Isn't it a pity

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Isn't it a pity
George Harrison
publication November 30, 1970
length 7 min 7 s
Genre (s) skirt
Author (s) George Harrison
Label Apple
album All Things Must Pass

Is not It a Pity ( English ; it is not a shame ') is a song of the British musician and ex- Beatles George Harrison in 1970. It appeared as a single and in two versions on the album All Things Must Pass . It was also written by George Harrison.

background

George Harrison says in his autobiography : " Isn't It a Pity is about whenever a relationship hits a down point [...]" (" Isn't It a Pity is about the moment when a relationship hits a low point [...] ")

composition

The in 4 / 4 - stroke wrote song is in G major and lasts 7:07 minutes. The tempo is indicated as moderately slow . The minute-long outro of the piece, which is reminiscent of Hey Jude's, is remarkable .

text

In Isn't It a Pity, Harrison regrets the fact that people cause pain to one another. The first stanza seems to be about a love affair or several love affairs: “Isn't it a pity, isn't it a shame / How we break each others's hearts, and / cause each other pain / How we take each other's love , without / thinking anymore / Forgetting to give back ”(“ Isn't it a shame, isn't it a shame / how we break hearts and / cause each other pain / how we take love from one another without / thinking further / whereby we forgot to return ”). “[…] The song is a personal observation about a failed love affair. However, at the same time, it is about the universal love for, and among, humankind […] ”(“ […] the song is a personal observation of a failed love affair. Nevertheless, it is at the same time about the general love for and among People […]").

This generality is taken up in the second stanza with the words “not too many people can see we're / all the same” (“not too many people can see that we are all the same”). "[...] with Isn't It A Pity , Harrison adopts the paradoxical position of the neutral observer who is involved." ( "[...] with Is not It a Pity Harrison takes the paradoxical position of neutral observer one that involves is .").

occupation

Cast list:

Recordings

The recordings took place at Abbey Road Studios in London from June 2, 1970 to November 1970. The producers were George Harrison and Phil Spector .

publication

"According to Mark Lewisohn (private conversation), Isn't It a Pity , which Harrison later recorded twice for All Things Must Pass , had already been discussed for Revolver ." In the US , the album All Things Must Pass was released on the 27th, in Great Britain and Germany on November 30, 1970. Isn't It a Pity was released in the USA as early as November 23, 1970 as a double A-side single with My Sweet Lord , in Germany also in November 1970. In 2009 the Song released on the sampler Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison .

Reviews

"If Something was Harrison's Yesterday , then Isn′t It a Pity is his Hey Jude ."

"If Something was Harrison's Yesterday , Isn't It a Pity is his Hey Jude ."

- Elliot J. Huntley: Mystical One: George Harrison. After the Break-Up of The Beatles, p. 55

"A beautiful, haunting lament for broken relationships, with George pointing the finger of guilt at himself."

"A lovely, agonizing lament of broken relationships, with George putting the finger of guilt on himself."

- Dale C. Allison Jr .: The Love There That's Sleeping. The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison, p. 147

'Isn′t It a Pity' brings together two themes that had occupied Harrison for sometime - hope and despair. The break up of The Beatles, a disintegrating marriage and difficult friendship, Clapton was infatuated with Pattie Harrison , meant his personal relationships were in tatters.

“ Isn′t It a Pity brings together two issues that had preoccupied Harrison for a while - hope and despair. The end of the Beatles, a crumbling marriage and difficult friendship, Clapton fell in love with Pattie Harrison, meant his personal relationships were in tatters. "

- John Blaney: George Harrison. Soul Man, p. 118

"Along with 'Maybe I'm amazed', 'Imagine' and 'Photograph', this song represents a pinnacle of each ex-Beatles solo-career."

"Together with 'Maybe I'm amazed', 'Imagine' and 'Photograph', this song represents a high point in the solo career of every ex-Beatle."

- Andrew Wild: on track ... The Solo Beatles 1969-1980. every album, every song, p. 24

Cover versions

On All Things Must Pass , George Harrison released a version of the song with a different cast with a length of 4:45 minutes. In 1971, the song was both Matt Monro and the Irish singer Dana gecovert . Nina Simone released an eleven minute version of the song in 1972 on Emergency Ward . In 1992 Harrison released a live version on Live in Japan . At the Concert for George in 2002, Isn't It a Pity was sung by Billy Preston and Eric Clapton . Annie Lennox performed Isn't It a Pity on September 19, 2017 in New York with Dhani Harrison on guitar when she received the George Harrison Global Citizen Award.

literature

  • Dale C. Allison Jr .: The Love There That's Sleeping. The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison . Continuum International, New York 2006, ISBN 978-0-8264-1917-0 .
  • John Blaney: George Harrison. Soul Man . Lightning Source, Milton Keynes 2015, ISBN 978-0-9544528-8-9 .
  • George Harrison: I Me Mine . Genesis, Guildford 2017, ISBN 978-1-905662-40-1 .
  • Elliot J. Huntley: Mystical One: George Harrison. After the Break-Up of The Beatles. Guernica, Toronto 2004, ISBN 1-55071-197-0 .
  • Ian Inglis: The Words and Music of George Harrison. Praeger, Santa Barbara 2010, ISBN 978-0-313-37532-3 .
  • Simon Leng: The Music of George Harrison. While My Guitar Gently Weeps . Firefly, London 2003, ISBN 0-946719-50-0 .
  • Mark Lewisohn: The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions. The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years. Hamlyn, London 1988, ISBN 0-600-55798-7 .
  • Ian MacDonald: The Beatles. The song lexicon. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-7618-1426-7 .
  • NN : George Harrison. The Apple Years 1968-75. Hal Leonard, Milwaukee n.d., ISBN 978-1-4950-0248-9 .
  • Andreas Rohde: George Harrison solo. A musical biography . Nicole Schmenk, Oberhausen 2013, ISBN 978-3-943022-14-8 .
  • Andrew Wild: on track ... The Solo Beatles 1969-1980. every album, every song. Sonicbond, Tewkesbury 2019. ISBN 978-1-78952-030-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ George Harrison: I Me Mine, p. 166
  2. ↑ NN : George Harrison. The Apple Years 1968-75, pp. 160-164
  3. ^ Andreas Rohde: George Harrison solo. A musical biography, p. 26
  4. ↑ NN: George Harrison. The Apple Years 1968-75, p. 160
  5. ↑ John Blaney: George Harrison. Soul Man, p. 118: "The lengthy, repeated coda, borrowed from Hey Jude  [...]" ("The long, repeated final part, borrowed from Hey Jude  [...]")
  6. ↑ George Harrison: I Me Mine, p. 168, verses 1-6
  7. ^ Ian Inglis: The Words and Music of George Harrison, p. 26
  8. ↑ George Harrison: I Me Mine, p. 168, verses 10-11
  9. ^ Simon Leng: The Music of George Harrison, p. 61
  10. ^ Andreas Rohde: George Harrison solo. A musical biography, pp. 36–37
  11. ^ Mark Lewisohn: The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions. The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years, p. 167
  12. ↑ Simon Leng: The Music of George Harrison. While My Guitar Gently Weeps, p. 51
  13. ^ Andreas Rohde: George Harrison solo. A musical biography, p. 26
  14. ^ Ian MacDonald: The Beatles. Das Song-Lexikon, p. 365, note 1
  15. ^ Andreas Rohde: George Harrison solo. A musical biography, p. 26
  16. ^ Andreas Rohde: George Harrison solo. A musical biography, p. 26
  17. ^ Andreas Rohde: George Harrison solo. A musical biography, pp. 46–47
  18. ^ Andreas Rohde: George Harrison solo. A musical biography, pp. 37 and 62
  19. ^ Ian Inglis: The Words and Music of George Harrison, p. 126
  20. ^ Joe McCarthy: Annie Lennox, Michael Moore Join Global Leaders for a Night of Art & Advocacy. September 19, 2018, accessed March 6, 2018 .