A Story of a Song. Cosmic East Effect in The Beatles’ ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’

This song by the Beatles which will be one of the most popular songs was in “The White Album” released in 1968. The Beatles that were founded in 1960 and became one of the most influential bands around the world was shaping around an anti-culture which started to gain traction. Most of the songs John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison in those days had messages about universal love and peace.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ theme was that a hidden universal love towards humans is in all humans and this song was similar to other the Beatles songs like ‘All You Need is Love’ and ‘Let it Be’. The band members supported that this love was in all humans but failed to be revealed. Harrison wrote, “I am looking at you and see the love sleeping in you…1

But on contrary to other songs, this is more like a requiem. And more personal. If we look from a broader perspective, this song is an answer to some of the important political events like Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy assassinations, Pact of Warsaw and the invasion of Czechoslovakia. This shows us that the love wasn’t able to wrap around the world despite the messages in the song and popularity of these messages.

The song was written by the lead guitarist George Harrison. One of the most interest parts of the Beatles was that there were no distinct limits between the members. There was no singer, guitarist, songwriter or drummer. Four members of the band wrote songs, composed songs and sang songs. The band members were connected by Lennon and McCartney sat on the throne. Until someone shake their throne with a song… when Harrison wrote ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, he was influenced from the east in that period.

Harrison went to visit his family in Warrington short time after the Beatles members got back from their transcendental meditation break in India. He saw a Chinese book called I Ching / The Book of Change there. Harrison used these words: “According to the Eastern philosophy, no matter what happens everything has a purpose… Each small piece that came down from the heavens has as purpose. ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ was based on this theory… I took a random book, I opened it and saw “it was gently weeping”, I put down the book and started to write the song.” That might have been his lucky day. Still, Harrison showed his improving talent in one of the most loved songs of the band. As Harrison explained the Eastern philosophy embedded in the song, we also reflected the conflicting atmosphere among the band after their travel.

Harrison was the single composer of the song but we can’t deny that someone stole Harrison’s part when the song was recorded. And that person wasn’t even a Beatle. The guest singer and lead guitarist in this song was Eric Clapton. Although he was intimidated to be the part of the Beatles machine, he accepted the offer. Harrison said, “I am going to London with Eric Clapton”. And I said, “what are you doing today? Do you want to come to the studio and play this song for me?” He said, “oh no – I can’t do that”. “No foreigner ever played The Beatles song and I don’t think the others will like it.” I told him, “Look, this is my song and I want you to play it.”

In an interview with Harrison in Guitar Player Magazine in 1987, they asked whether asking Clapton to play the guitar hurt is pride. “No, my pride would prefer Eric to play the guitar. Let me tell you something. One day I worked on this song with John, Paul and Ringo and the song wasn’t interesting for them.” “And I knew that this song was a good one”.