George Harrison was in a weird spot in the late 1970s. The heavy, spiritual weight of All Things Must Pass felt like a lifetime ago, and the legal drama surrounding "My Sweet Lord" and the Beatles' messy dissolution had clearly taken its toll. He was tired. He was gardening more than he was recording. Honestly, he seemed ready to just walk away from the music industry entirely. Then came Blow Away.
It’s a song that feels like a long exhale. If you’ve ever sat on a porch after a massive thunderstorm and watched the clouds break, you know exactly what this track sounds like. It isn't trying to be "Bohemian Rhapsody" or a punk rock anthem. It's just a guy with a slide guitar telling you that, despite all the nonsense, life is actually pretty decent.
The Origins of a Simple Masterpiece
Recorded at his home studio, FPSHOT (Friar Park Studio, Henley-on-Thames), Blow Away appeared on his 1979 self-titled album, George Harrison. This wasn't some over-produced corporate project. George was happy. He had recently married Olivia Arias, their son Dhani had just been born, and he was spending a lot of time obsessed with Formula One racing.
The inspiration for the song was actually quite literal. According to George’s own accounts in his autobiography I, Me, Mine, the lyrics started forming during a bout of crummy weather. He was feeling grumpy about the rain and the leaked roof at Friar Park. He looked out the window, saw the mess, and then—just like that—the sun poked through. It sounds cheesy, but George had this uncanny ability to turn a mundane weather shift into a profound spiritual metaphor without sounding like a Hallmark card.
He realized his bad mood was just as temporary as the rain. That’s the core of the song. It’s about the realization that we often manufacture our own misery. "All I got to do is to love you," he sings, and while that might sound like a standard pop trope, coming from a man who had been through the Beatles' wringer, it felt earned.
Why the Slide Guitar Work is Underrated
We need to talk about that slide work. Most guitarists try to shred. They want speed. George wanted vocal phrasing. When you listen to the opening riff of Blow Away, it doesn't sound like a guitar; it sounds like a person singing a melody.
💡 You might also like: Kiss My Eyes and Lay Me to Sleep: The Dark Folklore of a Viral Lullaby
He used a heavy compression effect that gave his slide a smooth, glass-like texture. It’s distinct. You hear two notes and you know it's George. There’s no ego in the playing. Every note serves the mood of the track. It’s bright, slightly bouncy, and rhythmically "swingy" in a way that most of his earlier, more somber solo work wasn't.
Producer Russ Titelman played a huge role here too. He helped George strip away the "Wall of Sound" tendencies that Phil Spector had brought to his earlier records. The result was a clean, crisp sound that felt modern for 1979 but has aged way better than the disco-infused tracks his contemporaries were putting out at the time.
The Commercial Comeback Nobody Expected
By 1979, the press had largely written George off as the "Quiet Beatle" who had lost his hit-making touch. His previous album, Thirty Three & 1/3, did okay, but it wasn't a world-beater. Blow Away changed the narrative.
It climbed to Number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and did even better in Canada. It proved that George could still write a hook that stuck in your head for days. But more importantly, it re-established him as a solo force before he retreated back into his private life for most of the early 80s.
It’s interesting to look at the charts from that year. You had The Knack with "My Sharona" and Donna Summer dominating everything. In the middle of all that synth and high-energy power pop, here comes George with a mid-tempo acoustic-driven track about how clouds are "blowing away." It shouldn't have worked. It was too earnest. But people latched onto it because it felt real.
📖 Related: Kate Moss Family Guy: What Most People Get Wrong About That Cutaway
Breaking Down the Lyrics: More Than Just Sunshine
If you look closely at the verses, George isn't just saying "don't worry, be happy." He’s acknowledging the "muck" of life.
“I was held up, I was tied up / I was took for a ride”
That’s a direct nod to the litigation and the business sharks that circled the Beatles for a decade. He’s admitting he was cynical. He’s admitting he was bitter. The "blowing away" isn't an external event; it’s an internal decision. It’s about clearing the mental fog.
The song functions as a bridge between his heavy Indian-influenced philosophy of the early 70s and the more grounded, "Traveler" persona he would adopt later with the Traveling Wilburys. It’s the sound of a man finding balance. He isn't preaching from a mountaintop anymore; he’s talking to you from his garden.
The Music Video and the "Gardener" Persona
The music video for Blow Away is... well, it’s peak late-70s George. It features him in a simple jacket, surrounded by giant oversized toys, plants, and a dog. It’s low-budget, charmingly awkward, and completely devoid of the "rock star" posturing that dominated MTV just a few years later.
👉 See also: Blink-182 Mark Hoppus: What Most People Get Wrong About His 2026 Comeback
Watching him play the guitar while giant ducks and balls bounce around him tells you everything you need to know about his headspace. He didn't care about being cool. He cared about being happy. This authenticity is why the song continues to trend on streaming platforms every time spring rolls around. It’s the ultimate "reset" song.
Cultural Legacy and the 2020s Resurgence
Why is a song from 1979 still getting millions of plays?
TikTok and Instagram Reels have a lot to do with it. The "breezy" aesthetic of the song fits perfectly with modern lo-fi trends and "soft girl" or "cottagecore" vibes. But beyond the trends, there's a timelessness to the production. It doesn't have the gated reverb drums that make 80s music sound dated, and it doesn't have the muddy mix of the late 60s.
Music critics like Robert Christgau and magazines like Rolling Stone, who were often harsh on George’s mid-period work, have softened on the George Harrison album over the decades. They now see it as a high point of "yacht rock" before that term even existed—though calling George "yacht rock" feels a bit like an insult to his spiritual depth. Let's call it "Garden Rock" instead.
Actionable Takeaways for the Casual Listener
If you’re just discovering George’s solo discography, or if you only know "My Sweet Lord," here is how to actually appreciate the Blow Away era:
- Listen to the full 1979 self-titled album: It’s arguably his most consistent work. Tracks like "Love Comes to Everyone" (featuring Eric Clapton) pair perfectly with the vibe of Blow Away.
- Watch the 1979 interview with Nikki Horne: George discusses his detachment from the music industry during this period. It provides massive context for why this song sounds so relieved.
- Focus on the bassline: Willie Weeks played bass on this track, and his melodic, "walking" style is what gives the song its infectious bounce.
- Practice the "Exhale" philosophy: George wrote this to remind himself that moods are transitory. Next time you're stuck in a mental loop, put this on. It’s literally designed to break a bad mood.
The song remains a testament to the idea that the best art doesn't always come from pain. Sometimes, it comes from the simple, quiet moment when the rain stops and you realize you're still standing. George Harrison spent years looking for enlightenment in ashrams and ancient texts, but in Blow Away, he found it in a break in the weather.