"See Yourself" is a song by English musician

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

, released on his 1976 album ''

Thirty Three & 1/3 ''Thirty Three & ⅓'' (stylised as ''Thirty Three & 1/ॐ'' on the album cover) is the seventh studio album by English musician George Harrison, released in November 1976. It was Harrison's first album release on his Dark Horse record label, th ...

''. Harrison began writing the song in 1967, while he was a member of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, in response to the public outcry surrounding bandmate

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

's admission that he had taken the hallucinogenic drug LSD. McCartney's announcement created a reaction in the press similar to that caused in 1966 by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's statement that the Beatles were more popular than Christianity. In its finished form, the song's lyrics advocate self-awareness and consideration for the consequences of one's actions. Musically, the composition contains unusual shifts in

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

from standard 4/4 to 9/8, while the songwords reflect the era of its genesis by recalling themes first espoused in the Beatles tracks " Within You Without You" and " All You Need Is Love". Harrison recorded "See Yourself" at his Friar Park home studio in Henley, Oxfordshire. The recording features extensive use of keyboard instruments, played by

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...

, Gary Wright and Harrison, the last of whom contributed one of the track's prominent

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

parts. On the album cover, Harrison dedicated the song to Paramahansa Yogananda, founder of the

Self-Realization Fellowship Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF) is a worldwide spiritual organization founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920 and legally incorporated as a non-profit religious organization in 1935, to serve as Yogananda's instrument for the preservation ...

and author of ''

Autobiography of a Yogi ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' is an autobiography of Paramahansa Yogananda (5 January 1893 – 7 March 1952) first published in 1946. Paramahansa Yogananda was born as Mukunda Lal Ghosh in Gorakhpur, India, into a Bengali Hindu family. '' ...

''.

Background

Along with

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

bandmate

and their wives,

first took the hallucinogenic drug Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in April 1965, when a dentist friend slipped it into their after-dinner coffee. The heightened perception induced by the hallucinogen inspired both musicians in their subsequent work with the Beatles, notably on the albums ''

Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

'' (1966) and ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...

'' (1967), and led directly to a shared interest in Eastern philosophical concepts and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

. Harrison later said of the profound change he felt as a result of first taking the drug: "I had such an overwhelming feeling of well-being, that there was a God, and I could see him in every blade of grass. It was like gaining hundreds of years of experience within twelve hours. It changed me, and there was no way back to what I was before." While

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

had joined Harrison and Lennon for their second LSD experience, in August 1965,

remained wary of its reality-distorting effect and, despite peer pressure from his bandmates, declined to partake of the drug until late in 1966. On 19 June 1967, by which time it had become the recreational drug of choice among the

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...

, during the

Summer of Love The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior, converged in San Francisco's neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury. ...

, McCartney confirmed to an

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, N ...

reporter that he had taken LSD, having already admitted as much to journalists from ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine and the ''

Sunday People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...

'' over the previous few days. A public outcry followed McCartney's announcement, which inconvenienced the other Beatles by bringing their drug use into the spotlight.Sounes, p. 185. Author Ian MacDonald describes McCartney's candour as a "careless admission" that, as with Lennon's comment in March 1966 that the Beatles were more popular than Christianity, "brought howls of righteous anger on their heads". Although Harrison, Lennon and Starr appeared to support McCartney's claim that it was the media's responsibility to decide whether the admission should become public knowledge, and not the individual's responsibility to lie, they were also suspicious about McCartney's motives, with Harrison suggesting he had done it for attention. Lennon later equated the episode with McCartney's announcement of

the Beatles' break-up From August 1962 to September 1969, the Beatles had a lineup that consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Their break-up was a cumulative process attributed to numerous factors. These include the strain of the ...

as part of his promotion for his 1970 solo album, ''

McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

'', Lennon stating in a 1972 interview: "He always times his big announcements right on the letter, doesn't he?"

Composition

Harrison began writing the song "See Yourself" in 1967 in response to the furore surrounding McCartney's admission.Rodriguez, p. 171. In his autobiography, '' I Me Mine'', Harrison introduces the opening verse, which begins "''It's easier to tell a lie than it is to tell the truth''", with the comment "There was a big outcry with people saying o McCartney'You should have said "No!"' ..."Harrison, p. 108. Author Ian Inglis suggests that this opening lyric reveals Harrison's "mixed emotions over the wisdom of total honesty".Inglis, p. 62. Inglis adds that "while the dilemma about whether to reveal or conceal the truth to others is insuperable, the important thing is to be true to oneself", as reflected in the song title. Musically, the composition incorporates a shift in

during the verses, from standard rock 4/4 rhythm to what Harrison biographer Simon Leng describes as "stuttering,

staccato Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and has appeared in music ...

" 9/8.Leng, p. 194. This departure from pop convention was reflective of Harrison's immersion in Indian music, during a period when he devoted himself to studying the

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

, partly under the tuition of Bengali Hindu musician

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North Ind ...

. In ''I Me Mine'', Harrison states that after writing much of the song in 1967, he forgot about it until nine years later. By then, after having espoused

self-realization Self-realization is an expression used in Western psychology, philosophy, and spirituality; and in Indian religions. In the Western understanding, it is the "fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one's character or personality" (see ...

and God consciousness in much of his solo work since the Beatles' break-up, Harrison had chosen to soften his message, partly as a result of the contentment he had found with his new partner,

Olivia Arias Olivia Trinidad Harrison (née Arias; born May 18, 1948) is an American author and film producer, and the widow of English musician George Harrison of the Beatles. She first worked in the music industry in Los Angeles, for A&M Records, where sh ...

. Along with the lyrics to the song's second and third verses, Harrison completed the

middle eight The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. A ...

in 1976: In the final verse, Inglis identifies similar "reflections about the politics of free will" as in Lennon's lyric "''There's nothing you can do that can't be done''", from the Beatles' 1967 single " All You Need Is Love": Paramahansa Yogananda Standard Pose

Inglis writes that by "see", Harrison means to "know" oneself. In this way, "See Yourself" echoes the message of Harrison's 1967 compositions for the Beatles " Within You Without You" and "

It's All Too Much "It's All Too Much" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Yellow Submarine (album), Yellow Submarine''. Written by George Harrison in 1967, it conveys the ideological themes of that year's Summer of Love. The B ...

" – both of which he wrote while absorbing the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, founder of the

. In a December 1967 interview, Harrison paraphrased part of the song's lyrics when asked to comment on the criticism then being levelled against the Beatles'

Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes a ...

teacher,

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (born Mahesh Prasad Varma, 12 January 1918

, saying: "It's easier to criticise somebody than to see yourself." Leng views the lyrical themes in "See Yourself" as similar to those of two songs focusing on human relationships, " Run of the Mill" and "

Isn't It a Pity "Isn't It a Pity" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 solo album ''All Things Must Pass''. It appears in two variations there: one the well-known, seven-minute version; the other a reprise, titled "Isn't It a Pity ...

", both released on Harrison's 1970 triple album '' All Things Must Pass''. Leng highlights "Run of the Mill"'s theme of "individual choice versus responsibility" and "Isn't It a Pity"'s preoccupation with "selfishness, false words, and false friends" as areas that Harrison revisits in "See Yourself".

Recording

Following the expiration of his recording contract with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

-affiliated Apple Records in January 1976, Harrison recorded "See Yourself" for his debut album on his

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

record label, ''

''. He returned to the song at the suggestion of Shankar's nephew, Kumar Shankar,Madinger & Easter, p. 455. who worked as a sound engineer at Harrison's home studio, FPSHOT, in

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

, Oxfordshire. "See Yourself" was one of a number of unfinished compositions from the late 1960s that Harrison revisited when making the album, in what some commentators view as a sign of

writer's block Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing, in which an author is either unable to produce new work or experiences a creative slowdown. Mike Rose found that this creative stall is not a result of commitment problems or th ...

, brought on by charges that he had plagiarised the Ronnie Mack song "

He's So Fine "He's So Fine" is a song written by Ronnie Mack. It was recorded by The Chiffons who topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for four weeks in the spring of 1963. One of the most instantly recognizable golden oldies with its ''doo-lang doo-lang doo-la ...

" in his 1970–71 hit single " My Sweet Lord". The sessions for ''Thirty Three & 1/3'' took place at FPSHOT, beginning in May 1976,Badman, p. 186. with

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

saxophonist and arranger Tom Scott providing production assistance. Harrison played acoustic guitar on the basic track, accompanied by

(piano), Gary Wright (keyboards), Willie Weeks (bass) and Alvin Taylor (drums). Leng notes the influence of Wright's 1975 hit album '' The Dream Weaver'' on the recording and describes "See Yourself" as "the first Harrisong basically arranged for

s". Preston, Harrison and Wright all contributed synthesizer parts, while Harrison also overdubbed tambourine and backing vocals. Speaking in Los Angeles later in the year, Harrison said of the track: "As we overdubbed more things on it, I began to like it more and more." Overdubbing and mixing took place over the summer,Madinger & Easter, p. 454. with all work on the song completed by 13 September.

Release and reception

''Thirty Three & 1/3'' was released in November 1976, with "See Yourself" appearing as the final track on side one of the original LP format, sequenced after the album's lead single, "

This Song "This Song" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1976 album ''Thirty Three & 1/3''. It was released as the first single from the album and reached number 25 on the American pop charts but failed to chart in the UK. Harrison ...

". As with "

Dear One "Dear One" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in 1976 on his album ''Thirty Three & 1/3''. The song was inspired by, and dedicated to, Paramahansa Yogananda, whose 1946 book ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' was a great influenc ...

", Harrison dedicated the song to Paramhansa Yogananda on the album cover. During his extensive promotion for ''Thirty Three & 1/3'', Harrison visited US secretary of state

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

in Washington DC and presented him with a copy of Yogananda's ''

'', one of Harrison's favourite books. The release coincided with a wave of renewed interest in the Beatles' work, sparked by EMI/

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

reissuing the band's catalog following the demise of Apple. Music critics praised ''Thirty Three & 1/3'' as Harrison's finest album since ''All Things Must Pass'',The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', p. 188.Schaffner, p. 192. and wrote approvingly of the more subtle tone of his spiritual message compared with the perceived preachiness of '' Living in the Material World'' (1973) and ''

'' (1974).Woffinden, p. 103. Author Robert Rodriguez comments on the song's release in 1976: "Whereas in the past, George might have been a little more heavy-handed in his criticism of hypocrisy, here he slaps back gently." In a review for ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'',

Ray Coleman Ray Coleman (15 June 1937, Leicester – 10 September 1996, Shepperton) was a British author and music journalist. Career Coleman was the former editor-in-chief of ''Melody Maker'' known for his biographies of The Beatles. Besides ''Melody Ma ...

wrote of the subject matter of "See Yourself" and other songs on ''Thirty Three & 1/3'': "This isn't a very 'immediate' record ... But as proved by ''All Things Must Pass'', Harrison's material is deep and requires the listener to persevere. Two or three spins bring out a musical and lyrical warmth from an artist who refuses to stand still."Ray Coleman, "Harrison Regains His Rubber Soul", ''

'', 27 November 1976, p. 23. In his 1977 book ''The Beatles Forever'', Nicholas Schaffner described the "tastefulness" of Harrison's performance on synthesizer as "unmatched in rock". Referring to Harrison's gift to Kissinger in November 1976, in relation to the era when the song was written, Schaffner added: "Another sign of the times, perhaps. Back in 1964 even the thought of such a meeting would have been preposterous; in 1967 it would have seemed the pinnacle of the surreal." On an album that he considers "a renewal" and "one of Harrison's best", Simon Leng describes "See Yourself" as "the least interesting track". While acknowledging the "adventurous" quality of the song's time signature, Leng views the arrangement as "too ponderous" and the melody "mostly bland". Another Harrison biographer, theologian

Dale Allison Dale C. Allison (born November 25, 1955) is an American New Testament scholar, historian of Early Christianity, and Christian theologian who for years served as Errett M. Grable Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Early Christianity at Pittsb ...

, describes the song as "A call to serious self-examination ... it recalls the earlier and better 'Run Of The Mill.'" In the 2005 publication ''

NME Originals The NME Originals is a collection of articles and reviews from the ''NME'' and '' Melody Maker'' magazines about one band or genre. The first issue was about the Beatles, published on 3 April 2002. Many issues in the series were produced by ''NME'' ...

: Beatles – The Solo Years 1970–1980'', Adrian Thrills names "See Yourself" as a highlight of ''Thirty Three & 1/3'', an album that was an "upbeat affair that seemed to restore Harrison's love for music".Chris Hunt (ed.), ''

: Beatles – The Solo Years 1970–1980'', IPC Ignite! (London, 2005), p. 22. Writing for ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'' magazine, John Harris describes the song as "a revived lost oldie" and "an intriguingly sympathetic look at Paul's 1967 admission that he'd taken acid".John Harris, "Beware of Darkness", ''

'', November 2011, p. 82.

Personnel

– vocals, acoustic guitars,

, tambourine, backing vocals *

– pianos, synthesizer * Gary Wright – keyboards, synthesizer * Willie Weeks – bass * Alvin Taylor – drums

Notes

References

Sources

* Dale C. Allison Jr., ''The Love There That's Sleeping: The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison'', Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ). * Keith Badman, ''The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001'', Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ). * The Beatles, ''Anthology'', Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA, 2000; ). * Roy Carr & Tony Tyler, ''The Beatles: An Illustrated Record'', Trewin Copplestone Publishing (London, 1978; ). * Alan Clayson, ''George Harrison'', Sanctuary (London, 2003; ). * Stephen Davis, ''Old Gods Almost Dead: The 40-Year Odyssey of the Rolling Stones'', Broadway Books (New York, NY, 2001; ). * Peter Doggett, ''You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup'', It Books (New York, NY, 2011; ). * The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', ''Harrison'', Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002; ). * Geoffrey Giuliano, ''Dark Horse: The Life and Art of George Harrison'', Da Capo Press (Cambridge, MA, 1997; ). * George Harrison, ''I Me Mine'', Chronicle Books (San Francisco, CA, 2002; ). * Mark Hertsgaard, ''A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles'', Pan Books (London, 1996; ). * Elliot J. Huntley, ''Mystical One: George Harrison – After the Break-up of the Beatles'', Guernica Editions (Toronto, ON, 2006; ). * Ian Inglis, ''The Words and Music of George Harrison'', Praeger (Santa Barbara, CA, 2010; ). * Peter Lavezzoli, ''The Dawn of Indian Music in the West'', Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; ). * Simon Leng, ''While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison'', Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; ). * Ian MacDonald, ''Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties'', Pimlico (London, 1998; ). * Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, ''Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium'', 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; ). * Barry Miles, ''The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years'', Omnibus Press (London, 2001; ). * Philip Norman, ''John Lennon: The Life'', Ecco (New York, NY, 2009; ). * Robert Rodriguez, ''Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980'', Backbeat Books (Milwaukee, WI, 2010; ). * Nicholas Schaffner, ''The Beatles Forever'', McGraw-Hill (New York, NY, 1978; ). * Howard Sounes, ''Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney'', HarperCollins (London, 2010; ). * Gary Tillery, ''Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison'', Quest Books (Wheaton, IL, 2011; ). * Bob Woffinden, ''The Beatles Apart'', Proteus (London, 1981; ). {{Thirty Three & 1/3 1976 songs George Harrison songs Songs written by George Harrison Song recordings produced by George Harrison Music published by Oops Publishing and Ganga Publishing, B.V. Indian mythology in music Paramahansa Yogananda