George Harrison Give Me Love Youtube
Arnold Gilgen
"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released as the opening track of his 1973 album Living in the Material World. It was also issued as the album's lead single, in May that year, and became Harrison's second US number 1, after "My Sweet Lord". In doing so, the song pushed Paul McCartney and Wings' "My Love" from the top of the Billboard Hot 100, marking the only occasion that two former Beatles have held the top two chart positions in America. The single also reached the top ten in Britain, Canada, Australia, and Holland.
Harrison performed "Give Me Love" at every concert during his rare tours as a solo artist, and a live version was included on his 1992 album Live in Japan. The original studio recording appears on the compilation albums The Best of George Harrison (1976) and Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison (2009). At the Concert for George tribute to Harrison, in November 2002, Jeff Lynne performed "Give Me Love" with Andy Fairweather-Low and Marc Mann playing the twin slide-guitar parts. Marisa Monte, Dave Davies, Elliott Smith, Ron Sexsmith, Sting, James Taylor, Elton John, and Grace Vanderwaal are among the other artists who have covered the song.
Sometimes you open your mouth and you don't know what you are going to say, and whatever comes out is the starting point. If that happens and you are lucky, it can usually be turned into a song. This song is a prayer and personal statement between me, the Lord, and whoever likes it.[1]
"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" continues the precedent that Harrison set on "My Sweet Lord", through its fusion of the Hindu bhajan (or devotional song) with Western gospel tradition.[14][15] Author Simon Leng comments that the song repeats another of its composer's hit formulas, by using a three-syllable lyrical hook as its title, like "My Sweet Lord", "What Is Life" and "Bangla Desh".[16]
The song's time signature is primarily 4/4, with a meter change to 2/4 at the end of the intro, and to either 3/4 or 7/4 at the end of each pre-chorus (depending on the interpretation of the scorer).[17] The musical key is F major. As on Harrison's recording, this can be accomplished by placing of a capo on the guitar's third fret, to transpose the chords from D up to the correct key.[18] The intro features strummed acoustic guitar, similar in style to the opening of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man".[19] The song builds gradually from its understated introduction, with the rhythm section only fully arriving after the first bridge segment.[20] Harrison biographer Gary Tillery describes the musical mood as "bouncy yet soothing".[21]
In his lyrics, Harrison expresses his vision for life in the physical world.[22] Following the opening instrumental passage, the song begins with a chorus[23] in which he first pleads for a life devoid of the karmic burden of reincarnation (rebirth): "Give me love, give me love, give me peace on earth / Give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth."[24][25] These lyrics bear a simple, universal message,[19][26] one that, in the context of the time, related as much to the communal "peace and love" idealism of the 1960s as it did Harrison's personal spiritual quest.[27][nb 1]
Harrison also asks for divine assistance to "cope with this heavy load", while his stated attempt to "touch and reach you with heart and soul" recalls the same plea for a direct relationship with his deity that he expresses in "My Sweet Lord".[31] These two lines, which complete the chorus,[32] imply a deficiency or unfulfilment on the singer's part.[33] According to author Ian Inglis, they serve as "an acknowledgment of the trials and tribulations he was facing in a more earthly setting" in the aftermath to the Concert for Bangladesh.[34][nb 2]
Harrison's commitment to overseeing the release of the Concert for Bangladesh documentary film prevented him from being able to start on the follow-up to his All Things Must Pass triple album until midway through 1972.[40][41] Another delay was caused by producer Phil Spector's unreliability, as Harrison waited for him to turn up for the start of the sessions.[4] Author Bruce Spizer writes that "the eccentric producer's erratic attendance caused George to realize the project would never get done if he kept waiting for Spector",[42] and by October that year, Harrison had decided to produce the album alone.[4]
["Give Me Love"] perfectly encapsulates Harrison's guitar technique and production: economical in notes, it demonstrates virtuosity instead in its augmentation of the melody, rendered in the layering of two or more fluid slide guitar parts painstakingly arranged and impeccably recorded.[43]
As for the majority of Living in the Material World, Harrison recorded the basic track for "Give Me Love" in the autumn of 1972[44] with the assistance of former Beatles engineer Phil McDonald.[42] The recording location was either FPSHOT, Harrison's new home studio at Friar Park in Henley-on-Thames,[45] or Apple Studio in London.[46] In a departure from Harrison's co-productions with Spector, where a large line-up of musicians had been standard,[43] "Give Me Love" featured a pared-down arrangement and more subtle instrumentation.[46][47] Another contrast was Harrison's adoption of a production style that partly recalls George Martin's work with the Beatles.[48][49] On "Give Me Love", Inglis notes the same "supple and clear [acoustic] guitar-playing that distinguished 'Here Comes the Sun'" in 1969,[25] while the less grand production, relative to All Things Must Pass, allowed greater expression for Harrison as a slide guitarist.[50][51]
Harrison carried out overdubs on the backing track, including twin slide-guitar parts, during the first two months of 1973.[52][nb 4] Aside from Harrison's guitar work, the most prominent instrument on the recording is Nicky Hopkins' piano,[19] double-tracked and played in his usual melodic style.[54] The rhythm section consisted of bassist Klaus Voormann and drummer Jim Keltner.[46] The organ player on the song was American musician Gary Wright,[42] whose 1971 album Footprint was one of many musical projects in which Harrison was involved between All Things Must Pass and Material World.[55][nb 5] Peter Lavezzoli, author of The Dawn of Indian Music in the West, comments on how quickly Harrison's "unique approach" to slide-guitar playing had matured since 1970, to incorporate sitar, veena and other Hindustani musical stylings, and rates the mid-song solo on "Give Me Love" as "one of his most intricate and melodic".[59]
Backed by "Miss O'Dell", "Give Me Love" was issued on 7 May 1973 in America (as Apple R 5988)[65] and 25 May in Britain (Apple 1862).[66] Three weeks later, the song appeared as the opening track on Living in the Material World.[67][68] As with all the songs on the album bar the 1971-copyright "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" and "Try Some, Buy Some",[69] Harrison assigned his publishing royalties for "Give Me Love" to his newly launched Material World Charitable Foundation.[48]
Apple's US distributor, Capitol Records, mastered the single to run at a faster speed than the album track,[62] in order to make the song sound brighter on the radio.[70][nb 6] Unusually for an Apple release by a former Beatle, the single was packaged in a plain sleeve in the main markets of Britain and the United States.[66] A variety of picture sleeves were available in European countries, including a design incorporating Harrison's signature and a red Om symbol,[71] both of which were aspects of Tom Wilkes's artwork for the Material World album.[72]
The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 at the end of June, for one week,[73] and peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.[74][75] Repeating the feat of January 1971, when "My Sweet Lord" and All Things Must Pass sat atop the Billboard charts simultaneously, "Give Me Love" hit number 1 part-way through Material World's five-week stay at the top of the albums listings.[76][nb 7]
"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" replaced Wings' "My Love" at number 1 on the Hot 100 singles chart,[74] and in turn was replaced by "Will It Go Round in Circles",[78] by Harrison's former Apple Records protg Billy Preston.[79] For the week ending 30 June that year, the Harrison, McCartney and Preston songs were ranked numbers 1, 2 and 3, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100,[80] marking the first time since 25 April 1964 that the Beatles occupied the top two positions on that chart.[81] Schaffner described this period as "reminiscent of the golden age of Beatlemania", due to the amount of Beatles-related product dominating the charts in America.[82][nb 8] As of October 2013, the week of 30 June 1973 remained the only time that two former members of the Beatles held the first and second positions on a US singles chart.[85]
"Give Me Love" later appeared on the 1976 compilation The Best of George Harrison,[86] as one of just six selections from the artist's solo career.[87] The song was also included on 2009's Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison.[88]
"Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)" became one of Harrison's most popular songs,[92] both from his years with the Beatles and from his subsequent solo career.[93][94] On release, McCartney described it as "very nice", adding: "The guitar solo is ace and I like the time changes."[95] Billboard magazine's reviewer wrote: "Harrison's voice and sweet, country tinged guitar work within a rippling but controlled rhythm base, lends itself to this plea for human understanding. His sincere sound engulfs the listener and brings [them] into the story."[96] In Rolling Stone, Stephen Holden lauded the song for its "strong, short-phrased melody whose lyrics are sheer exhortation", and said that the single was "every bit as good as 'My Sweet Lord'".[97] Record World called it "an outstanding message song that will please fans around the world."[98]
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