The Brilliance of "My Sweet Lord" (George Harrison) | BARRACUDA BREAKDOWNS EP. 34

[00:00:00]Okay, I can't wait to dive into this song. My Sweet Lord by George Harrison.

[00:00:04]Probably his most popular song. As I was learning it, I was just like dumbfounded at just the harmony and everything he's doing in junction in conjunction with the lyrics. And I can't wait to I can't wait to show you guys. I'm also going to get to the similarities between the Chiffon's song, He's So Fine, because he got in some trouble for unconscious plagiarism.

[00:00:28]And uh we'll talk about the similarities, but for now, let's just talk about the musicality of this song uh just right now. So, capo 2 E minor.

[00:00:39]I'm just going to call this E minor because it's E minor shape, right? I'm going to do the guitar talk. [music] So, it's actually F# minor, but E minor. And then, right [music] now, here's the thing.

[00:00:54]This isn't the key of the song.

[00:00:58]Neither is that.

[00:01:01]And that's part of what makes the song so beautiful. Like the song is like a spiritual journey, right? He's like, "My sweet Lord, like I really want to see you. I really want to be with you. I really want to see you, but it takes so long, my Lord. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

[00:01:15]Like I really want to go with you."

[00:01:18]Right? And I love the way that the tonic, the root chord, like the key of the song, I love the way that it's treated. Um, it's so beautiful. So, we got So, this chord is [music] the minor 2 chord, E minor. Okay. And it goes to the five. That's a. So, it's a 25 [music] one. But we haven't hit one yet, right?

[00:01:46]And then finally, oh my god.

[00:01:55]So that's like [music] now obviously it's a slide part and I got a little slide here.

[00:02:07][music] It's so iconic.

[00:02:13]And then Oh man.

[00:02:20]Oh my lord.

[00:02:23]Oh my sweet [music and singing] Lord.

[00:02:28]Oh my lord.

[00:02:31][music] Just like surrender. It's like a lot of surrender. Oh my lord. He only sings it three times and he [music] goes, I really want to see you. So right there he's like saying see you. He hits the taunt. It's like when I see you, right? But it's so short-lived because it quickly goes to the relative minor [music] like a sad fall. I really wanna see you.

[00:02:54][music] I really wanna [singing] be with you. I really want to be with you. Sad again. I really want to see you love, but it takes so [singing] long. [music] My back to the loop, the 251.

[00:03:09]Oh, my sweet Lord. Now that part is so beautiful. I really want to see you love, but it t that's F sharp diminished to B7 to E minor back to E minor. Now that's so nice because he's like really want to see Lord. [singing] That's the key of the song, but then he begins this like travel [music] and that's the minor two chord. So, it's like it's short-lived, but then he quickly [music] bridges back to like the never- ending like kind of like the loop of life, like kind of some sorrow, right?

[00:03:45]But it takes [music and singing] so long.

[00:03:49]It's a secondary dominant. Okay, that's the five of two. So [music and singing] long, my lord.

[00:03:59]Oh [music] my lord.

[00:04:03]My lord. [music] I just like I just love it, man.

[00:04:11][music] I really want to know [singing] you again. A D major [music] quick relative minor. I really want to go with you. I really want to show you, Lord, that it won't take a long [music and singing] man. That's uh 1 2 1 2 and then like a B7 chord. [music] God, it's like the harmony like the chords are always striving to be home and but it's always like very fleeting and it's like the song is like about a spiritual journey. It just kind of like makes sense in my head and it's uh it's just like very spiritual and I love it.

[00:04:52][music] Show you Lord that it won't take that it won't take. It's like we're bridging away from home. [music] Okay. And then when it goes hallelu [singing] like that's so like spiritual too [music] hallelujah cuz he's going [music] just like very like mystical intervals over this. So we got that's [music] E that's E minor, right? But it go it's a minor 7th making it a E minor 7 chord.

[00:05:26][music] Look at that. Oh my god. E minor 7 add N. And then here's like A6 [music] back to A major. Yeah.

[00:05:40][music] It gets like very mystical and like sophisticated like very quickly. And uh it's just a really beautiful touch.

[00:05:50]>> [music] >> And then watch this key chain. Like the drums haven't even joined yet, but I just want to stop and say like I love the production. Like the wall of sound guitars. Phil Spectre produced this, right? The wall of It sounds like a bunch of acoustics. Um and uh Harrison's vocals just like so like authentic and raw. Now as it's going like this is like a big change in the song. It goes my sweet Lord. Right here. Right [music] here. I really want to see you. So right here is the longest that we hold in the tonic. Really want to see you. [music] I really want to [singing] see you. So we know something's coming. We got D7.

[00:06:30]Now we make it a dominant seven chord.

[00:06:31]It's kind of bluesy. See you. And then I really want to see you, Lord.

[00:06:36][music and singing] Now this is B7 before. We've done this chord before, but it just led right back to take so long.

[00:06:44]Right. It like brought us back into that loop that like samsara loop just like everyday life just but we want to find that home that center see you. [singing] So again here's I'm going to I'm going to start that again. So see you really want to see you. Now this B7 is being treated differently. Really want to see you [music] Lord. Now it does go to E again, but it's E major. And it's not the minor 2 chord of D anymore. Now it's the new one chord. Really want to [music] see low. That's the new key. Now we're in E major. It's like such a nice modulation.

[00:07:24]It's beautiful. But it goes back to that weird thing. [music] But it won't [singing] take a long.

[00:07:32][music] It's the same pattern. Okay. So it's like want to see Lord [music] Lord again really want to see love but it rare. Now it's [music] G sharp diminished to C sharp 7 [music] the five chord of the minor 2 chord of the new key. [music] Oh my [singing] [music] really want to know you [music] again.

[00:08:12]Same thing. It's like major one. It's the relative minor. Really want to go with you.

[00:08:19]Really want to show you love that it won't take a long.

[00:08:28][music and singing] I love when he goes.

[00:08:35]Oh, like it's so ascending, right? Like the music has ascended. It has lifted into this new key. It went up a full step and then we got like the thickened vocal harmonies.

[00:08:53]It could just go on forever and it does.

[00:08:55]And then finally when it goes now it does that slide thing but a full step higher. So now it's like they add those two notes.

[00:09:09][music] I just love how Harrison like found notes to like go over like that beautiful passage [singing and music] [music] and he's adding all these names at the end right he's like harama maheshwara guru deo parabra Ama, it's like he's saying a lot of names at the end there. Such sophisticated songwriting by George Harrison. So, just to recap the song, minor 2 [music] to five. It's a 25 one progression.

[00:10:00]And then finally, [music] major 1 to the six, a relative minor, D to B minor.

[00:10:07][music] And now we're crawling our way back to the two chord. Okay, here's the major one. and then F [music] sharp diminished. So we're like But before we go before we do that, we go to the fifth [music] because that's how we're going to crawl back, right?

[00:10:26]F sharp diminish to B7.

[00:10:28][singing and music] And then oh, which is [music] back to that loop, the never ending loop.

[00:10:38]And then they want to go with [singing] you.

[00:10:42][music] Really want to know you. Really want to show you love that it won't [singing and music] take long.

[00:10:53]For me, the moment that hits the hardest in conjunction with the harmony with the chords is when he goes, "Really want to see you [music] to the minor 6 to the to the minor 6 chord. Really want to be [singing] with you." Right [music] here. really want to see you love, but it t he's getting like pulled away from like the tonal center.

[00:11:13]Really want to see, but it takes so [music and singing] long, but it takes so long.

[00:11:21]It's like I can't get enough of that.

[00:11:23]It's like so nice. Okay. And then later like but when the drums enter it's like I really want to see you.

[00:11:31]I really want to see [music] you. That's the major tonic but a dominant seven.

[00:11:35]We're adding the flat 7 bluesy. [music] Really want to see Lord. [singing] It's like secondary dominant, right? But that's acting as the five chord of the new key because now instead of going back to E minor, it goes to E major.

[00:11:47]That's the new major one chord. [music] But it takes [singing] so back to the pattern.

[00:11:57][music] If he wanted to, he could have kept like repeating that pattern and always modulating up a full step. like that would have been cool to do too. Uh but I think it's just showing that it's like always ascending. It's so nice. And now let's do the let's talk about the comparisons between this song and He's So Fine by the Chiffons. So the Chiffons, it's in a different key, but it's the same chord progression. So I'm just going to play it in the exact same key. He's So Fine.

[00:12:26]Wish he [music] were mine. [singing] The handsome boy over there. I don't know [music] the way she sings it.

[00:12:34]the one with the wavy hair again. Then it goes it does go to the relative major like it goes don't know how I'm going to do it. But it doesn't go.

[00:12:45]It just stays therea but at the end of the song because it's a very short song. It's only a minute 52. He's So fine by the chiffons. Uh at the end of the song it does go [music] which is the exact [singing] same chord progression as my sweet lord. Obviously George Harrison does adds the [music] does like very sophisticated stuff that the chiffons does not do that the chiffons do not do. Um and then [clears throat] George Harrison changes keys like he modulates and the He's so fine by the chiffons does not do that but it does do the [music] Wish you were the same kind of vibe.

[00:13:28][music] Definitely the same harmonic vibe, [music] right? And then at one point it's like it goes to the [music] four chord and that does not do that at all in my Sweet Lord. And it goes back to the one.

[00:13:51]It goes back to the four.

[00:13:54]And it might even go to the to the [singing and music] five.

[00:13:59]Da da da.

[00:14:02]So that B section in the He's so fine or it's like the middle eight. That doesn't that that chord progression does not happen at all. My Sweet Lord. And like I just said, My Sweet Lord has like the crazy modulation like the key change, the more sophisticated chords. But yeah, it is pretty damn close like with just like like the 25 one [music] just and the looping the two of the 25, you know, and then bursting [music] bursting into the major one and at the end it does do [music] the chiffon song.

[00:14:36]Very cool. Um, but yeah, I just I love My Sweet Lord so much. Like again, it's like the lyrics in working in harmony with the chords and the melodies just glue it all together. And I just love Harrison's voice. So, I hope you got a lot out of this breakdown. I really enjoyed diving into the song. Thanks for tuning in, guys. And if you want to work together on a music production level where you work with me directly to really shape your sound and bring your songs to life, just check out learn.danrakuda.com/ownyouound.

[00:15:08]That's my new program I'm rolling out.

[00:15:10]And um I only have limited spots available, but you can check out that site and uh fill out this quick questionnaire so I can see what you're working on. Again, that's learn.danbarracuda.com/ownyou sound. And uh thank you guys so much.

[00:15:22]I'll see you in the next episode.

[00:15:24]>> [music]