Led by primary songwriters Lennon and McCartney, the Beatles built their reputation playing clubs in Liverpool and Hamburg over three years from 1960, initially with Stuart Sutcliffe playing bass. The core trio of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison, together since 1958, went through a succession of drummers, eventually settling with Pete Best in 1960, who played with them for two years before being replaced with then Rory Storm & The Hurricanes drummer Ringo Starr in 1962. Manager Brian Epstein molded them into a professional act and producer George Martin guided and developed their recordings, greatly expanding their domestic success after their first hit, "Love Me Do", in late 1962. As their popularity grew into the intense fan frenzy dubbed "Beatlemania", the band acquired the nickname "the Fab Four", with Epstein, Martin and other members of the band's entourage sometimes given the informal title of "fifth Beatle".
By early 1964, the Beatles were international stars, leading the "British Invasion" of the United States pop market and breaking numerous sales records. They soon made their film debut with A Hard Day's Night (1964). From 1965 onwards, they produced increasingly innovative recordings, including the albums Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966) and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), and enjoyed further commercial success with The Beatles (also known as "the White Album", 1968) and Abbey Road (1969). In 1968, they founded Apple Corps, a multi-armed multimedia corporation that continues to oversee projects related to the band's legacy. After the group's break-up in 1970, all four members enjoyed success as solo artists. Lennon was shot and killed in December 1980, and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001. McCartney and Starr remain musically active.
The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide. They hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart, most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and most singles sold in the UK. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and all four main members were inducted individually between 1994 and 2015. In 2008, the group topped Billboard's list of the all-time most successful artists on the Billboard Hot 100. The band received seven Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award (for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 film Let It Be) and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. Time magazine named them among the 20th century's 100 most important people.
Former Rolling Stone associate editor Robert Greenfield compared the Beatles to Picasso, as "artists who broke through the constraints of their time period to come up with something that was unique and original "... In the form of popular music, no one will ever be more revolutionary, more creative and more distinctive ..." The British poet Philip Larkin described their work as "an enchanting and intoxicating hybrid of African-American rock-and-roll with their own adolescent romanticism", and "the first advance in popular music since the War".
They not only sparked the British Invasion of the US, they became a globally influential phenomenon as well. From the 1920s, the US had dominated popular entertainment culture throughout much of the world, via Hollywood films, jazz, the music of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and, later, the rock and roll that first emerged in Memphis, Tennessee. The Beatles are regarded as British cultural icons, with young adults from abroad naming the band among a group of people that they most associated with UK culture.
Their musical innovations and commercial success inspired musicians worldwide. Many artists have acknowledged the Beatles' influence and enjoyed chart success with covers of their songs. On radio, their arrival marked the beginning of a new era; in 1968 the programme director of New York's WABC radio station forbade his DJs from playing any "pre-Beatles" music, marking the defining line of what would be considered oldies on American radio. They helped to redefine the album as something more than just a few hits padded out with "filler", and they were primary innovators of the modern music video. The Shea Stadium show with which they opened their 1965 North American tour attracted an estimated 55,600 people, then the largest audience in concert history; Spitz describes the event as a "major breakthrough ... a giant step toward reshaping the concert business". Emulation of their clothing and especially their hairstyles, which became a mark of rebellion, had a global impact on fashion.
According to Gould, the Beatles changed the way people listened to popular music and experienced its role in their lives. From what began as the Beatlemania fad, the group's popularity grew into what was seen as an embodiment of socio-cultural movements of the decade. As icons of the 1960s counterculture, Gould continues, they became a catalyst for bohemianism and activism in various social and political arenas, fuelling movements such as women's liberation, gay liberation and environmentalism. According to Peter Lavezzoli, after the "more popular than Jesus" controversy in 1966, the Beatles felt considerable pressure to say the right things and "began a concerted effort to spread a message of wisdom and higher consciousness".
Other commentators such as Mikal Gilmore and Todd Leopold have traced the inception of their socio-cultural impact earlier, interpreting even the Beatlemania period, particularly on their first visit to the US, as a key moment in the development of generational awareness. Referring to their appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show Leopold states: "In many ways, the Sullivan appearance marked the beginning of a cultural revolution ... The Beatles were like aliens dropped into the United States of 1964.
In 1965, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The Beatles won the 1971 Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film Let It Be (1970). The recipients of seven Grammy Awards and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards, the Beatles have six Diamond albums, as well as 20 Multi-Platinum albums, 16 Platinum albums and six Gold albums in the US. In the UK, the Beatles have four Multi-Platinum albums, four Platinum albums, eight Gold albums and one Silver album. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.
The best-selling band in history, the Beatles have sold more than 800 million physical and digital albums as of 2013. They have had more number-one albums on the UK charts, fifteen, and sold more singles in the UK, 21.9 million, than any other act. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Beatles as the most significant and influential rock music artists of the last 50 years. They ranked number one on Billboard magazine's list of the all-time most successful Hot 100 artists, released in 2008 to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary. As of 2017, they hold the record for most number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with twenty. The Recording Industry Association of America certifies that the Beatles have sold 178 million units in the US, more than any other artist. They were collectively included in Time magazine's compilation of the 20th century's 100 most influential people. In 2014, they received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
There are two holidays celebrated for the Beatles: Global Beatles Day on 25 June each year. On that date in 1967, the band performed "All You Need Is Love" on television. In 2001, UNESCO created World Beatles Day on 16 January each year. This date has direct relation to the opening of The Cavern Club in 1957.
Five asteroids, 4147 Lennon, 4148 McCartney, 4149 Harrison, 4150 Starr and 8749 Beatles are named after the Beatles.
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
@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
@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
âWhile My Guitar Gently Weepsâ (LOVE Version)
Written & Performed by George Harrison
Strings Arranged & Conducted by George Martin
©ïž2006, 2016 The Cirque/Apple Partnership
In Memoriam:
George Harrison (1943-2001)
&
Sir George Martin (1926-2016)
âNothing Is Real.â
@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"
âIf I Needed Someoneâ
âFor You Blueâ
âI Need Youâ
âWithin You, Without Youâ
âLove You Toâ
âBlue Jay Wayâ
"Give Me Love"
"Taxman"
"When We Was Fab"
"The Inner Light"
"Within You, Without You"
âOld Brown Shoeâ
âIsnât It a Pityâ
âFor You Blueâ
âLong, Long, Longâ
âSavoy Truffleâ
âThink For Yourselfâ
âYou Like Me To Muchâ
âAll Those Years Agoâ
âIsnât It A Pityâ
âRun Off The Millâ
âIt Donât Come Easyâ
âWhat Is Lifeâ
And, The first song he wrote,
"Don't Bother Me"
@MakeSushi1
Happy New Year
@454aubrey
How To Make Sushi I hope your year is starting out nicely.
@pimprijs8836
ringo had a day free when they maked this song XD
@magnevist715ml
æăăŸăăŠăăă§ăšăă
@The-mt8iy
How To Make SushiđŁáá”ááâ±ćŻżćžăăïŒïŒ
@ChiicoRei
Huehuehuehuehue br
@timsewter5184
One of the most beautiful songs ever written. RIP George
@ami443
I don't like this version, I prefer the original from the double album called "the Beatles" or "white album".
@CjmA2
@@ami443 I love this version! I like the original too.
@ami443
@@CjmA2 which version do you prefer ?