It was cold. Really cold. The English winter of 1969 had been a long, miserable slog of gray skies and even grayer business meetings. George Harrison was trapped. Not in a literal prison, but in the suffocating boardroom of Apple Corps, dealing with accounting, legal disputes, and the slow-motion car crash of The Beatles' internal politics. He eventually just snapped. He bailed on a meeting, drove over to his friend Eric Clapton’s house, and borrowed an acoustic guitar. He walked out into the garden, the sun finally peeked through the clouds, and those first few notes just happened.
When people look up the words here comes the sun, they usually aren't just looking for a lyric sheet. They're looking for that specific feeling of a weight being lifted. It’s arguably the most famous song ever written about the weather, but it has almost nothing to do with meteorology. It's about survival.
The Story Behind the Light
George was the "Quiet Beatle," but honestly, by 1969, he was just the "Fed Up Beatle." He’d spent years in the shadow of Lennon and McCartney. While they were busy arguing over who was going to manage the band, George was finding his own voice through Indian philosophy and a deep-seated need for peace.
He wrote the track in Eric Clapton's garden using one of Eric's Gibson J-200 acoustics. If you listen to the original recording on Abbey Road, you can hear that brightness. It’s crisp. It’s hopeful. But it’s also technically weird. For a song that sounds so simple, it shifts time signatures in a way that would make most folk singers trip over their own feet. It dances between 4/4, 7/8, and 11/8 time during the bridge.
The words here comes the sun are repeated like a mantra. Little darling, it's been a long, cold, lonely winter. That isn't just poetry. He was talking about the 1968-1969 season in London, which was historically bleak, but he was also talking about the "winter" of the band's relationship.
Why the Lyrics Stick
Simplicity is hard. Writing a complex song about nothing is easy, but writing a simple song that feels profound is the ultimate songwriter's trap. George nailed it because he didn't overthink the vocabulary.
- The smiles returning to the faces: He noticed people actually looked different when the sun came out. It’s a physical observation.
- It seems like years since it's been here: Time moves differently when you're depressed or stressed. A week can feel like a decade.
- Sun, sun, sun, here it comes: This section—the bridge—is where the Moog synthesizer comes in. It was a brand new toy at the time. George was one of the first major artists to really lean into the Moog, and that rising, bubbling sound makes the lyrics feel like they’re actually ascending.
Honestly, the song shouldn't work as well as it does. It’s almost too optimistic. But because it came from a place of genuine relief—a break from the lawsuits and the bickering—it feels earned. It doesn't feel like a greeting card. It feels like a sigh.
The Secret "Lost" Solo
Here is something most people totally miss. There’s actually a "lost" guitar solo in "Here Comes the Sun." During a session at Abbey Road in 2012, George’s son, Dhani Harrison, producer George Martin, and his son Giles Martin were sitting at the mixing desk. They found a track on the original master tape that had been muted for the final 1969 mix.
It was a blistering, bluesy solo George had recorded for the bridge.
Why was it cut? Probably because it changed the vibe. The song we know is delicate. The lost solo was aggressive. By keeping the words here comes the sun as the focus, supported by the Moog and the acoustic fingerpicking, they preserved the "zen" of the track. If that solo had stayed in, the song might have just been another rock track instead of the secular hymn it became.
The Science of "Ice is Slowly Melting"
There is a psychological phenomenon called "Seasonal Affective Disorder" (SAD), and Harrison basically wrote the anthem for it before it was a widely recognized clinical term. When the sun hits the retina, it triggers the release of serotonin.
George’s lyrics describe the thawing process. The ice is slowly melting. It’s a metaphor for the heart, sure, but it’s also a literal description of the English countryside in April. This is why the song is the most-streamed Beatles track on Spotify. It’s not "Hey Jude" or "Let It Be." It’s "Here Comes the Sun."
Why? Because it’s functional music. People play it when they wake up. They play it at weddings. They play it after a breakup. It’s a tool for emotional regulation.
How to Play It (The Right Way)
If you’re a guitar player trying to match the record, you can’t just strum G, C, and D. You need a capo on the 7th fret. This is crucial. Placing the capo that high up gives the guitar that "sparkly," mandolin-like quality.
George used a very specific "Travis picking" style, where his thumb kept a steady bass beat while his fingers danced around the melody. Most people mess up the "Sun, sun, sun, here it comes" part because they don't count the triplets. It’s a syncopated rhythm that feels like a heartbeat skipping.
- Put your capo on the 7th fret.
- Shape a D chord (which sounds like an A major).
- Focus on the high strings for the "little darling" melody.
- Don't rush. The song breathes.
The Cultural Weight of a Three-Minute Song
It’s weird to think that a song written to avoid a meeting with accountants became a global symbol of hope. In 1977, when NASA sent the Voyager Golden Record into space, they wanted to include "Here Comes the Sun." They thought it was the perfect representation of humanity's optimism.
The Beatles all loved the idea. NASA loved the idea. But EMI, the record label, refused to provide the legal clearances.
Think about that. The words here comes the sun were literally too tied up in corporate red tape to be sent to the stars, which is exactly the kind of "long, cold, lonely winter" nonsense George was trying to escape when he wrote it in the first place. Irony is a cruel mistress.
Making Your Own "Sun" Moment
We all have those Apple Corps meetings in our lives. Maybe it’s a job you hate, a toxic relationship, or just a streak of bad luck that won't quit.
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The lesson of the song isn't that the sun is always out. The lesson is that the sun eventually comes back. It sounds cheesy until you’re the one sitting in the dark.
Next Steps for the Sun-Seeker:
- Audit your environment: George had to literally leave the building to find the song. If you’re stuck, change your physical location. Walk outside. No, really.
- Embrace the simple: You don’t need a 50-piece orchestra to express a massive emotion. Sometimes three chords and a simple observation are more powerful than a symphony.
- Find your "Capo": In life, sometimes you need to shift your "key" to find the right resonance. If things feel heavy, find a way to lighten the load, even if it’s just for an afternoon in a friend's garden.
- Listen to the 2019 Remix: If you haven't heard the 50th-anniversary remix by Giles Martin, do it. The clarity on the acoustic guitar is staggering. You can hear the wood of the instrument.
George Harrison died in 2001, but this track keeps him more alive than almost any other piece of media. It’s a reminder that winter is a season, not a permanent state of being. The ice melts. The smiles return. It’s all right.