Written by: Harrison
Recorded: 12 January; 6, 8 February 1968
Producer: George Martin
Engineers: Geoff Emerick, JP Sen, SN Gupta
Released: 15 March 1968 (UK), 18 March 1968 (US)
George Harrison: vocals
John Lennon: backing vocals
Paul McCartney: backing vocals
Sharad Ghosh/Hanuman Jadev: shehnai
Hariprasad Chaurasia/SR Kenkare: flute
Ashish Khan: sarod
Mahapurush Misra: tabla, pakavaj
Rij Ram Desad: harmonium
Available on:
Past Masters
Love
With lyrics based on the Taoist holy book Tao Te Ching, The Inner Light was written by George Harrison and first released as the b-side of Lady Madonna.
As noted by Ian MacDonald in Revolution In The Head, on 29 September 1967 Harrison and John Lennon had appeared on The Frost Programme to talk about Transcendental Meditation. The programme was a success and they were invited back on 4 October to take part in a further discussion.
Among the other guests was Juan Mascaró, a Sanskrit scholar at Cambridge University, who later sent Harrison a copy of his anthology Lamps Of Fire. Mascaró highlighted a passage within it from chapter 47 of the Tao Te Ching, which he suggested could be set to music.
The Beatles all regarded The Inner Light highly, and it was released as the b-side of Lady Madonna in March 1968 - the first time a song by Harrison had appeared on a Beatles single. An excerpt from the recording also appeared as a transition, alongside Harrison's Here Comes The Sun, on the 2006 remix album Love.
In the studio
In 1967 Harrison was invited by director Joe Massot to write a score for his film Wonderwall, starring Jane Birkin and Jack MacGowran. The soundtrack took three months to record, during which time Harrison recorded a number of instrumental pieces at EMI's studio in Bombay, India.
He flew out on 7 January 1968. The sessions for the Wonderwall Music album, which featured local musicians, lasted for five days, at the end of which Harrison produced a number of further ragas for possible use by The Beatles. The basic track of The Inner Light was thus recorded on 12 January.
The song was returned to back in Abbey Road on 6 February, when Harrison recorded his lead vocals. He needed some encouragement from Lennon and McCartney to do this, as the song was above his usual range.
George had this big thing about not wanting to sing it because he didn't feel confident that he could do the song justice. I remember Paul saying, 'You must have a go, don't worry about it, it's good'.
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
The Inner Light was completed with the addition of backing vocals from John Lennon and Paul McCartney, recorded quickly in the early afternoon of 8 February.
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The western music for Wonderwall was recorded in London featuring Clapton. On my record of Wonderwall I can hear occasional traffic sounds when I use my headphones. This song should have been a single with Across The Universe since both songs were worked on the same week and both songs contain Indian influences.
It's brilliant song. I don't know much about music industry or recording session. But listening to it feels like getting your soul cleaned. And it's about Taoism. Guess what? I'm from China(well, I stay in China, never been abroad). Though I was not touched by the lyrics but the amazing automosphere it created in the first place. I was not primarily a Harrison fan, but he's having me a bit more everyday.
And I love this site. I've been secretly hanging around here for nearly 1 year. It's a great site, so much to explore. Thanks, Joe and every body.