“D’ya Want Me to Come With Ya?” — The Last Words George Harrison Said to Ringo Starr

For all the myths and legends surrounding The Beatles, their story was, at its heart, about four young men from Liverpool whose lives were bound together by music, madness, and an unshakable bond. Ringo Starr, the ever-affable drummer, often served as the glue in the group — the steady presence in the middle of stormy egos and creative tensions. And while The Beatles ended in 1970, the friendships, particularly between Ringo and George Harrison, endured for decades.

By the autumn of 2001, George’s long battle with cancer was nearing its end. The “Quiet Beatle” had retreated to Switzerland, spending his final weeks surrounded by loved ones. His body was frail, but his wit and kindness remained intact. It was there that Ringo came to see him — not knowing this visit would be the last time they’d speak.

Ringo has recounted the moment with a mixture of laughter and tears. “The last weeks of George’s life, he was living in Switzerland,” he remembered, his voice catching. “He was very ill. He could only lay down. And while he was being ill and I had come to see him, I was going to Boston ’cos my daughter had a brain tumour.”

Faced with the urgency of his daughter’s illness, Ringo told George he had to leave. What came next would become etched in his heart forever. “I said, ‘I got to go to Boston,’ and he goes… it was the last words I heard him say actually… ‘D’ya want me to come with ya?’”

The suggestion was absurd — George could barely stand, let alone fly across the Atlantic — but it was also profoundly moving. In that moment, even in the depths of his own suffering, George was ready to be there for his friend. It was an offer that said more about his character than any biography could. “That’s the incredible side of George,” Ringo said simply.

Harrison died on November 29, 2001, at the age of 58. For Ringo, the loss left an ache that music alone couldn’t heal. In the days that followed, he returned to Los Angeles, where the grief fully hit him. “I’m emotional now thinking of him forty years ago talking about me on his tape and thinking of me. The four of us were great friends with a couple of side issues. And it was far out. So anyway, I didn’t know how to act… I’m such an old crybaby,” he admitted.

The friendship between Ringo and George had been particularly close in the post-Beatles years. They spoke often, collaborated when possible, and shared the same easy humour that had carried them through the band’s chaos. After George’s death, Ringo found a way to pay tribute in the way he knew best — through song.

The result was Never Without You, released in 2003 on his album Ringo Rama. Co-written with Gary Nicholson and Mark Hudson, the track was a heartfelt ode to Harrison’s memory. “Gary Nicholson started that song, and Mark brought it over, and we realised we could tailor it. George was really on my mind then,” Ringo explained. The tribute was made even more special by the presence of Eric Clapton, one of Harrison’s closest friends, who played the lead guitar part using George’s signature slide style. “George loved Eric, and Eric loved George,” Ringo said. “It just felt right.”

In the end, George Harrison’s final words to Ringo Starr weren’t about music, fame, or The Beatles. They were about friendship — the kind that remains steady through decades of change, personal battles, and the inevitability of goodbye. Even as his own time was running out, George’s first instinct was to offer help.

It was pure George: understated, generous, and utterly sincere.