BONES

If you’ve watched “The Music of Lennon & McCartney,” you know the Beatles’ songs were sometimes adapted into other languages. French was one of them, and the one I want to talk about today is “Toi l’ami” by Richard Anthony (the one you can hear in the special).

Now, this song the adaptation of “All My Loving,” and let me tell you… it is wild. This isn’t just a “let’s translate this into French” version. Oh no. The lyrics were completely reworked, and while the melody and sense of longing remain, the story is different.

It’s about a man singing about a friend from his youth who is now gone, and who he will never be able to see again.

This song (who, mind you, was released in 1964) sounds like Paul talking to John after their breakup, and then after John’s death. I’m not joking, I can’t think about anything else whenever I listen to it.

Here’s the song:

Translated lyrics (I tried to keep the meaning rather than doing a literal translation):

You, the friend from our twenties, Tomorrow you will be leaving With a lover on your arm, But don’t forget your friends from before Remember us from time to time

Among us who remain here, We will often talk about you And the joy of the good old days You will, despite everything, still be with us For your name lives on in our childhood memories

Everything disappears As soon as love arrives Life passes by Each one in turn

You are far away now, so far, and everything has changed Our hearts are too heavy to sing It feels like, with you, a part of our lives has gone And it’s true, because our twenties are slipping away

Everything disappears As soon as love arrives Life passes by Each one in turn

“The Harrisons always paid their way honestly.  ‘Get out and get a job, son’.  Demands that he do something mounted inexorably until…George couldn’t stand being got at any longer and got out.  He quit, moving out of the family home and into Gambier Terrace.

George Harrison’s home studio, Friar Park Studio Henley-on-Thames (F.P.S.H.O.T.), as designed and photographed by Veale Associates (VA) Studio Design, and courtesy of va-studiodesign.com; George in his studio on 12 June 1978, photographed by Arnold Newman, photo © Arnold Newman/Getty Images.

I completely understand wanting to let things just be and respect George’s wishes (especially since he has passed in many even young people’s lifetimes). But can we get like… something… anything???

There are currently 5 things released after his passing on Spotify! FIVE. Only ATMP and LITMW have available demos and outtakes. Only them are even REMASTERED. I think a lot of his discography suffers from alienating or badly-aged production and while I’m not advocating for a let it be naked situation I think they deserve at least some attention.

From the top of my head I would assume there would be a lot of very cheery and less 80s sounding than the original demos from hit album Cloud Nine. And what about an original version of Somewhere in England? Like how George originally wanted it before the executives got involved. Wouldn’t that be a very logical thing to make??? (Also please someone get on Gone Troppo so I can actually hear him sing PLEASE)

It just saddens me how little attention his solo career has not just from the public but from the estate as well.