who prayed with him that he was re-dedicating the song to Jesus Christ. Following George’s death in November 2001, the song was re-released and topped the charts again in 2002. This time it was in praise of Jesus Christ, God the Son, the Saviour of the World!”
While I was aware that the original song was in praise of Krishna. I did not know that he converted to Christianity and re-dedicated the song. Nice. I always thought of Harrison as the one real, albeit idealistic, member of the Beatles.
To celebrate the 50 years passage of All Things Must Pass there are many songs of a higher caliber than My Sweet Lord, truly. Beware of Darkness is powerful and so relevant for these times… and always. Give a listen… every word… very fine writing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LrxYds2UNE
Apple Scruffs is a delight. What Is Life? Isn’t It A Pity? Wah Wah? How about All Things Must Pass? My Sweet Lord was overplayed to the point of annoyance. Whatever… the record-sales-dudes make their omnipotent decisions in a world I am not privy to.
I have to agree with you, Tom.
My Sweet Lord was so overplayed in the 70s that it almost became annoying….it was on AM radio everywhere you went.
As you point out, there were a number of more interesting tunes on the All Things Must Pass album, including the title cut.
Chris GDecember 17, 2021, 8:18 AM
I agree. Beware of Darkness is better and definitely more relevant.
JackDecember 19, 2021, 2:46 PM
I think it was over played too and I had no idea that GH became a Christian and re-dedicated his song to Jesus. Another lovely song that was hammered into the ground is Hallelujah. It didn’t mean a thing until Jeff Buckley recorded it and then every crooner and diva who imagined it could sing posted a person version of it on YT and used it as their song choice in these various singing shows. I came to a point that I couldn’t stand to hear it any longer.
But all of that changed when little Kaylee Rogers, the child who suffers from ADHD and autism, from the Killard House School sang it with different lyrics. When she did that, it actually had meaning for me again.
jdDecember 16, 2021, 5:49 AM
What I love about this post is the title. It was
a heart-warming surprise, coming to a predominantly secular
blog and being warmly greeted by, “My Sweet Lord” in giant
black letters no matter what followed really, as long as it was
respectful. Thank you, Gerard.
Univ of Saigon 68December 16, 2021, 6:59 AM
O.K., that was seven minutes and thirteen seconds I’ll never get back.
Why would Harrison sing about somebody’s hairy anything? Why would he take our Creators name in vain?
SteveSDecember 16, 2021, 12:17 PM
Thanks Mike, wow. I too did not know he embraced Christ before his passing. Made my day. Very heartwarming. I do remember hearing that the Beatles all learned quite early due to the meteoric rise of their careers that happiness wasn’t to be found in things. “Money can’t buy me love”
Cloudesley ShovellDecember 16, 2021, 1:14 PM
The bookstore early in the video is The Last Bookstore, at the corner of South Spring Street and West 5th Street in downtown LA. Truly one of the great independent bookstores, and well worth a visit if you find yourself in downtown Los Angeles. Nice little documentary about the bookstore and its owner here– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj0fo4aZmwo
Astounding story. Josh Spencer is not just a seller of books; he is a philosopher of life.
I have collected books for 60 years. My 1000 current volumes—they compete for shelf space in a small apartment with my 1000 vinyl records—are as much a part of my life as my heart is. History, Philosophy, Theology, Poetry, Literature, Drama, Culture, Biography, Crime: All are welcome. I keep buying more shelving, but then these rapidly fill up. I fear that, when I run out of room, that God will call me home.
Andrew RDecember 17, 2021, 5:41 PM
I think Harrison, Lennon and McCartney went a little nuts after the Beatles broke up. On their first two or three albums they seem to be of two minds; some of their songs sounded like Beatles songs that never got on Beatles albums, and the rest were as UN-Beatlish as possible. It’s like they needed to do that to get it out of their systems before the could really be themselves.
And, yes, some of their stuff got incredibly overplayed. I honestly don’t care if I ever hear Band on the Run, Imagine, or My Sweet Lord, and a few others, again in this life.
Real World Address for Donations, Mash Notes and Hate Mail
Gerard Van der Leun
1692 MANGROVE AVE
APT 379
Chico, Ca 95926
Green Pants Interior by Klahn
Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.
Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
Wow! I’ve now hated this insipid, redundant, boring, uninspiring song since I was 10.
I have always thought that God took him out, just because of this (un)musical dross. (While forgiving all his other sins, musical and other.)
Handel, he ain’t…
Hmm…let me guess. You don’t like George Harrison. Am I right?
You have an exceptionally keen eye for the obvious, Mike. God job! 😉
Just needed to clarify things a bit. I had to be sure.
Clever! Snows blowing sideways as I watched this. Awesome!
I remember “The Concert for Bangladesh,”, Tower Theatre , RosevilleCa. 1971?
VI
I have always thought that of all the “Fab Four”, only Harrison made quality music since their breakup. Ringo’s was—thankfully—invisible; Lennon’s was childish; McCartney’s was insipid. I should mention that George Harrison was the finest slide guitarist since Duane Allman.
Though kind of monotonous I’ve always liked how that song sounds.
For some reason it makes me think of a vanilla milkshake.
Maybe I was ripping one up the first time I heard it.
I like Dark Horse better.
With respect to vanilla milkshakes, ghost, how does one go about “ripping one up”?
I always kind of liked it too but good grief, it’s 4x too long. Every time I hear it, I always groove a little on the intro but almost right away I suddenly envision a bunch of f’d up Hari Krishnas and I have to turn it off.
The video is somewhat amusing – a bunch of celebrities searching for something for which they lack the eyes to see…
“a bunch of celebrities searching for something for which they lack the eyes to see…”
Wow! An excellent perspective, Julie.
I must admit that when M-TV and the whole era of rock video thing came along, I felt disconnected from the pop/rock music….almost like a feeling of M-TV ruined rock music. There were so many rock videos that just never seemed to make any sense to me….but I really like your take on this one.
As to the song itself, there’s a certain [ ] which, if you’ve been there, you understand perfectly what he’s saying and why, and it’s lovely because maybe it brings you back to that moment for just a brief glimpse.
If not, it all sounds, well… insipid, boring, childish, yadda yadda yadda.
Heh . . . : https://groovyhistory.com/george-harrison-my-sweet-lord-hes-so-fine-chiffons
How d’you like your Chiffons pie in the face?
To my ear Harrison’s rip-off is one of the dreariest pop songs . . . ever. And it’s got none of the pep of “He’s So Fine.”
Bear in mind, now, de gustibus non est disputandum.
I agree…..how can you account for it if you can’t dispute it; ‘taste’ I mean? I liked a lot of GH’s stuff but had I been in charge of Guantanamo during the housing of the muslim terrorists MSL would have the song of the day, all day, every day. On off days I’d play it backward at 78 rpm and give them Jolly Ranchers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Can you imagine a bunch of psychotic mussies terrorists waddling around in wherever, after a few years at Gitmo, with that thing imbedded in their brains?
He’s So Fine, by The Chiffons. I bought the 45 around 1962 or 63, played it until I wore the grooves out. Then bought another copy in 45. I danced to the song with the next door neighbor girl who was three years older until my jeans fell off. I was seventeen and getting wild. What else would you expect from hillbillies.
https://youtu.be/rinz9Avvq6A
Completely OT but:
Mike at Cold Fury is in serious Medical trouble. I started a gofundme for him. Can you repoast/write it up… I got Wirecutter, Art Sido, and all the ‘usual criminals and suspects’ on board:
http://coldfury.com/2021/12/15/mikes-in-deep-shit/
and the go fund me:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mike-of-cold-fury-and-the-belmont-playboys
Many thanks!
BCE
OK, I admit it. I don’t get it.
Tough crowd here, Gerard. I have always loved ‘My Sweet Lord’ and found it useful for praise and worship of God. To each his own!
It’s a great song and “All Things Must Pass” is a great album. Been listening to both since 1970. I bought the original triple album when it first came out.
I guess you had to be there. The song was intended as praise to the Hindu god Krishna. George was the one Beatle who stayed with eastern religion after the others had given the Maha a go and moved on. It always struck me as a very simple, sweet, longingly spiritual piece of music coming after the Beatles psychedelic period. Having lived in a small Sierra foothill town with a sizable Krishna community for 35 years we’ve gotten to know many of them as very fine people. {and great cooks}.
According to international Christian Evangelist preacher Louis Palau Harrison converted to Christianity before he died.
“‘My Sweet Lord’ was originally written in praise of the Hindu god Krishna. It reached number one on singles charts globally in 1971. After his Christian conversion, George changed the emphasis. He told the evangelist who prayed with him that he was re-dedicating the song to Jesus Christ. Following George’s death in November 2001, the song was re-released and topped the charts again in 2002. This time it was in praise of Jesus Christ, God the Son, the Saviour of the World!”
https://www.reallifestories.org/stories/george-harrison-my-sweet-lord/
While I was aware that the original song was in praise of Krishna. I did not know that he converted to Christianity and re-dedicated the song. Nice. I always thought of Harrison as the one real, albeit idealistic, member of the Beatles.
To celebrate the 50 years passage of All Things Must Pass there are many songs of a higher caliber than My Sweet Lord, truly. Beware of Darkness is powerful and so relevant for these times… and always. Give a listen… every word… very fine writing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LrxYds2UNE
Apple Scruffs is a delight. What Is Life? Isn’t It A Pity? Wah Wah? How about All Things Must Pass? My Sweet Lord was overplayed to the point of annoyance. Whatever… the record-sales-dudes make their omnipotent decisions in a world I am not privy to.
Agree on all parts. Think I’ll play it today.
I have to agree with you, Tom.
My Sweet Lord was so overplayed in the 70s that it almost became annoying….it was on AM radio everywhere you went.
As you point out, there were a number of more interesting tunes on the All Things Must Pass album, including the title cut.
I agree. Beware of Darkness is better and definitely more relevant.
I think it was over played too and I had no idea that GH became a Christian and re-dedicated his song to Jesus. Another lovely song that was hammered into the ground is Hallelujah. It didn’t mean a thing until Jeff Buckley recorded it and then every crooner and diva who imagined it could sing posted a person version of it on YT and used it as their song choice in these various singing shows. I came to a point that I couldn’t stand to hear it any longer.
But all of that changed when little Kaylee Rogers, the child who suffers from ADHD and autism, from the Killard House School sang it with different lyrics. When she did that, it actually had meaning for me again.
What I love about this post is the title. It was
a heart-warming surprise, coming to a predominantly secular
blog and being warmly greeted by, “My Sweet Lord” in giant
black letters no matter what followed really, as long as it was
respectful. Thank you, Gerard.
O.K., that was seven minutes and thirteen seconds I’ll never get back.
Why would Harrison sing about somebody’s hairy anything? Why would he take our Creators name in vain?
Thanks Mike, wow. I too did not know he embraced Christ before his passing. Made my day. Very heartwarming. I do remember hearing that the Beatles all learned quite early due to the meteoric rise of their careers that happiness wasn’t to be found in things. “Money can’t buy me love”
The bookstore early in the video is The Last Bookstore, at the corner of South Spring Street and West 5th Street in downtown LA. Truly one of the great independent bookstores, and well worth a visit if you find yourself in downtown Los Angeles. Nice little documentary about the bookstore and its owner here– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj0fo4aZmwo
Astounding story. Josh Spencer is not just a seller of books; he is a philosopher of life.
I have collected books for 60 years. My 1000 current volumes—they compete for shelf space in a small apartment with my 1000 vinyl records—are as much a part of my life as my heart is. History, Philosophy, Theology, Poetry, Literature, Drama, Culture, Biography, Crime: All are welcome. I keep buying more shelving, but then these rapidly fill up. I fear that, when I run out of room, that God will call me home.
I think Harrison, Lennon and McCartney went a little nuts after the Beatles broke up. On their first two or three albums they seem to be of two minds; some of their songs sounded like Beatles songs that never got on Beatles albums, and the rest were as UN-Beatlish as possible. It’s like they needed to do that to get it out of their systems before the could really be themselves.
And, yes, some of their stuff got incredibly overplayed. I honestly don’t care if I ever hear Band on the Run, Imagine, or My Sweet Lord, and a few others, again in this life.