Remember When George Harrison Earned a Hit Single With This Tribute to the Late John Lennon?

In 1970, the same year The Beatles disbanded, George Harrison released “My Sweet Lord”, his first solo single. A No. 1 song, Harrison went on to release several more hit singles, including “What Is Life”, “Dark Horse”, and more. 

But perhaps none of Harrison’s songs are as poignant as “All Those Years Ago”. Written solely by Harrison, “All Those Years Ago” came out in 1981, as part of his Somewhere In England album.

“All Those Years Ago” begins with, “I’m shouting all about love / While they treated you like a dog / When you were the one who had made it so clear / All those years ago.” Harrison originally wrote “All Those Years Ago” for Ringo Starr. The fact that Harrison wrote for Starr is not unique. In fact, Harrison wrote both “It Don’t Come Easy” and “Photograph” for his former bandmate. But Starr didn’t think “All Those Years Ago” was a hit, so he passed on the song.

How George Harrison Reworked the Song After the Death of John Lennon

John Lennon was tragically killed on December 8, 1980. The death of Lennon inspired Harrison to rework “All Those Years Ago”, this time in tribute to his good friend.

“What I was saying is, there’s all these weird people who don’t actually believe in God and who go around murdering everybody,” Harrison explains. “And yet, in the broad sweep, it’s like they were the ones pointing fingers at Lennon, saying he’s a weirdo. Sometimes my lyrics get a bit abstract in places. I get so many thoughts coming from different angles; I’m not sure if they come across right. But I think that’s what I was trying to say.”

Elsewhere in “All Those Years Ago”, it says, “They’ve forgotten all about God / He’s the only reason we exist / Yet you were the one that they said was so weird / All those years ago.“

“All Those Years Ago” was about Lennon. But it was also about Harrison’s own spiritual beliefs, especially in light of Lennon’s death.

“It is a strange choice of words,” Harrison concedes. “The way I saw it was, I’m talking all about God. And he’s the only reason we exist – now that’s something I believe to be true.”

Interestingly, former Beatles members Paul McCartney and Starr join Harrison on “All Those Years Ago”. Starr also played the drums on the track. It is Harrison’s final hit single until “Got My Mind Set On You” came out in 1987.

Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images

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