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While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Composer(s) : Harrison
Year : 1968
Chords/Tabs: While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Notes on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (WMGGW)
Two very different versions exist of this song. One, the official release
on the White Album, is loud, heavy, wailing, and arranged in successively
recorded layers of sound. The other version, take 1, is a rather popular
track in Beatleg circles, and much the opposite in tone; introspectively
quiet and quite simply arranged, essentially for solo voice and acoustic
guitar.
And yet, one might say that the expressive core of "While My Guitar Gently
Weeps" (WMGGW) is to be found more deeply embedded in the musical elements
which are in common between the two versions* than it is to be found among
the details of their contrasting arrangements, no matter how interesting
it may be to explore and compare their details.
Within the melody, chord progressions, and formal phrasing of the song
we discover a thoroughly sad lament in which there is ironic tension on at
least two levels; first, the contrast between the ploddingly slow tempo
and continually restless progression of chords; second, the predominance
of downward-moving gestures which conjure a mood of pessimism, despite
the intermittment appearance of upward gestures which you would half-expect
to lighten things up a bit.
While the emphasis in this article will be on the so-called common musical
elements, we will also take a close look, along the way, at the
instrumentation of both versions.
[* In between these two extremes, by the way, was yet another arrangement
which has not been released officially or otherwise. From Lewisohn's
commentary it sounds rather similar to the official version would appear
to have been scrapped as a matter of its having become overdeveloped with
too many overdubs and manipulations of tape speed.]
Crying, Waiting, Hoping For A New Blue Moon
It may be fashionable sport these days to pick on the supposed Quiet One
for being rather noisily complaining in his song lyrics, but it's a game
with some basis in fact; whether the topic be lost love, the materialistic
blindness of society, or even late-arriving friends, the Beatle George would
always let us know his opinion of others.
Even so, there is an unmistakable shift toward happier songs from him, or
at least ones with a more positive world outlook, starting from around the
time of the White Album. With the exception of "Only A Northern Song" and
"I Me Mine", there is a clear trend, starting on the third side of "The
Beatles" with "Long, Long, Long", that carries on through the remainder of
the Beatles canon with such upbeat tunes as "Old Brown Shoe", "Something",
"Here Comes The Sun", and "For You Blue".
Amazingly, before the appearance of LLL, there was virtually nothing to
George's songwriting credits that might be called cheery, optimistic, or
fanciful. Even when the topic is one of transcendental enlightenment,
as in "Within You, Without You", the underlying tone is one of peroration
rather than encouragement. **
Seen in this light, WMGGW sits on a cusp between two eras. It is more or
less the last of a chain of songs similar in tone and attitude. Perhaps
closest in spirit is "Think For Yourself", though the rancor of that
earlier song from "Rubber Soul" which would appear to be personally
directed at an individual is replaced here in the later song by sad
regret that is more targeted more difusely and ambiguously.
[** The biographical and spiritual parallels to this musical transformation
of George during the last phase of the tenure as a Beatle are fascinating but
unfortunately also outside the scope of this already long article.]
Form
The form of WMGGW is deceptively familiar yet, what the double verse we've
come to expect at the beginning of Beatles songs, is conspicuous here by
virtue of its absence:
Intro-> Verse-> Bridge -> Verse -> Verse (solo)-> Bridge -> Verse -> Outro
This move is likely warranted by the slow tempo, the unusual length of the
intro and outro, and the internal structure of the verse section itself, as
we'll see shortly when we pull it apart below. Also unusual is the use of
different lyrics in each of the two bridge sections instead of the more
common verbatim repeat.
There are a couple of differences between the official version and the
outtake worth noting at the macro level. The outtake features all new
words in the final verse whereas the official version presents a clever
variation of the first verse in this spot. Also, the outtake is in the
key of G while the official version is in A. Both of these keys force
George to sing the bridge section in a breathy, partly falsetto tenor,
an effect which he must have liked very much because he chose to go with
the higher of the two keys for the official version. In spite of any strain
on his voice, it's actually an effect he's sought after throughout his
career; songs running all the way from "Don't Bother Me" to "Heading For
The Light" all keep him singing for long sections in a range that is
several notes above middle C.
Harmony and Rhythm
WMGGW is suggestive of a somber, languid processional, on the one hand,
because of the slow harmonic rhythm and the moderate tempo; nowhere in the
song do the chords change more frequently than once a measure, and in a
number of places, the rate of change is even less frequent.
On the other hand though, this static, plodding tendency is more than amply
balanced by the way in which the chord progressions themselves always seem
to be going somewhere, yet never truly find rest for long. From the home
key of A minor there are excursions toward the relative Major key of C,
the parallel Major key of A, and even the comparitively remote key of c#
minor, yet none of these keys are strongly established, with the music
always moving on ("like a bird that flew") almost as soon as it has
arrived.
The paradoxical image evoked by the song is thus one of a slow yet restless,
fretful pacing about.
Intro
The introduction is an unusually long one of eight measures in which
the entire first half of the verse is presented instrumentally. This
length sets an expansive tone for the song at the outset and the ending
of this phrase on V nicely motivates the verse which follows. Note that
the intro to the outtake, though also eight measures long, does not use the
the exact same chord progression; instead of ending on V, the VII chord of
measure 6 is simply resolved to the "i" chord which fills both measures
7 and 8.
The arrangement of this introduction is attention grabbing, starting
right off with the seemingly stray "hey up!", but also containing
two details of greater substance, neither of which curiously lasts much
beyond the intro itself. We have a simple yet effective precis of what
will emerge as the melody of the verse played percussively on the piano,
and syncopated cymbal slashes on the syncopated offbeat between 2 and 3,
which sound as though recorded backward though they likely were just deftly
damped by hand. Strangely, the piano never reappears with equivalent
prominence in the remainder of the song, and the cymbal slashes continue,
but only through the first eight measures of the first verse before the
pecussion switches over to a different texture for the rest of the song.
Of course Eric Clapton makes his own dramatic entrance in the measure 7
of this intro with an obligatto-like riff, the likes of which not
only repeat leitmotif-like throughout the song, but the melodic style
of which, heavy on arpeggio outlines, appogiaturas, neighbor tones, and
evenly played eighth notes, serves as the basis of his incredible solo
in the middle section.
There are two other instrumental details which are employed throughout
the song and become emblematic elements of its sonority: the very heavy
bass which often sounds as though more than one string has been plucked,
and the Wilbury-like use of a steely-sounding acoustic guitar in an
otherwise exceedingly electric, hard-rock texture.
First Verse - "I look at you all ..."
All the verses in WMGGW are a square sixteen measures built from four
phrases of even length. Internally, the form of this verse is more
precisely that of a double couplet; i.e., AB-AB':
|a |- |- |F |
(bassline)A G F# F-natural
a: i VI
|a |G |D |E |
i VII IV V
|a |- |- |F |
i VI
|a |G |C |E ||A
i V-of-III III V I
I believe it is this repeat-like structure within the verse itself is what
discourages the use of two full verses in a row. In the case of the guitar
solo verse, note by the way, how the structure of Clapton's solo blurs the
distinct articulation of the double couplet.
The couplet structure is articulated by both words and music. Lyrically
we have the pattern in every verse of an alternation between lines which
begin with "while" and "still". Musically too, there's clear parallelism
between phrases 1/3 and 2/4.
The first and third phrases prominently feature a descending bassline
whose downward gesture permeates the song by virtue of its constant
repetition. This is nicely balanced out by the symmetrical arch shape
of the vocal melody.
The partially chromatic bassline moves against an A minor chord which
is sustained for three measures above it. From a guitar player's
perspective, this makes for what look like different chords in every
measure, but analytically it's all one harmonic "event" and the novel
sonorities of measures 2 and 3 are byproducts of the contrapuntal motion
of the bass. Similarly, the chord in measures 4 and 8 may appear on
paper as though it's a D minor chord which quickly changes to F Major,
but the more proper analysis is to call it F Major with a melodic
appogiatura of D->C on the downbeat; "proper" to the extent that the
analysis matches one's experience of the music.
Both couplets in this verse are harmonically open ended with their ending
on the V chord, yet there is a subtle difference created by the simple
use of a different chord in the penultimate measure of each couplet (i.e.,
measures 7 and 15 respectively). In the first couplet, the approach
to the E chord at the end by way of G and D chords is one of what you
might describe as continual motion. In the second couplet, the resolution
of the G chord to C (instead of D) creates a articulative break in the
motion because the dominant-tonic relationship of the G and C chords
creates a definite albeit short-lived sense of having arrived somewhere
new.
But we're not yet finished with harmonic motion in this verse even though
we're already at measure 15; there are still two small surprises to come
in short order. When the E chord appears in measure 16 you think to yourself,
"oh well, so much for a modulation to C, it's straight back to the home
key of A minor now." Yet when the bridge begins, we're given not A minor,
but rather the parallel *Major* key of A. It's not so much a big surprise
per se, but it is sufficient to add to that sense of restlesslness; "hey
George, either sit still, or let's really go somewhere for a change!"
The first eight measures of this verse feature George singing by
himself but double-tracked. The second eight measures present
a different vocal arrangement, one that persists for most of the
rest of the song: in the third phrase, George sings the melody
part while Paul sings in harmony with him in parallel thirds unusually
placed *above* the melody. The fourth refrain-like phrase reverts
to just George. Although George does have the melody in that third
phrase and Paul sounds as though mixed less prominently than George,
I can't help but wonder if Paul might have been trying to horn-in
or upstage poor old Hari in his own song by singing the upper part.
In the backing part, we find Clapton interjecting his brief comments
in the final two measures of each couplet. Starting in the second
couplet of this verse (m.9, ff.) the cymbal slashes are abandoned
in favor of bass and snare drum work plus a "dum-ditty-dum" sort
of quiet tapping on what sounds like a wood block, mixed far to the
left.
First Bridge - "I don't know why ..."
Harmonically, the bridge further adds to the paradoxical mood of expansivness
with its sixteen measure length, and the restlessness with its chord
progression. Structurally, it is a verbatim repetition of the following
eight measure phrase:
|A |c# |f# |c# |b |- |E |- |
A: I iii iii ii V
c#: I iv I
Just like the ending of the verse, no sooner have we arrived with some
sense of decisiveness in A Major then we appear to be off yet again;
this time apparently for the comparitively remote environs of c sharp
minor. But the establishment of this key, as with both C Major and
A Major before it, is not only short-lived, but also weakly established
via its IV chord instead of with a stronger I-V-I cadence.
As with any good bridge section, this one provides both sharp contrast to
the surrounding verses as well as further development of the essential
thematic mood of the song. Overall, this bridge provides some well needed
upward gestures as well as an opening up of the melodic and harmonic
space. In keeping with the rest of the song though, this initial feeling
of new energy is quickly disipated by section's end with a sad descending
which is reminiscent of that of the verse.
Melodically, the bridge starts off with a dramatic swing upward. The
melody of the verse had been constrained to the small melodic range
of A to E (actually, E and G just below the A also make brief embellishing
appearances though they are not a key part of the action). The first part
of the bridge extends the range all the way up to G#, though in keeping
with the inevitably sad nature of the piece, the melodic range of the
second half of the bridge tends back downward to where it overlaps with
that of the verse.
In parallel to the melody, there is a lifting of the harmonic root motion
at the beginning of each bridge phrase that suggests a momentary flash
of optimism but it quickly fades in the stepwise-downward motion of the
c#->b chords which follow, and the eventual faltering of the harmonic rhythm
in the remainder of the phrase, suggestive of a loss of energy as well as
hope.
Note how the official version tries to counterbalance this suggestion of
lost vigor at the end of each phrase by a scale-wise pumping up based on
the V chord which makes the music drive forward into the next phrase.
By contrast and with greater pathos, the outtake version leaves this
wilting gesture more simply exposed.
The arrangement of the bridge features George singing double-tracked
by himself again, without the help of Paul. The drumming in this
section is slightly different yet again from what preceeded it.
Second Verse - "I look at the world ..."
This second verse is built on the same musical structure as the first
one. The primary difference aside from the new words is in the way the vocal
duet introduced in phrase three of the first verse is now repeated in both
phrase 1 and 3 of this one.
Guitar Solo Verse
Even without the all the flanging and bent notes, this is still one gem of
a guitar solo. I'll resist the temptation to supply a complete transcription
of it for now but will at least sketch it out.
Above all, it is an extraordinarily melodic, even vocal sounding solo
in which the 16 measures are treated not as a couplet, but rather are broken
up into two slow, deep and contrasting phrases of eight measures each.
The solo achieves some unity with the rest of the song by virtue of
Clapton's starting off with a retracing of the melodic outline of
George's sung melody, as well as the fact the style of guitar figuration
used in the solo had already been consistently presented in obligatto licks
starting as early as the introduction.
While the vocal melody of the verse presented a full arch shape in the
space of only eight measures, Clapton spreads the arch of his solo out
over most of the full sixteen measures of the section. He works his way up
a full octave in measures 1 - 8, suspensefully sustains the high note in
measures 9 & 10, ambles slowly back down the octave in measures 10 - 14,
and then, with breathtaking surprise in the final two measures, passes
delicately below the low end of the octave and very quickly finishes up
with a floursh which takes him all the way back up the octave to end on
his earlier high note as the second bridge begins.
The high A of this guitar solo is not only the single highest melodic
note of the entire song, but on some subliminal level it provides
ultimate resolution of the high g# left hanging in the bridge section.
Even more significantly, the ending of this solo is very much *the*
climax of the song because it is the single moment in the song where
a positive, upward gesture has the last word and appears to stick;
at least for a moment. Whatever follows this section more or less
provides ballast and an emotional unwinding from this high point.
Second Bridge - "I don't know how ..."
Just as with the successive verses, this second bridge is musically
identical to the first one but for the use of different lyrics and
minor tweaks to the backing track.
Note how cleverly the relationship between the "why" and "how"
of the two bridges seems to parallel the "while" and "still" of the
verses.
Also note the subtle addition in this section of a clanging sound
on the offbeats in the percussion; what could it possibly be, finger
cymbals miked very closely ?
Third Verse - "I look at you all .../I look from wings ..."
This last verse presents still more fiddling with the words and arrangement.
Though the official version essentially repeats the lyrics of the first
verse, the third line is unusually truncated. In the vocal part, Paul's
accompaniment of George at a third above is now extended even to include
the fourth phrase.
The outtake presents all new words in this final verse, none of which
appear in the official version.
Outro
In keeping with both the spirit and scale of the song to this point, we
are given an unusually long outro consisting of almost two full iterations
of the verse section; close to 32 measures of instrumental music into a
fadeout that is accompanied by moanings, both vocal and Claptonesque.
In equally consistent contrast, the outtake makes a small musical
change in the final verse so that its final two measures make a neat I-V-I
cadence into a comparitively brief eight-measure outro which has a complete
ending.
Incidentally, for those who like to follow this sort of detail, there
is what sounds to me like a glitch near the very end of the official
version. In the last repetition of the verse section (at which point
we're pretty well into the fadeout) it appears as though Paul and the
rest of the group are out of step, chord-wise in both measures 7 and 15.
To give all concerned the benefit of the doubt, it's hard to tell if
it's a mistake outright, or more a matter of Paul's suddenly trying out
a new improvisatory trick with the bassline based on his assumption that
the finished track would be fully faded out by this point.
"As I'm Sitting Here Doing Nothing But Aging ..."
Having paid insufficient attention to the words, I've been walking around
for years thinking that this song is obviously about a love whom George has
lost or given up because he has grown apart from her on some spiritual,
intellectual level; as if it were his version of John's "And Your Bird
Can Sing", or even perhaps a Harrisonian adaptation of Dylan's "Don't Think
Twice It's *NOT* (sic! :-)) Alright." But then I finally noticed the
enigmatic use of the word "all" and for the first time realized that this
song has as much in common with "Within You Without You" as it does with
"Think For Yourself."
Alas, poor George cries for us all, but more's the pity that his insight
here is one which enervates him to a walking-in-circles inability to
act rather than infusing him with the energy to do something about it.
It's rather comforting to know that in retrospect, it would be only
a relatively short time after WMGGW that this same Mr. Harrison would
be capable of finding some joyful inspiration in the sunny clear light
of the backyard belonging to the same Mr. Clapton.
Returning to our two different arrangements, you might say that, to the
extent that tears come to reflect a broad spectrum of moods, both versions
are on some level a legitimate rendering of the words to our song.
For some, the official version may seem a bit maudlin, while for others,
the outtake will be lacking in production values. In the final result,
whichever you prefer is likely to be a matter of your own sweet taste.
Regards,
Alan (awp@bitstream.com *OR* uunet!huxley!awp)
---
"Here's this kid trying to give me his utterly
valueless opinion when I know for a fact ..." 021291#25
---
Copyright (c) 1991 by Alan W. Pollack
All Rights Reserved
This article may be reproduced, retransmitted, redistributed and
otherwise propagated at will, provided that this notice remains
intact and in place.
Ook op The Beatles [White Album]:
Ook op 1967-1970:
Ook op Love:
(c) 2024 Serge Girard
(c) Alan Aldrigde, The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics