I Me Mine
George Harrison wrote the song I Me Mine on the 7th of January 1969 during the second week of Beatles rehearsals at Twickenham Film Studios. The atmosphere inside west London was thick with acrimony as the group argued over their future direction. Harrison recalled feeling optimistic after a two-month trip to the United States but found the studio environment unchanged from previous years. He described a lot of trivia and games being played while he waited for his bandmates to listen to his compositions. Hours were spent rehearsing Paul McCartney's Maxwell's Silver Hammer with little improvement despite McCartney confronting John Lennon about his lack of new songs. Harrison later complained that he had to wait through ten of Lennon and McCartney's songs before they would even consider one of his own. That night he wrote the melody at home drawing inspiration from the divisive atmosphere within the band. The musical idea came from incidental music heard on a BBC television programme called Europa or perhaps an episode of Out of the Unknown composed by Tristram Cary. The lyrics addressed what Harrison called the eternal problem of egoism influenced by his past experiences with LSD. He referenced teachings from Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda regarding the goal of transcending ego concerns to see oneself as part of universal consciousness.
On the morning of the 8th of January Harrison played I Me Mine to Ringo Starr while waiting for Lennon and McCartney to arrive. He introduced the song as a heavy waltz and joked that he did not care if Starr wanted it in their show. The Beatles performed the track forty-one times during rehearsals yet the recording lasted only a minute and a half. McCartney and Starr provided enthusiastic support according to author John Winn but Lennon mostly opted out of the process. Lennon ridiculed the song and joked that a collection of freaks could dance along with George's waltz. He told Harrison to get lost because the group only played rock and roll with no place for a Spanish waltz. McCartney also mocked the composition by singing in a Spanish accent while Lennon made similarly derogatory remarks about McCartney's ballads. Kenneth Womack describes this behavior as Lennon baiting his bandmate after ignoring suggestions regarding musical arrangements over previous days. Harrison walked out of the sessions on the 10th of January weary of McCartney's overbearing attitude and Lennon's lack of engagement. Footage of Lennon dancing with Yoko Ono was included in the documentary film showing the couple oblivious to band politics. The scene remains one of the few glimpses of pleasure in the Twickenham portion of the Get Back project.
The verses of I Me Mine are written in A minor while the chorus shifts to A major creating a parallel minor major contrast. This technique had been employed by Harrison in his 1968 songs While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Savoy Truffle. Musicologist Alan Pollack describes the track as an interesting folk blues stylistic hybrid with more than just a touch of hard rocking waltz beat. The verse begins with two repeated phrases shifting from the i minor chord to a IV D7 chord emphasizing the Dorian mode. The progression continues through flat seven V7 and i minor chords before introducing a minor iv chord for two bars. A chromatically descending bass line leads into the chorus which presents as a heavy rock twelve bar blues abbreviated to ten bars. The song concludes on a flat six Fmaj7 chord in A minor key according to musicologist Dominic Pedler. The set of pronouns forming the title refers conventionally to ego in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. Lyrics reference Bhagavad Gita 2:71-72 advocating a life devoid of any sense of mineness or egotism. Gary Tillery notes that the message targets McCartney and Lennon for being fixated on their own interests while lamenting all humankind's propensity for egocentricity.
The group recorded sixteen takes of the basic track at EMI Studios in London on the 3rd of January 1970 without John Lennon present. Harrison played acoustic guitar and sang a guide vocal while McCartney handled bass guitar and Starr played drums. Engineer Glyn Johns compiled the proposed Get Back album retaining studio chatter preceding take sixteen where Harrison asked Ringo if he was ready. Phil Spector decided to extend the length of I Me Mine by repeating the rock style chorus in the middle of the song. This extension occurred on the 23rd of March with Harrison present for much of the remixing session adding fifty-one seconds to the running time. On the 1st of April Spector overdubbed a twenty-seven piece string section six brass players and additional drums by Starr. He also insisted on hearing tracks with full tape plate and chamber echo effects usually introduced during final mixing. These additions became the final overdubs on a Beatles track before the group broke up in April 1970. The final version appeared on Let It Be though a similar edit without orchestral overdubs was released on Let It Be Naked in 2003. A female choir hired by Spector contributed to the Wall of Sound characteristics despite some disagreement among historians about their specific involvement.
Alan Smith of NME derided Let It Be as a cheapskate epitaph but admired Russian flavored I Me Mine as a strong ballad with a frantic center. Richard Williams wrote for Melody Maker that the song had a great organ guitar intro meditative verses and a tempo switch into rocking chorus. John Mendelsohn ridiculed Spector's use of lush orchestration claiming the waltz sections reminded one of something from Al Jolson Storys more maudlin moments. David Fricke included the song in his list of twenty-five essential Harrison performances calling it an angry grinding guitar sound of exhaustion and hard won freedom. Dave Lewis ranked I Me Mine at number six in his 2016 list of ten songs highlighting George Harrison's profound contribution to The Beatles. Ian MacDonald argued the track would have been a more truthful choice for the B side of the band's final single than For You Blue. He described the lyric as typically thoughtful yet touching a nadir of worldly pessimism in the line Even those tears I me mine. Tim Riley concluded that while Harrison's song answers greed with a crude groove Spector's ornaments virtually drown them out making the track a washout.
Harrison titled his 1980 autobiography I Me Mine after the track making it the first autobiography by a former Beatle. It was originally published by Genesis Publications as a luxury leather bound edition in the style of Log of HMS Bounty. The title served as an ironic comment on the falseness of adhering to a self focused perspective according to Harrison's foreword. Christian historian Dale Allison identifies this theme as one of three ways Harrison's body of work represents a religious scheme of salvation. Steve Rabey cited I Me Mine among Beatles songs contributing to Harrison's standing as perhaps the most explicitly theological rock star of the last half century. Jeffery D. Long credited Harrison and the 1982 film Gandhi as influences leading him to study Bhagavad Gita and embrace Hindu Dharma. Tibetan Buddhist Robert Thurman referenced the song at a TED Conference discussing the power of true empathy accompanying realization of shared consciousness. Marc Ford recorded a version for Songs from the Material World released February 2003 to coincide with what would have been Harrison's sixtieth birthday. Britt Daniel performed the song at George Fest in 2014 calling it his favorite composition by Harrison while Elliott Smith and Laibach also covered the track.
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Common questions
When did George Harrison write the song I Me Mine?
George Harrison wrote the song I Me Mine on the 7th of January 1969 during the second week of Beatles rehearsals at Twickenham Film Studios. The atmosphere inside west London was thick with acrimony as the group argued over their future direction.
Why did John Lennon dislike the song I Me Mine?
John Lennon ridiculed the song and joked that a collection of freaks could dance along with George's waltz. He told Harrison to get lost because the group only played rock and roll with no place for a Spanish waltz.
How long does the original recording of I Me Mine last?
The Beatles performed the track forty-one times during rehearsals yet the recording lasted only a minute and a half. McCartney and Starr provided enthusiastic support according to author John Winn but Lennon mostly opted out of the process.
What musical key is used in the verses of I Me Mine?
The verses of I Me Mine are written in A minor while the chorus shifts to A major creating a parallel minor major contrast. This technique had been employed by Harrison in his 1968 songs While My Guitar Gently Weeps and Savoy Truffle.
When was the final version of I Me Mine released on Let It Be?
On the 1st of April Spector overdubbed a twenty-seven piece string section six brass players and additional drums by Starr. These additions became the final overdubs on a Beatles track before the group broke up in April 1970.
Why did George Harrison title his 1980 autobiography I Me Mine?
Harrison titled his 1980 autobiography I Me Mine after the track making it the first autobiography by a former Beatle. The title served as an ironic comment on the falseness of adhering to a self focused perspective according to Harrison's foreword.