"Within You Without You" is a song by the English rock band
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 ...
from their 1967 album ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. Written by lead guitarist
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 ...
, it was his second composition in the
Indian classical
Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were no ...
style, after "
Love You To
"Love You To" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album '' Revolver''. The song was written and sung by George Harrison and features Indian instrumentation such as sitar and tabla. Following Harrison's introduction ...
", and inspired by his stay in India in late 1966 with his mentor and
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 ...
teacher
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 ...
. Recorded in London without the other Beatles, it features Indian instrumentation such as sitar,
tambura,
dilruba
The dilruba (also spelt dilrupa) is a bowed musical instrument originating in India. It is slightly larger than an esraj and has a larger, square resonance box. The dilruba holds particular importance in Sikh history.
It became more widely k ...
and
tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
, and was performed by Harrison and members of the
Asian Music Circle
The Asian Music Circle (sometimes abbreviated to AMC) was an organisation founded in London, England, in 1946, that promoted Indian and other Asian styles of music, dance and culture in the West. The AMC is credited with having facilitated the assi ...
. The recording marked a significant departure from the Beatles' previous work; musically, it evokes the Indian devotional tradition, while the overtly spiritual quality of the lyrics reflects Harrison's absorption in
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
philosophy and the teachings of the
Vedas
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
.
The song was Harrison's only composition on ''Sgt. Pepper'', although his endorsement of Indian culture was further reflected in the inclusion of
yogi
A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...
s such as
Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowsh ...
among the crowd depicted on the album's cover. With the worldwide success of the album, "Within You Without You" presented Indian classical music to a new audience in the West and contributed to the genre's peak in international popularity. It also influenced the philosophical direction of many of Harrison's peers during an era of
utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
n idealism marked by 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. ...
. The song has traditionally received a varied response from music critics, some of whom find it lacklustre and pretentious, while others admire its musical authenticity and consider its message to be the most meaningful on ''Sgt. Pepper''. Writing for ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'',
David Fricke
David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...
described the track as "at once beautiful and severe, a magnetic sermon about materialism and communal responsibility in the middle of a record devoted to gentle Technicolor anarchy".
For the Beatles' 2006 remix album ''
Love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
'', the song was mixed with the
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 ...
-written "
Tomorrow Never Knows
"Tomorrow Never Knows" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released in August 1966 as the final track on their album ''Revolver'', although it was the firs ...
", creating what some reviewers consider to be that project's most successful
mashup.
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
,
Rainer Ptacek
Rainer Ptacek, also known mononymously as Rainer (June 7, 1951 – November 12, 1997), was a German-American guitarist and singer-songwriter based in Tucson, Arizona for much of his adult life. His guitar technique, which incorporated slide, f ...
,
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
,
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946)
is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''.
Called the "punk poe ...
,
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...
and
the Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (keyb ...
are among the artists who have covered "Within You Without You".
Background and inspiration
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 ...
began writing "Within You Without You" in early 1967 while at the house of musician and artist
Klaus Voormann
Klaus Otto Wilhelm Voormann (born 29 April 1938) is a German artist, musician, and record producer.
Voormann was the bassist for Manfred Mann from 1966 to 1969, and performed as a session musician on a host of recordings, including "You're So V ...
, in the north London suburb of
Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...
. Harrison's immediate inspiration for the song came from a conversation they had shared over dinner about the
metaphysical
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
space that prevents individuals from recognising the natural forces uniting the world. Following this discussion, Harrison worked out the song's melody on a
harmonium
The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...
and came up with the opening line: "We were talking about the space between us all".
![Char Chinar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Char_Chinar.jpg)
The song was Harrison's second composition to be explicitly influenced by
Indian classical music
Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...
, after "
Love You To
"Love You To" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album '' Revolver''. The song was written and sung by George Harrison and features Indian instrumentation such as sitar and tabla. Following Harrison's introduction ...
", which featured Indian instruments such as
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 ...
,
tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
and
tambura. Since recording the latter track for
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 ...
' ''
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 ...
'' in April 1966, Harrison had continued to look outside his role as the band's lead guitarist, further immersing himself in studying the sitar, partly under the tutelage of master sitarist
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 ...
. Harrison said that the tune for "Within You Without You" came about through his regularly performing musical exercises known as
sargam, which use the same
scales
Scale or scales may refer to:
Mathematics
* Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points
* Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original
* Scale factor, a number w ...
as those found in Indian
raga
A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...
s.
"Within You Without You" is the first of Harrison's many songs to include
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
spiritual concepts in his lyrics. Having incorporated elements of Eastern philosophy in "Love You To", Harrison became fascinated by ancient Hindu teachings after he and his wife,
Pattie Boyd
Patricia Anne Boyd (born 17 March 1944) is an English model and photographer. She was one of the leading international models during the 1960s and, with Jean Shrimpton, epitomised the British female look of the era. Boyd married George Harri ...
, visited Shankar in India in September–October 1966. Intent on mastering the sitar, Harrison first joined other students of Shankar's in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, until local fans and the press learned of his arrival. Harrison, Boyd, Shankar and the latter's partner,
Kamala Chakravarty, then relocated to a houseboat on
Dal Lake
Dal is a lake in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is an urban lake, the second largest lake in Jammu and Kashmir, and the most visited place in Srinagar by tourists and locals. It is integral to tourism and recreation in th ...
in
Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...
, Kashmir. There, Harrison received personal tuition from Shankar while absorbing religious texts such as
Paramahansa Yogananda
Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowsh ...
's ''
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. ...
'' and
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...
's ''
Raja Yoga
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...
''. This period coincided with his introduction to
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 ...
and, during their visit to
Vrindavan
Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...
, he witnessed
communal chanting for the first time.
Harrison and Boyd returned to England on 22 October, and continued to adhere to a Hindu-aligned lifestyle of yoga, meditation and
vegetarianism
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter.
Vegetarianism may ...
at their home in
Esher
Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole.
Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up ...
. The education Harrison received in India, particularly regarding the illusory nature of the material world, resonated with his experiences with the hallucinogenic drug
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
(commonly known as "acid"), and informed his lyrics to "Within You Without You". Having considered leaving the Beatles after the completion of their
third US tour, on 29 August 1966, he instead gained a philosophical perspective on the effects of the band's international fame. He later attributed "Within You Without You" to his having "fallen under the spell of the country" after experiencing the "pure essence of India" through Shankar's guidance.
Composition
Music
The song follows the pitches of
Khamaj
Khamaj () is a Hindustani classical Music raga within the Khamaj thaat which is named after it.
Many ghazals and thumris are based on Khamaj. It utilises the shuddha (pure) form of Ni on the ascent, and the komala (flat) form of Ni on the desce ...
thaat
A Thaat () is a "Parent scale" in North Indian or Hindustani music. It is the Hindustani equivalent of the term ''Melakartha raga'' of Carnatic Music. The concept of the ''thaat'' is not exactly equivalent to the western musical scale because t ...
, the Indian equivalent of
Mixolydian mode
Mixolydian mode may refer to one of three things: the name applied to one of the ancient Greek ''harmoniai'' or ''tonoi'', based on a particular octave species or scale; one of the medieval church modes; or a modern musical mode or diatonic scal ...
. Written and performed in the
tonic key of C (but subsequently
sped up to C on the official recording), it features what musicologist Dominic Pedler terms an "exotic" melody over a constant C-G "root-fifth"
drone
Drone most commonly refers to:
* Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg
* Unmanned aerial vehicle
* Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft
* Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone
Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to:
...
, which is neither
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
nor
minor
Minor may refer to:
* Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities.
** A person who has not reached the age of majority
* Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education
Music theory
*Minor chord
** Barb ...
in mode. Based on a piece that Shankar had written for
All India Radio
All or ALL may refer to:
Language
* All, an indefinite pronoun in English
* All, one of the English determiners
* Allar language (ISO 639-3 code)
* Allative case (abbreviated ALL)
Music
* All (band), an American punk rock band
* ''All'' (All a ...
, the structure of the composition adheres to the
Hindustani musical tradition and demonstrates Harrison's advances in the Indian classical genre since "Love You To".
Following a brief
alap
The Alap (; ) is the opening section of a typical North Indian classical performance. It is a form of melodic improvisation that introduces and develops a raga. In dhrupad singing the alap is unmetered, improvised (within the raga) and unaccompani ...
, which serves to introduce the song's main musical themes, "Within You Without You" comprises three distinct sections: two verses and a chorus; an extended instrumental passage; and a final verse and chorus.
The alap consists of tambura drone, over which the main melody is outlined on
dilruba
The dilruba (also spelt dilrupa) is a bowed musical instrument originating in India. It is slightly larger than an esraj and has a larger, square resonance box. The dilruba holds particular importance in Sikh history.
It became more widely k ...
, a bow-played string instrument that Boyd began learning in India. Throughout the vocal section of the song – the
gat, in traditional Indian terms – the rhythm is a 16-beat
tintal
Teentaal (alternatively spelled tintal, teental, or tintaal, and also called trital; Hindi: तीन ताल) is the most common '' taal'' of Hindustani Classical Music, and is used for ''drut'' (fast tempo). It is symmetrical and presents a ...
in
madhya laya Madhya laya or Madhyalaya is a medium tempo of a rhythm in Indian classical music.
Medium tempo, a speed between 80 and 160 mātrās per minute. While Madhya laya is sometimes confused with Vilambit and vice versa, it is about two beats per second. ...
(medium tempo). The vocal line is supported throughout by dilruba, in the manner of a
sarangi
The sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument played in traditional music from South Asia – Punjabi folk music, Rajasthani folk music, and Boro folk music (there known as the ''serja'') – in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. It is ...
echoing the melody in a
khyal
Khyal or Khayal (ख़याल / خیال) is a major form of Hindustani classical music in the Indian subcontinent. Its name comes from a Persian/Arabic word meaning "imagination". Khyal is associated with romantic poetry, and allows the perfo ...
piece. The first three words of each verse ("We were talking") have a
tritone
In music theory, the tritone is defined as a musical interval composed of three adjacent whole tones (six semitones). For instance, the interval from F up to the B above it (in short, F–B) is a tritone as it can be decomposed into the three a ...
interval (E to B), which, in Pedler's view, enhances the spiritual dissonance that Harrison expresses in his lyrics.
Over the instrumental passage, the tabla rhythm switches to a 10-beat
jhaptal
Jhaptal is a tala of Hindustani music. It presents quite a different rhythmical structure from Teental, unlike which it is not symmetrical. It is used in madhyalay (medium-tempo) Khyal.
Arrangement
Jhaptal is a 10-beat pattern used in raga expos ...
cycle. A musical dialogue ensues in time, first between the dilruba and sitar, then between a Western
string section and sitar. The interplay between these instruments follows the call-and-response tradition of Indian classical music, known as jawab-sawal. The passage resolves in melodic unison as the instruments together state a
rhythmic cadence
In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (19 ...
, or
tihai
''Tihai'' (pronounced ti-'ha-yi) is a polyrhythmic technique found in Indian classical music, and often used to conclude a piece. Tihais can be either sung or played on an instrument. Tihais are sometimes used to distort the listeners’ percept ...
, to close the middle segment. After this, the drone is again prominent as the rhythm returns to 16-beat tintal for the final verse and chorus. On the finished recording, the tonal and spiritual tension is relieved by the inclusion of muted
canned laughter
A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...
.
In his book ''Indian Music and the West'', Gerry Farrell writes of "Within You Without You": "The overall effect is of several disparate strands of Indian music being woven together to create a new form. It is a quintessential fusion of pop and Indian music." Peter Lavezzoli, author of ''The Dawn of Indian Music in the West'', describes the song as "a survey of Indian classical and semiclassical styles" in which "the diverse elements ... are skillfully woven together into an interesting hybrid. If anything, the closest comparison that might be made is to the Hindu devotional song form known as ''
bhajan
Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
''."
Lyrics
![George Harrison Chanting Hare Krishna](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/George_Harrison_Chanting_Hare_Krishna.jpg)
According to
Religion News Service
Religion News Service (RNS) is a news agency covering religion, ethics, spirituality and moral issues. It publishes news, information, and commentaries on faiths and religious movements to newspapers, magazines, broadcast organizations and religio ...
writer Steve Rabey, "Within You Without You" "contrast
Western individualism with Eastern
monism
Monism attributes oneness or singleness (Greek: μόνος) to a concept e.g., existence. Various kinds of monism can be distinguished:
* Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., i ...
".
The lyrics convey basic tenets of
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...
philosophy, particularly in Harrison's reference to the concept of
maya
Maya may refer to:
Civilizations
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (Ethiopia), a populat ...
(the illusory nature of existence), in the lines "And the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion / Never glimpse the truth". Author Joshua Greene paraphrases the song-wide message as: "A wall of illusion separates us from each other ... which only turns our love for one another cold. Peace will come when we learn to see past the illusion of differences and come to know that we are one ..." The solution espoused by Harrison is for individuals to see beyond the self and each seek change within, further to Vivekananda's contention in ''Raja Yoga'' that "Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest that divinity ..." According to
ethnomusicologist David Reck, aside from the reference to maya, the lyrics convey Indian philosophical concepts such as
advait (the one essential reality),
satya (perception of truth) and, in the line "With our love we could save the world", universal love.
At times in the song, Harrison distances himself from those who live in ignorance of these apparent truths – saying, "If they only knew" and asking the listener, "Are you one of them?" In the final verse, he quotes from the gospels of
St Matthew and
St Mark, lamenting those who "gain the world and lose their soul". Author
Ian MacDonald
Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was a British music critic and author, best known for both ''Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed techniques from a ...
defends the "accusatory finger" behind such statements, saying that, within the ideology of the emerging
1960s counterculture, "this is a token of what was then felt to be a revolution in progress: an inner revolution against materialism".
The transcendental theme of Harrison's lyrics aligned with the philosophy behind the 1967
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. ...
– namely, the search for universality and an ego-less existence. Author Ian Inglis considers the line "With our love we could save the world" to be a "cogent reflection" of the Summer of Love ethos, anticipating the
utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
n message of Harrison's composition "
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''. Written by George Harrison in 1967, it conveys the ideological themes of that year's Summer of Love. The Beatles recorded the track ...
" and the
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 ...
-written "
All You Need Is Love
"All You Need Is Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in July 1967. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was Britain's contribution t ...
". Inglis adds, with reference to the chorus: "The lyrics are given greater depth by the double meaning of ''without'' – 'in the absence of' and 'outside' – each of which is perfectly applicable to the song's sentiments."
Production
Recording
Harrison recorded "Within You Without You" for the Beatles' ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', an album based around
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 vision of a fictitious band that would serve as the Beatles'
alter ego
An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...
s after their decision to quit touring. Harrison had little interest in McCartney's concept; he later admitted that, following his return from India, "my heart was still out there", and working with the Beatles again "felt like going backwards". He presented the song after it was decided to exclude his composition "
Only a Northern Song
"Only a Northern Song" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 soundtrack album '' Yellow Submarine''. Written by George Harrison, it was the first of four songs the band provided for the 1968 animated film '' Yellow Sub ...
", which the Beatles recorded in February 1967. In contrast to his prominence as a songwriter on ''Revolver'', "Within You Without You" was Harrison's sole composition on ''Sgt. Pepper''.
The recording features musical contributions from only Harrison, Beatles aide
Neil Aspinall
Neil Stanley Aspinall (13 October 1941 24 March 2008) was a British music industry executive. A school friend of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, he went on to head the Beatles' company Apple Corps.
The Beatles employed Aspinall first as th ...
, and a group of London-based Indian musicians. As with his Indian accompanists on "Love You To", Harrison sourced these contributors through the
Asian Music Circle
The Asian Music Circle (sometimes abbreviated to AMC) was an organisation founded in London, England, in 1946, that promoted Indian and other Asian styles of music, dance and culture in the West. The AMC is credited with having facilitated the assi ...
in north London. Harrison missed a Beatles recording session to attend one of Shankar's London concerts, an absence that served as part of his preparation for recording "Within You Without You".
MacDonald describes the song as "Stylistically ... the most distant departure from the staple Beatles sound in their discography". The basic track was recorded on 15 March 1967 at
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 corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
's
Abbey Road
''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It is the last album the group started recording, although ''Let It Be'' was the last album completed before the band's break-up in April 1970. It was mostly re ...
studio 2 in London. The participants sat on a carpet in the studio, which was decorated with Indian tapestries on the walls, with the lights turned low and incense burning. Harrison and Aspinall each played a tambura, while the Indian musicians contributed on tabla, dilruba and tambura. Musicologist Michael Hannan comments that, relative to standard Indian practice, the use of three tamburas produces "a denser-than-usual, pulsating
jivari
''Javārī'', (also: 'joārī', 'juvārī', 'jvārī' (alternately transcribed 'jawārī', 'jowārī', 'joyārī', 'juwārī', and 'jwārī')) in Indian classical music refers to the overtone-rich "buzzing" sound characteristic of classical In ...
" (or "buzzing sound"), highlighting the naturally rich
harmonic
A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...
s of the instrument.
The session was also attended by Lennon, artist
Peter Blake, and
John Barham
John Barham is an English classical pianist, composer, arranger, producer and educator. He is best known for his orchestration of George Harrison albums such as ''All Things Must Pass'' (1970) and for his association with Indian sitar maestro R ...
, an English classical pianist and student of Shankar who shared Harrison's desire to promote Indian music to Western audiences. In Barham's recollection, Harrison "had the entire structure of the song mapped out in his head" and sang the melody that he wanted the dilruba player to follow. The twin hand-drums of the tabla were
close-miked by recording engineer
Geoff Emerick
Geoffrey Ernest Emerick (5 December 1945 – 2 October 2018) was an English sound engineer and record producer who worked with the Beatles on their albums ''Revolver'' (1966), ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (1967) and ''Abbey Road'' ...
, in order to capture what he later described as "the texture and the lovely low resonances" of the instrument.
Overdubbing and mixing
![Dilruba woman](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Dilruba_woman.jpg)
The first of two
overdubbing
Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...
sessions for "Within You Without You" took place at Abbey Road on 22 March. Two more dilruba parts were added that day, after which a
reduction mix was carried out, to allow for further overdubs onto the
four-track recording. The completed track also includes an Indian
zither
Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...
or harp, known as a
swarmandal
The ''swarmandal'' ( hi, स्वरमण्डल ), ''surmandal,'' or Indian harp is a plucked box zither, originating from India, similar to the qanun that is today most commonly used as an accompanying instrument for vocal Indian classi ...
. Played by Harrison,
the swarmandal provides the
glissando
In music, a glissando (; plural: ''glissandi'', abbreviated ''gliss.'') is a glide from one pitch to another (). It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French ''glisser'', "to glide". In some contexts, it is distinguished from the co ...
flourishes that introduce the tabla during the song's alap and signal the return to 16-beat tintal before the final verse.
Producer
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...
then arranged the string orchestration, for eight violins and three cellos, based on Harrison's instructions. The pair worked hard together on the arrangement, ensuring that Martin's score imitated the slides and bends of the dilrubas. The orchestral parts, performed by members of the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
, were added on 3 April. During the same session, Harrison recorded his vocal and a sitar part, the solo of which, in the description of music critic
David Fricke
David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...
, "sings and swings with the clarity and phrasing of his best
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
-fired guitar work". Harrison also overdubbed occasional interjections on acoustic guitar.
On 4 April, while preparing the final
mixes of the song, in stereo and mono, Harrison added crowd laughter taken from a
sound effects
A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditi ...
tape in the Abbey Road library. Martin and Emerick were both opposed to this addition but deferred to Harrison, who later said that the laughter provided "some light relief", adding: "You were supposed to hear the audience anyway, as they listen to Sergeant Pepper's Show." The completed recording was enhanced in the mixes through the liberal application of
automatic double tracking
Automatic double-tracking or artificial double-tracking (ADT) is an analogue recording technique designed to enhance the sound of voices or instruments during the mixing process. It uses tape delay to create a delayed copy of an audio signal wh ...
. Before Harrison recorded his vocals the previous day, the track had been edited and then sped up so that its length was reduced from 6:25 to 5:05. In the process, the song's key was raised a
semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically.
It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...
, to C.
Release
''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' was released on 26 May 1967, with "Within You Without You" sequenced as the opening track on side two of the
LP. Greene notes that for many listeners at the time, the song provided their "first meaningful contact with meditative sound". In his 1977 book ''The Beatles Forever'',
Nicholas Schaffner
Nicholas Schaffner (January 28, 1953 – August 28, 1991) was an American non-fiction author, journalist, and singer-songwriter.
Biography
Schaffner was born in Manhattan to John V. Schaffner (1913–1983), a literary agent whose clients includ ...
likened "Within You Without You" to
Hermann Hesse
Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', ''Steppenwolf (novel), Steppenwolf'', ''Siddhartha (novel), Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', ...
's ''
Siddhartha'' – an influential novel among the counterculture during the Summer of Love – in terms of the song's evocation of Hesse's "idealization of individuality" and "vision of a mysterious East". Eager to separate the song's message from the LSD experience at a time when the drug had grown in popularity and influence, Harrison told an interviewer: "It's nothing to do with pills ... It's just in your own head, the realisation."
Although Harrison later spoke dismissively of the ''Sgt. Pepper'' project and its legacy, he conceded that he had enjoyed working on the record's
iconic cover.
[ Available a]
Rock's Backpages
(subscription required). For this, he asked Blake to include pictures of four Indian
yogi
A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...
s – Yogananda,
Mahavatar Babaji
Mahavatar Babaji (; ) is the name given to his guru by Indian yogi Yogiraj Lahiri Mahasaya (1828-1895), and several of his disciples, who reportedly appeared to them between 1861 and 1935, as described in various publications and biographi ...
,
Lahiri Mahasaya
Charan Lahiri (30 September 1828 – 26 September 1895), best known as Lahiri Mahasaya, was an Indian yogi guru who founded the Kriya Yoga school. In 1861, his non-physical master Mahavatar Babaji appeared to him, ordering him to reviv ...
and
Sri Yukteswar
Sri Yukteswar Giri (also written Sriyuktesvara, Sri Yukteshwar) (Devanagari: ) (10 May 1855 – 9 March 1936) is the monastic name of Priya Nath Karar (also spelled as Priya Nath Karada and Preonath Karar), an Indian monk and yogi, and the g ...
– among the crowd surrounding the Beatles; as a further Indian detail, a four-armed idol of the Hindu goddess
Lakshmi
Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...
was placed in the garlands of flowers at the bottom of the image. Among the song's lyrics, printed on the back cover, the positioning of the words "Without You" beside McCartney's head served as a clue in the
Paul Is Dead
"Paul is dead" is an urban legend and conspiracy theory alleging that English musician Paul McCartney of the Beatles died on 9 November 1966 and was secretly replaced by a look-alike. The rumour began circulating in 1967, gaining broad popular ...
rumour,
which grew in the United States partly as a result of the Beatles' failure to perform live after 1966.
In 1971 the song was issued as the title track of an
EP release in Mexico.
Part of a series of Beatles releases sequenced by Lennon, the EP also included the Harrison-written tracks "Love You To", "
The Inner Light" and "
I Want to Tell You". In 1978 "Within You Without You" appeared as the
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
to the "
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"/"
With a Little Help from My Friends
"With a Little Help from My Friends" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, from their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and sung by drummer Ringo Starr (as Sgt. Pe ...
" medley, on singles released in
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
and some other European countries. An instrumental version of the track, at the original speed and in the key of C, appeared on the Beatles' 1996
outtake
An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DV ...
s compilation ''
Anthology 2
''Anthology 2'' is a compilation album by the Beatles, released on 18 March 1996 by Apple Records as part of ''The Beatles Anthology'' series. It features rarities, outtakes and live performances from the 1965 sessions for ''Help!'' to the sessi ...
''.
Critical reception
Contemporary reviews
Recalling the song's release in his book ''The Beatles Diary'',
Barry Miles
Barry Miles (born 21 February 1943) is an English author known for his participation in and writing on the subjects of the 1960s London underground and counterculture. He is the author of numerous books and his work has also regularly appeare ...
writes: "Some thought it a masterpiece, some a prime example of mock-philosophical babble. Either way, it was pure Harrison." David Griffiths of ''
Record Mirror
''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...
'' praised the album's musical and lyrical scope, which included "life-enhancing philosophy", and added: "George Harrison's 'Within You Without You' is a beautifully successful and adventurous statement in song of a Yoga truth." ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
''s music critic similarly admired the Beatles for "explor
ngfarther reaches in the musical firmament" and described Harrison's composition as a "memorable" track. In one of the few unfavourable reviews for ''Sgt. Pepper'',
Richard Goldstein, writing in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', said the song was "remarkable" musically and a highlight of the album, yet he considered the lyrics "dismal" and full of "the very clichés the Beatles helped bury". Allen Evans of the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' found the "deep, rich rhythm" of the tabla "most appealing", although he bemoaned that it was difficult to decipher the lyrics "because they merge with the sitar music so closely".
According to the Beatles' official biographer,
Hunter Davies
Edward Hunter Davies (born 7 January 1936) is a British author, journalist and broadcaster. His books include the only authorised biography of the Beatles.
Early life
Davies was born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, to Scottish parents. For four ...
, writing in 1968, some contemporary reviewers speculated that the burst of laughter at the end of "Within You Without You" was inserted by Harrison's bandmates to mock the song. Davies corrected this misconception, saying: "It was completely George's idea." In a review published five months after the release of ''Sgt. Pepper'', ''
Hit Parader
''Hit Parader'' was an American music magazine that operated between 1942 and 2008. A monthly publication, it focused on rock and pop music in general until the 1970s, when its focus began turning to hard rock and heavy metal. By the early 1980s ...
'' considered that the album had not endured as well as the Beatles' previous works, and opined: "Harrison has produced a soothing, sinuous, exotic sound for 'Within You Without You'. But even though his repetitious recitation of elementary Far Eastern philosophy is probably intended to reflect the infinity of the universe, it soon becomes a bit monotonous. The laughter at the end seems to be deflating the pretentiousness of the lyrics."
Retrospective assessment
The song has continued to invite widely diverse opinions. Among the most unfavourable assessments, author and critic
Tim Riley, writing in 1988, dismissed "Within You Without You" as "directionless", adding that it was difficult to conceive how "lines such as 'Life flows on within you and without you' were taken seriously". He also said that the song was "the most dated piece on the record ...
ndcould easily have been left off with little to no effect" on the album. In a 2009 review, Alex Young of ''
Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
'' grouped it with the "major clunkers" on ''Sgt. Pepper''. Conversely, Ian Inglis considers the song to be "absolutely central to the form and content" of its parent album, and Ian MacDonald views it as the "conscience" of ''Sgt. Pepper'' and "the necessary sermon that comes with the community singing". Musicologist Russell Reising writes that Harrison's song provides the exception on ''Sgt. Pepper'', where the Beatles otherwise "retreated lyrically into predominantly banal, occasionally schmaltzy, and often trivial vignettes". Author and critic
Kenneth Womack
Kenneth Womack (born January 24, 1966) is an American writer, literary critic, public speaker, and music historian, particularly focusing on the cultural influence of the Beatles. He is the author of the bestselling ''Solid State: The Story of A ...
terms it "quite arguably, the album's ethical soul".
Writing for
Rough Guides
Rough Guides Ltd is a British travel guide book and reference publisher, which has been owned by APA Publications since November 2017. In addition to publishing guidebooks, the company also provides a tailor-made trips service based on customer ...
, Chris Ingham admires the track as "beautifully put together"; he describes it as both "some of the most exotic music released under The Beatles' name" and a "philosophical meditation on life and love beyond self ...
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
once surrendered to, is a central part of the ''Pepper'' experience". In his book on the history of
ambient music
Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...
, Mark Prendergast includes "Within You Without You" among the album's "three outstanding cuts" and deems it to be "the most timeless piece of dronal psychedelia ever recorded".
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
critic
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.
Life and writing
Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...
admires the melody, but he considers the track overlong and notes the potential for offence in this, "the first Beatles song where
arrison'sIndian religious beliefs affected the lyrics with full force".
Musicologist Allan Moore says that Harrison's "command of the quasi-Indian medium is of a very high order" and, with regard to the song's message, he writes: "In its explicit, prescient call to the
me-generation, perhaps 'Within You Without You' is a key track
n the album
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
nbsp;... expressing the deepest commitment to the counter-culture." ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' Ross Langager has attributed a similar significance to the track:
''Sgt. Pepper'' is about Britain, and the Summer of Love was always about America. The only song on the album that approaches the ideology and rhetoric of the hippie counterculture was George Harrison's sole contribution, the lush sitar-washed "Within You Without You", and it follows that Harrison was the only Beatle to have visited Haight-Ashbury
Haight-Ashbury () is a district of San Francisco, California, named for the intersection of Haight and Ashbury streets. It is also called The Haight and The Upper Haight. The neighborhood is known as one of the main centers of the counterculture ...
at the peak of the scene. Even then, Eastern philosophy informed the lyric more deeply than did acid culture, and it's still a dense and stunning composition no matter its ideology.
Writing for ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' in 2002, David Fricke included "Within You Without You" on his list of the "25 Essential Harrison Performances". He described it as, variously, the Beatles' "purest excursion ... into raga", and "at once beautiful and severe, a magnetic sermon about materialism and communal responsibility in the middle of a record devoted to gentle Technicolor anarchy". In his review of the 50th anniversary edition of ''Sgt. Pepper'' for the same publication,
Mikal Gilmore
Mikal Gilmore (born February 9, 1951 in Portland, Oregon) is an American writer and music journalist.
Writing career
In the 1970s Gilmore began writing music articles and criticism for ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. In 1999, his ''Night Beat: A Shado ...
said that only "Within You Without You" and Lennon's "
A Day in the Life" transcend the album's legacy as "a gestalt: a whole that was greater than the sum of its parts". In 2017, "Within You Without You" was ranked at number 50 on a list of the best Beatles songs, as compiled by the music staff of ''
Time Out London
''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide.
In 2012, the London edition becam ...
''.
Cultural influence and legacy
Harrison's interest in Indian culture was swiftly adopted by his peers as well as their audience. Author Simon Leng writes that "'Within You Without You', and Harrison's leadership of the Beatles into Vedic philosophy, sparked the entire fashion for Indian music and a million backpackers' pilgrimages to Kashmir ..."
Juan Mascaró
Joan Mascaró, generally known as Juan (8 December 1897 – 19 March 1987) was a Spanish translator. He used the Spanish spelling of his name (Juan) because the Catalan spelling (Joan) is the same as that of the female English name "Joan".
...
, a professor in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
studies at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, wrote to Harrison after the song's release, saying: "it is a moving song, and may it move the souls of millions. And there is more to come, as you are only beginning on the great journey."
According to ''
New Yorker
New Yorker or ''variant'' primarily refers to:
* A resident of the State of New York
** Demographics of New York (state)
* A resident of New York City
** List of people from New York City
* ''The New Yorker'', a magazine founded in 1925
* ''The New ...
'' journalist
Mark Hertsgaard
Mark Hertsgaard (born 1956) is an American journalist and the co-founder and executive director of Covering Climate Now. He is the environment correspondent for ''The Nation'', and the author of seven non-fiction books, including ''Earth Odyssey ...
, the lyrics to "Within You Without You" "contained the album's most overt expression of the Beatles' shared belief in spiritual awareness and social change". Harrison's espousal of Eastern philosophy dominated the group's extracurricular activities by mid 1967, and his influence within the band continued to increase. This led to the Beatles' endorsement of
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 ...
and their highly publicised attendance at
's spiritual retreat in
Rishikesh, India, early the following year.
![Sitar full](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Sitar_full.jpg)
Among other contemporary rock musicians,
Stephen Stills
Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...
was so taken with the song that he had its lyrics carved on a stone monument in his yard. Lennon also admired the track, saying of Harrison: "His mind and his music are clear. There is his innate talent, he brought that sound together."
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...
, who introduced Harrison to Shankar's music in 1965, described Harrison's fusion of ideas as "utterly brilliant", adding: "He did it beautifully and tastefully ... He did it at absolutely the highest level that he could, and I was extremely proud of him for that." Writing in the "100 Rock Icons" issue of ''
Classic Rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
'', in 2006, singer
Paul Rodgers
Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...
cited the track to support Harrison's standing as what the magazine called "the Beatles' musical medicine man". Rodgers said: "He introduced me and a generation of people worldwide to the wisdom of the East. His thought-provoking 'Within You Without You' – with sitars, tablas and deep lyrics – was something completely different, even in a world full of unique music."
Music critic
Ken Hunt describes the song as an "early landmark" in Harrison's championing of Shankar, and Indian classical music generally, which gained "real global attention" for the first time through the Beatle's commitment. Peter Lavezzoli also highlights the effect of ''Sgt. Pepper'' and its "spiritual centerpiece
Within You Without You' on Shankar's popularity, during a year that served as "the ''
annus mirabilis
''Annus mirabilis'' (pl. ''anni mirabiles'') is a Latin phrase that means "marvelous year", "wonderful year", "miraculous year", or "amazing year". This term has been used to refer to several years during which events of major importance are re ...
''" for Indian music and "a watershed moment in the West when the search for higher consciousness and an alternative world view had reached critical mass". In his Harrison obituary for ''
Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
'', in December 2001,
Ira Robbins
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...
considered "Within You Without You" to be "the song that most clearly articulated his devotion, both artistic and philosophical, to India", with a lyric that "pairs worldview and personality in lines that now seem prophetic".
Writing in 2013, ethnomusicologist Jeffrey Cupchik said that Harrison's Indian-influenced songs, particularly "Within You Without You", "marked the inception of a new 'hybridic' East–West style of music composition – a style that is immensely widespread today". Musicologist
Walter Everett lists
Spirit
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
's "Mechanical World" and
the Incredible String Band
The Incredible String Band (sometimes abbreviated as ISB) were a Scottish psychedelic folk band formed by Clive Palmer (musician), Clive Palmer, Robin Williamson and Mike Heron in Edinburgh in 1966. The band built a considerable following, esp ...
's "Maya", both released in 1968, and much of
the Moody Blues
The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to ...
' 1969 album ''
To Our Children's Children's Children
''To Our Children's Children's Children'' is the fifth album by the Moody Blues, released in November 1969.
" Watching and Waiting" was released as a single to promote the album, but sold poorly. On the other hand, "Gypsy (Of a Strange and Di ...
'' as works that were directly influenced by the song.
Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance are an Australian music duo first established in Melbourne. Currently composed of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry, the group formed in 1981. They relocated to London the following year. Australian music historian Ian McFarlane des ...
's 1996 album ''
Spiritchaser'' includes the track "Indus", the melody of which was found to be very similar to that of "Within You Without You".
The duo's singer,
Lisa Gerrard
Lisa Germaine Gerrard (; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian musician, singer and composer who rose to prominence as part of the music group Dead Can Dance with music partner Brendan Perry. She is known for her unique singing style technique ( ...
, told ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' that they had obtained Harrison's blessing but "the
ecord companypushed it", with the result that they were forced to give the former Beatle a partial songwriting credit.
In their 1978 television film satirising the Beatles' history, ''
All You Need Is Cash
''All You Need Is Cash'' (also known as ''The Rutles'') is a 1978 television film that traces (in mockumentary style) the career of a fictitious English rock group called the Rutles. As ''TV Guide'' described it, the group's resemblance to the ...
'',
the Rutles
The Rutles () were a rock band that performed visual and aural pastiches and parodies of the Beatles. This originally fictional band, created by Eric Idle and Neil Innes for a sketch in Idle's mid-1970s BBC television comedy series ''Rutland We ...
parodied "Within You Without You" on the track "Nevertheless", performed by
Rikki Fataar in the role of Stig O' Hara. Harrison himself included musical quotations from "Within You Without You" in his 1987 song "
When We Was Fab
"When We Was Fab" is a song by English musician George Harrison, which he released on his 1987 album '' Cloud Nine''. It was also issued as the second single from the album, in January 1988. The lyrics serve as a nostalgic reflection by Harriso ...
" and in the instrumental "
Marwa Blues
"Marwa Blues" is an instrumental by English rock musician George Harrison. It was released on his final studio album, '' Brainwashed'', in November 2002, a year after his death, and subsequently on a single as the B-side of " Any Road". The song ...
", released in 2002 on his final studio album, ''
Brainwashed''.
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', the
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmon ...
(RLPO) staged an event titled "George Harrison 'Within You Without You': The Story of The Beatles and Indian Music" at the
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Liverpool Philharmonic Hall is a concert hall in Hope Street, in Liverpool, England. It is the home of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed ...
.
While carrying out research for this project, academics from the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
and the
University of Sheffield
, mottoeng = To discover the causes of things
, established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions:
– Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield
, type = Pu ...
discovered the identity of the Indian musicians on the 1967 recording. The two surviving players, Buddhadev Kansara and Natwar Soni, were among the performers at the RLPO event.
''Love'' remix
"Within You Without You" was included on the 2006
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
album ''
Love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
'',
which was created for the
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...
stage show of the same name. Harrison's vocal appears over the
rhythm section
A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band.
The rhythm sec ...
from "
Tomorrow Never Knows
"Tomorrow Never Knows" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released in August 1966 as the final track on their album ''Revolver'', although it was the firs ...
",
after the track opens with Lennon's lyric from the latter song. Reviewing the album for ''PopMatters'', Zeth Lundy writes: "The 'Within You Without You'/'Tomorrow Never Knows' mash-up, perhaps the most thrilling and effective track on the entire disc, fuses two especially transcendental songs into one: ... a union of two ambiguous, open-ended declarations of spiritual pursuit." Paul Moody of ''
Uncut
Uncut may refer to:
* ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship
* ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997
* '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' similarly considers it to be the "best of all" the mashups on ''Love'', with the two tracks' "cosmic drones ... fitted together like a glove".
In their chapter on the Beatles' psychedelic period in ''The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles'', authors Russell Reising and Jim LeBlanc describe "Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows" as "the most musically and visually stunning segment" of the Cirque du Soleil show.
Remixed and remastered by George Martin and his son
Giles, "Within You Without You"/"Tomorrow Never Knows" was the first track prepared for ''Love''.
Speaking to ''
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 in December 2006, Giles Martin said that he had first created a demo combining the two songs, which he then nervously presented to McCartney and
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 ...
for their approval. In Martin's recollection, "they loved it", which allowed the project to proceed. A video clip of the completed track was made to promote the album and was included on the 2015 DVD ''
1+''. The ''Love'' remix is one of the songs in ''
The Beatles: Rock Band''.
Cover versions
Big Jim Sullivan
James George Tomkins (14 February 1941 – 2 October 2012), known professionally as Big Jim Sullivan, was an English musician whose career started in 1958.
He was best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was one of t ...
, a British session guitarist who became proficient on the sitar, included "Within You Without You" on his album of Indian music-style recordings, titled ''Sitar Beat'' and first released in 1967. In the same year,
the Soulful Strings
The Soulful Strings were an American soul-jazz instrumental group formed in Chicago in 1966. Predominantly a studio band, the project was created and led by Richard Evans, a staff producer and musical arranger with the Chess Records subsidiary C ...
recorded the song for their album ''
Groovin' with the Soulful Strings
''Groovin' with the Soulful Strings'' is the second album by the American soul-jazz instrumental group the Soulful Strings. It was released in October 1967 on the Cadet record label, a subsidiary of Chess Records. The album includes the hit sing ...
'', a version that also appeared on the B-side of their most successful single, "Burning Spear".
![SonicYouth](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/SonicYouth.JPG)
In 1988,
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...
recorded "Within You Without You" for the ''NME''s multi-artist tribute ''
Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father
''Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father'' is a 1988 multi-artist compilation LP/cassette of 1980s artists recording new versions of the songs on The Beatles album ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. The album was produced by the ''New Musical Expre ...
''.
Fricke highlights this recording as an example of how, regardless of its Indian origins, the composition can be interpreted on electric guitar effectively and "with transportive force". In 2007, the staff of the pop culture website ''
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
'' placed Sonic Youth's version at number 2 in their list titled "Our Ten Favorite Beatles Covers of All Time".
Big Daddy covered the song on their 1992 ''Sgt. Pepper'' tribute album, a release that Moore recognises as "the most audacious" of the many interpretations of the Beatles' 1967 LP. Moore says that "Within You Without You" serves as the album's "cleverest pastiche", performed in a
free jazz
Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...
style reminiscent of
Ornette Coleman
Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...
or
Don Cherry
Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...
. Other acts who have covered the song for ''Sgt. Pepper'' tributes include
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
, on a
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
project celebrating the album's 40th anniversary (2007);
Easy Star All-Stars
Easy Star All-Stars is a reggae collective founded in 1997 by Michael Goldwasser, Eric Smith, Lem Oppenheimer and Remy Gerstein of New York City-based Easy Star Records. The band is known for its reinterpretations of classic albums in reggae styl ...
(featuring
Matisyahu
Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer
Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum mac ...
), on ''
Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band
''Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band'' is a dub reggae tribute to the Beatles' album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', by the Easy Star All-Stars. It was released on April 14, 2009.
Track listing
#" Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club B ...
'' (2009);
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...
, on their ''
Sgt. Pepper Live'' DVD (2009); and
the Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (keyb ...
, with featured guests Birdflower and Morgan Delt, on ''
With a Little Help from My Fwends
''With a Little Help from My Fwends'' is the second main album of the "Fwends" series by American rock band the Flaming Lips. It is a track-for-track tribute to the Beatles album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', with guest performers ...
'' (2014). A recording by
Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Big Head Todd and The Monsters are a rock band formed by Todd Mohr, Brian Nevin, and Rob Squires in 1986 in Colorado. The band has released a number of albums since 1989 with their 1993 album '' Sister Sweetly'' going platinum in the United St ...
appeared on the 2003 Harrison tribute ''
Songs from the Material World''.
Guitarist
Rainer Ptacek
Rainer Ptacek, also known mononymously as Rainer (June 7, 1951 – November 12, 1997), was a German-American guitarist and singer-songwriter based in Tucson, Arizona for much of his adult life. His guitar technique, which incorporated slide, f ...
opened his 1994 album ''Nocturnes'' with what AllMusic critic Bob Gottlieb describes as a "stunning instrumental" reading of the song, recorded live in a chapel in
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
. Writing for the same website, Brian Downing considers a 1997 version by Ptacek, released on his posthumous album ''Live at the Performance Center'', to be "perhaps one of the best unheralded Beatles covers of all time".
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946)
is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''.
Called the "punk poe ...
included it on her 2007 covers album ''
Twelve'', a version that, according to
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
could have been written for her". Other artists who have recorded "Within You Without You" include
.
According to Ian MacDonald and details released by the University of Liverpool in June 2017 (except where noted):
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