George Harrison originally performed the song with a solo acoustic guitar and an organ; a demo version, longer than the officially released version, can be heard on the Anthology 3 album and in reworked form on the Love album. Eric Clapton, who was a good friend of George's, played lead guitar on the album version of the song with a Gibson Les Paul guitar. On The Concert for Bangladesh, he performed it on a Gibson Super 400 hollowbody guitar, and later acknowledged that a solid-body guitar would have been more appropriate.
According to Harrison, inspiration for the song came from reading the I Ching, which, as he put it, "seemed to me to be based on the Eastern concept that everything is relative to everything else, as opposed to the Western view that things are merely coincidental."
Taking this idea of relativism to his parents' home in the North of England, Harrison committed to write a song based on the first words he saw upon opening a random book. Those first words were "gently weeps", and he immediately began the song.
The song was ranked #135 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
The song was also ranked #7 on "Rolling Stone"'s list of the 100 greatest guitar songs of all time.
George Harrison – double-tracked vocal, backing vocal, guitar, Hammond organ
John Lennon – guitar
Paul McCartney – backing vocal, piano, organ, 6-string bass
Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
Eric Clapton – lead guitar
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
The Beatles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake, we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
No one alerted you
I look at you all, see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look, look at you all
Still my guitar gently weeps
Oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, ooh
The lyrics to The Beatles' song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" are about the universal idea of love being overlooked or ignored in the world, even though it is always present, as represented by the metaphor of the guitar gently weeping. The singer looks around and sees the love that is sleeping in those around him, yet still acknowledges the flaws and mistakes in the world. He wonders why no one has taught those around him how to unfold their love, and why some people are controlled, bought, and sold by others. The world is turning and with every mistake, the singer believes that people are surely learning something, yet still, he sees the love that is sleeping and waiting to be awakened.
In the second verse, the singer reflects on how some people become diverted or perverted, and how no one alerted them to the wrong path they were taking. The singer continues to look around and sees the love that is present, even as his guitar continues to weep. The repetition of the opening verses emphasizes that love is always present, but often overlooked or ignored.
The song has been interpreted in many ways, including as a commentary on the Vietnam War, or as a reflection on the breakdown of the Beatles as a band. However, the song's writer, George Harrison, has said that the lyrics are simply about "something that nobody ever knows, and that's all there is to it."
Line by Line Meaning
I look at you all, see the love there that's sleeping
Observing a group of people, I can sense a hidden love within them
While my guitar gently weeps
Despite the soft melody of my guitar, there is a sense of sadness and melancholy
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Noticing the state of the floor, which requires tidying
Still my guitar gently weeps
Although the observation is made, the underlying sadness still exists
I don't know why nobody told you
There is a lack of understanding in why an individual was not given advice
How to unfold your love
How to express and exhibit their love to others
I don't know how someone controlled you
It is unclear how an individual was manipulated by others
They bought and sold you
They made transactions involving an individual as if they were an object
I look at the world and I notice it's turning
Observing the world, it is clear that time continues on
With every mistake, we must surely be learning
Mistakes provide a learning opportunity for personal growth
Still my guitar gently weeps
Despite learning from mistakes, there remains a sense of lingering sadness
I don't know how you were diverted
It is uncertain how an individual was led astray from their intended path
You were perverted too
An individual was corrupted or changed from their original state
I don't know how you were inverted
It is not clear how someone influenced an individual to see things in the opposite way
No one alerted you
Nobody warned the individual of the wrong path they were taking
I look at you all, see the love there that's sleeping
Reiterating the earlier observation of hidden love existing within the group
While my guitar gently weeps
The sadness remains despite the love being there
I look, look at you all
Continuing to observe the group of people
Still my guitar gently weeps
The sadness within the song continues until the end
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: George Harrison
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@beatlemaniac8527
George is probably my favorite songwriter.
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
"Here Comes The Sun"
"Something"
"I Me Mine"
"My Sweet Lord"
"All Things Must Pass"
“If I Needed Someone”
“For You Blue”
“I Need You”
“Within You, Without You”
“Love You To”
“Blue Jay Way”
"Give Me Love"
"Taxman"
"When We Was Fab"
"The Inner Light"
"Within You, Without You"
“Old Brown Shoe”
“Isn’t It a Pity”
“For You Blue”
“Long, Long, Long”
“Savoy Truffle”
“Think For Yourself”
“You Like Me To Much”
“All Those Years Ago”
“Isn’t It A Pity”
“Run Off The Mill”
“It Don’t Come Easy”
“What Is Life”
And, The first song he wrote,
"Don't Bother Me"
@123eliber
Lyrics:
I look at you all, see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you
I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake, we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
No one alerted you
I look from the wings at the play you are staging
While my guitar gently weeps
As I'm sitting here doing nothing but aging
Still my guitar gently weeps
@darthkurland
“While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (LOVE Version)
Written & Performed by George Harrison
Strings Arranged & Conducted by George Martin
©️2006, 2016 The Cirque/Apple Partnership
In Memoriam:
George Harrison (1943-2001)
&
Sir George Martin (1926-2016)
“Nothing Is Real.”
@RamiRun
Full lyrics:
I look at you all, see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you
I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
No one alerted you
I look from the wings at the play you are staging.
While my guitar gently weeps
As I'm sitting here doing nothing but aging
Still my guitar gently weeps
@leonardojohannespugiotto698
I look at you all, see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you
I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too
I don't know how
You were inverted
No one alerted you
I look from the wings at the play you are staging
While my guitar gently weeps
As I’m sitting here, doing nothing but aging
Still my guitar gently weeps
@noimandersen
[Verse 1]
I look at you all, see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
[Verse 2]
I don't know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you
[Verse 3]
I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
[Verse 4]
I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
No one alerted you
[Verse 5]
I look from the wings at the play you are staging.
While my guitar gently weeps
As I'm sitting here doing nothing but aging
Still my guitar gently weeps
[Outro]
Oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, ooh
@sole2443
I look at you all
See the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor
And I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you
I look at the world
And I notice, it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake
We must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
No one alerted you
I look from the wings
At the play you are staging
While my guitar gently weeps
'Cause I'm sitting here
Doing nothing but aging
Still my guitar gently weeps
Dub the mic on the piano and quite low this
Just keep it in my maracas, you know
You know, those old pianos
Okay, we're on
Mouth
@najmulbari4203
I look at you all, see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps
I look at the floor and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps
I don't know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you
I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps
Well...
I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too
I don't know how you were inverted
No one alerted you
I look from the wings at the play you are staging.
While my guitar gently weeps
Look at you all As I'm sitting here doing nothing but aging
Still my guitar gently weeps
@MichaelLounge
Imagine being a band where your 3rd songwriter comes up with stuff like this , incredible
@jojocrisologo2699
https://youtu.be/gVf4TIrY0jI
@mathieumarsille133
Something / here comes the sun / while my guitar. ../
Pas mal !!!
@rafizichedet
@@mathieumarsille133 blue jay way, taxman
@yagesh287
Many of us believe he was the best songwriter among them. Just never given chance.
@matthewwhite9721
@@yagesh287 He did get the chance after the Beatles disbanded & "All Things Must Pass" is arguably the best solo album that was produced by a Beatles member. However, it is a stretch, at least to me, to suggest that Harrison was able to produce the kind of magic that Lennon-McCartney did.
@NelsonBelmont
23* years ago George left this world, still his guitar gently weeps.
@SelmaQuintanilha
It's true. He should be remembered. Always.
@ashleyherrington7884
Nelson Belmont rip George Harrison
@douglaswallace7680
this is a smoother version of this song than what gets radio play