George Harrison MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) born in Liverpool… Read Full Bio ↴George Harrison MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) born in Liverpool, UK, was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist in The Beatles, along with mainstream success as a solo artist. George contributed to the songwriting talents of his Beatles band mates, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, firstly by adding ideas and guitar parts, and later with his distinctive style of music inspired by Eastern spirituality. Ten years after Harrison's death, and forty-two years after its first release, his classic "Here Comes the Sun" is the number one Beatles download on iTunes.

After the Beatles stopped touring in 1966, George started writing more songs than could be fitted onto the albums so that by the time of the split he had built up a collection of songs, some used on his debut solo album, All Things Must Pass. The album, released in 1970, contains the two-time number one hit, "My Sweet Lord".

Harrison is also credited for creating music benefits, notably the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh. Harrison played beside Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr, and Leon Russell to a crowd of 40,000 in Madison Square Garden, New York. The show raised over $240,000 benefiting the George Harrison Fund for Bangladesh relief.

Harrison went on to release several successful solo albums, and in the late 1980s collaborated with Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty, in a group called Traveling Wilburys. The group released two albums. Later, Harrison reunited with the other two surviving Beatles, after John Lennon's murder in 1980, to produce two final Beatles records, "Free As a Bird" and "Real Love" featuring the voice of Lennon, taken from home demos provided by Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. The three Beatles also co-wrote a massive autobiography and television special, both titled "The Beatles Anthology."

Before his death, Harrison conceived of a Cirque du Soleil show, "Love," featuring remixes of Beatles music which were overseen by Beatles producer George Martin.

Harrison died on November 29, 2001 after a battle with cancer, leaving behind a wife and son, Olivia and Dhani Harrison. His last album, Brainwashed, was released posthumously and featured the single "Any Road".

A benefit concert in Harrison's memory was played on 29 November 2002 at the Royal Albert Hall. The star-studded event (featuring Eric Clapton and Monty Python, as well as former band mates Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr) was released on the DVD double-album, Concert for George.

Soft-Hearted Hana
George Harrison Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I ate it and at once my eyes could see you
No sooner had I ooped it down
I felt so far off from the ground I stood on

My legs seemed to me like high-rise buildings
My head was high up in the sky
My skin the sun began to fry like bacon

And then somebody old appeared and asked had I come far
And hadn't they just seen me up on Haleakala
I kept on body surfing to pretend I hadn't heard
There was someone there beside me, swimming like Richard III
And I'm still smiling

Seven naked native girls swam seven sacred pools
Lone-ranger smoking doobies said you're breaking all the rules
Better get your clothes on or else there'll be a row
If it wasn't for my sunstroke I would take you on right now
And I'm still smiling

I fell in love with my soft-hearted Hana
She entered right in through my heart
And now although we're miles apart
I still feel her

She lives beneath the crater in the meadow

She moves among the fruit and grain
You can meet her after heavy rain has fallen

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of George Harrison's "Soft-Hearted Hana" tell the story of the singer's psychedelic experience after eating some sort of mind-altering substance. As soon as he ingests it, he feels disconnected from the ground and in a state of euphoria. He sees his own legs as towering buildings, his head is soaring up into the sky, and his skin is sizzling in the sun. In this altered state, he encounters people and experiences that he seems to interpret as both real and surreal, seamlessly mixing them together. He sees an old person who asks about his travels, even though the singer is clearly in a different world than they are. Others around him are breaking rules and breaking down, but he remains optimistic and has a smile on his face. The song switches gears at the end, as Harrison sings about his love for "Soft-Hearted Hana," a woman who has now left him but who he still feels a connection with. She lives beneath a crater in a meadow and moves among the fruit and grain.

Line by Line Meaning

I ate it and at once my eyes could see you
After taking some mystical substance, my perception was heightened and I could see you clearly

No sooner had I ooped it down
I had just swallowed it

I felt so far off from the ground I stood on
I felt like I was floating or disconnected from where I was

My legs seemed to me like high-rise buildings
My legs appeared very tall to me

My head was high up in the sky
My perception was altered in a way that made me feel like my head was literally in the sky

My skin the sun began to fry like bacon
My skin felt like it was sizzling in the sun and cooking like bacon

And then somebody old appeared and asked had I come far
An elderly person suddenly appeared and asked if I had traveled a long distance

And hadn't they just seen me up on Haleakala
The person thought they had just seen me on a nearby mountain called Haleakala

I kept on body surfing to pretend I hadn't heard
I pretended not to hear the person and kept surfing in the ocean

There was someone there beside me, swimming like Richard III
There was someone swimming next to me, and they looked awkward or comical like the historical figure Richard III

And I'm still smiling
Despite the strange situation, I was still feeling happy and content

Seven naked native girls swam seven sacred pools
I observed seven native girls swimming naked in seven sacred pools

Lone-ranger smoking doobies said you're breaking all the rules
A lone ranger who was smoking marijuana warned me that I was breaking the rules

Better get your clothes on or else there'll be a row
The ranger advised me to put my clothes back on to avoid trouble

If it wasn't for my sunstroke I would take you on right now
Despite feeling ill from sunstroke, I would be interested in getting intimate with you under different circumstances

I fell in love with my soft-hearted Hana
I became deeply enamored with a woman named Hana who had a gentle and kind nature

She entered right in through my heart
Hana captured my heart very quickly and easily

And now although we're miles apart
Even though we are physically distant from each other now

I still feel her
I still have strong emotions and memories tied to Hana

She lives beneath the crater in the meadow
Hana resides in a meadow near a volcanic crater

She moves among the fruit and grain
Hana spends her time tending to the fruits and grains that grow in the area

You can meet her after heavy rain has fallen
It is easier to find Hana after it has rained heavily in the area

Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: GEORGE HARRISON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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