Written by: Harrison
Recorded: 7-9 October 1968
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Ken Scott
Released: 22 November 1968 (UK), 25 November 1968 (US)
George Harrison: vocals, acoustic guitars
Paul McCartney: backing vocals, Hammond organ, bass
Ringo Starr: drums
Chris Thomas: piano
Available on:
The Beatles (White Album)
The spiritual heart of the White Album, Long, Long, Long provided a moment of calm between the raucous Helter Skelter and the politically-charged Revolution 1.
While it may outwardly appear to be an ode to a lover, Long, Long, Long was actually written about Harrison's joy at having found God.
In his autobiography, George Harrison spoke briefly about the song, describing how its music had been inspired by the final track on Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde album.
The 'you' in Long, Long, Long is God. I can't recall much about it except the chords, which I think were coming from Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands - D to E minor, A, and D - those three chords and the way they moved.
I Me Mine, 1980
The wistful, hymnlike tribute to God was one of the White Album's most subtle recordings; a hushed waltz which only rouses itself from hypnotic slumber during the middle section. The dynamics are key: the calmness of the verses is only broken briefly as Harrison laments the 'many tears I was wasting' before his enlightenment.
In the studio
Under the working title It's Been A Long Long Long Time, recording for the song began on 7 October 1968. The Beatles, minus John Lennon, recorded a mammoth 67 takes of the rhythm track, with Harrison on vocals and acoustic guitar, McCartney playing a modified Hammond organ, and Starr on drums.
The ending of Long, Long, Long was a fortuitous accident, as George Martin's assistant Chris Thomas later recalled.
There's a sound near the end of the song which is a bottle of Blue Nun wine rattling away on top of a Leslie speaker cabinet. It just happened. Paul hit a certain note and the bottle started vibrating. We thought it was so good that we set the mikes up and did it again. The Beatles always took advantage of accidents.
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
Ringo Starr recorded some frenetic drumming, and Harrison's ghostly howl compounded the effect. The song ends with a brutal G minor eleventh chord played on Harrison's Gibson J-200, creating one of the most affecting and effective finales to any Beatles recording.
Recording continued the next day, with additional acoustic guitar and lead vocal parts by Harrison, and a bass track played by McCartney. Long, Long, Long was completed on 9 October with backing vocals from McCartney and a piano part by Chris Thomas.
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I absolutely love this song so much. I had a feeling it was about Harrison finding God. It is a truly inspirational song...one of my favorites.
one of his best!
Definitely the most underrated Beatles song. The organ is amazingly beautiful.
A lovely song, but I can't help wondering why George chose to sing it quite so softly. As it is, he gets drowned out by the percussion so drastically that the recording feels unfinished, like an early rehearsal for a song that never got polished.
Listen to the mono remasters. voice is better seperated from the percussion in it. the song as a whole seems louder and better in mono than the old stereo
I love the frailty of his voice on this one. i love how the drums crash in like an uninvited storm. there seems to be a less polished less produced feel to this one. i love it. my fav harrison tune
Listen to the new remastered Beatles (White Album), JD. George's voice is, at last, not shadowed out by the percussion on this track. It's absolutely beautiful, and it's how the song should have always been.
just recently discovered this one... A diehard Beatles fan since the "wee-years" I'd never gave much thought to the song. Circumstances in life arrive, the Death of My true love-June, and then the "remastered White Album". I've never listened to sides 3 & 4 as I have recently.George was just now starting to speak from the soul.
This is one of the greatest revelations as far as the remastered Beatles albums are concerned.
I've always loved the song, but it's nice to be able to really hear it properly...
I love the main part of this song too. But I dont like the "aaaaaaaaaaaaah"-part, the part, where the coke-bottle rotates. I thint it doesnt fit at all. I'm fading the song at 2:20
I agree with you. The song always creeped me out. The end to me sounds like a coffin opening and a ghoul crawling out!
The ending of that song always creeped me out when I was a kid, but I guess it's appropriate for a song that was about feeling estranged from God for a "long, long, long time."
no way, the ending is crucial in my opinion, a crescendo. besides there is serious history in there too.
This tune might be my fav on the White Album ... for now
The middle section of some of George's songs are among the best in rock music. I include Long, Long, Long among these. Also included are Old Brownb Shoe, I Want To Tell You, Something, While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Harrison was perhaps the most underated singer, songwriter, muciscian in rock music. However, this is understandable given his bandmates John and Paul - the Kings of Rock Music!
Love this song
. It's one of my favorites- Harrison songs are the best.
I heard this as a teenager on the White Album. After many years I am listening to it again. Brings a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. What a beautiful, beautiful, melodic and melancholy song! So very underrated! God bless you, George.
when george says "how I want you" I always get chills. perfection from my favorite beatle
When the White Album first came out it was difficult to really like this song - for a myriad of reasons - one is that it was competing against so many more accessible songs on the same LPs -including George's other White Album songs.
Also, the darkness of the song production really didn't fit the mood of 1968 - and it was just hard to hear.
But now, especially with the mono remaster - this song is standout brilliant - beautiful, haunting and if the lyrics are applied introspectively, somewhat challenging.
"The darkness of the song production really didn't fit the mood of 1968".
Oh really.
The political events events of that year cast a dark shadow for those of us who were there at the time.
Maybe my ears can't hear it anymore or maybe it was lost going from vinyl to CD, but I remember a super low bass note after each "Long, long, long time..." Or maybe I imagined it.
Ah! I hear it on Mono.
yes I remember that same note - and always felt like it was a bass overtone/feedback that I could never understand why they let it go out.
Having known about and loving this song for years, I just discovered Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and the first thing I thought of when I heard "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" was the similarity to "Long, Long, Long". I'm pretty good at picking up these 'borrowings' and was happy to see that this was openly acknowledged by George here.
Excellent drumwork of Ringo too!
One of Harrison's finest works, in my opinion. The vocal is so delicate and there is an awesome contrast between the melody and the drums. The tone of the bass is absolutely beautiful as well; on the stereo it hits ever so softly on the left speaker, but it is extremely effective.