"Within You Without You" is a song written by George Harrison and released … Read Full Bio ↴"Within You Without You" is a song written by George Harrison and released on The Beatles' 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It features only Harrison and a group of uncredited Indian musicians, although producer George Martin arranged the string section, and Harrison and assistant Neil Aspinall played the tambura. According to Prema Music, dilrubha player Amrit Gajjar played on the track. It is the second of Harrison's songs to be explicitly influenced by Indian classical music, after "Love You To", and Harrison's only composition on Sgt. Pepper. "Within You Without You" was written on a harmonium at the house of long-time Beatles friend Klaus Voormann, while "there were lots of joints being smoked".

The song, originally written as a 30-minute piece and trimmed down into a mini-version for the album, is in Mixolydian mode. The laughter at the end was Harrison's idea to lighten the mood and follow the theme of the album. Sped up to C#, an instrumental version at the original speed and key appears on the Anthology 2 album.

The song was also included on the 2006 remix album Love. For this album, George Harrison's lyrics and melody were mixed over the rhythm of "Tomorrow Never Knows". The blending of these two songs is considered the most effective form of mashup on the album. All of the music for Love was remixed and remastered by the Beatles producer Sir George Martin and his son Giles. The Love remix is one of the songs in The Beatles: Rock Band. The original version was also released as downloadable content along with the rest of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album in November 2009.

Stephen Stills was so impressed by the lyrics that he had them carved on a stone monument in his yard.

Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows
The Beatles Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We were talking, about the space between us all
And the people, who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion
Never glimpse the truth, then it's far too late when they pass away

We were talking, about the love we all could share
When we find it, to try our best to hold it there, with our love
With our love we could save the world, if they only knew

Try to realize it's all within yourself, no-one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small
And life flows on within you and without you

We were talking, about the love that's gone so cold
And the people who gain the world and lose their soul
They don't know, they can't see, are you one of them?

When you've seen beyond yourself
Then you may find peace of mind is waiting there

And the time will come when you see we're all one
And life flows on within you and without you

Overall Meaning

The Beatles' Within You Without You /Tomorrow Never Knows depicts the themes of human consciousness and spirituality. The song is a psychedelically-influenced track that merges Harrison's interest in Eastern philosophy and music with Lennon's LSD fueled exploration into the subconscious. The verse and choruses alternate with the former describing the shared distance between people and the latter discussing the power of the individual to change their fate.

The first verse discusses the barrier between humans and how the people who choose to hide behind them never see the truth, which then causes regret when they pass away. This emphasizes the importance of breaking down metaphorical walls and striving to find the common bonds and truths that bring humans together. The second verse touches on the concept of love, which is a universal feeling that could be shared among all people. The chorus emphasizes that the power to change one's life is within oneself, and only one's self. It highlights how individuals can help change the course of humanity through their actions with love. The bridge emphasizes that the love that one gives is capable of saving the entire world.

The third verse juxtaposes personal success with the loss of one’s soul. The lyrics ask if one is among the people who gain the world only to lose sight of themselves. The bridge illustrates how personal growth and self-awareness can grant peace of mind. Finally, the last part of the song emphasizes that all living things are one even if humans feel disconnected.

Line by Line Meaning

We were talking, about the space between us all
We were discussing the divisions and separations that exist among us.

And the people, who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion
Some individuals put walls around themselves and are unwilling to confront the truth.

Never glimpse the truth, then it's far too late when they pass away
Some people live their entire lives never seeing the truth of things and they realize it far too late.

We were talking, about the love we all could share
We were discussing how love has the power to unite us all.

When we find it, to try our best to hold it there, with our love
Once we find love, we should make every effort to keep it in our lives with our own love.

With our love we could save the world, if they only knew
If everyone understood the power of love, we could save the world.

Try to realize it's all within yourself, no-one else can make you change
You must come to the realization that change starts from within you, and no one else can force you to change.

And to see you're really only very small
You must also acknowledge your own smallness in the world and the grand scheme of things.

And life flows on within you and without you
Life is a continuous cycle that exists both within ourselves and outside of us, and we are all a part of it.

We were talking, about the love that's gone so cold
We were discussing how love can sometimes become cold or distant over time.

And the people who gain the world and lose their soul
Some individuals sacrifice their own integrity and values in pursuit of material success or status.

They don't know, they can't see, are you one of them?
Some people are so caught up in their pursuit of worldly success that they can't see the harm they're doing to themselves or others.

When you've seen beyond yourself
Once you've gained the ability to see beyond your own desires and needs

Then you may find peace of mind is waiting there
You may be able to discover a sense of peace that you didn't know existed.

And the time will come when you see we're all one
Eventually, you may come to recognize that we are all interconnected and part of a larger whole.

And life flows on within you and without you
The cycle of life continues both within and without us, and we are all part of it.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GEORGE HARRISON, JOHN LENNON, PAUL MCCARTNEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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