The Story Of The Paul McCartney Song That Sounds Like George Harrison’s

It’s a truth worth knowing that George Harrison and Paul McCartney’s friendship deteriorated over the years. The pair met in high school, and it was Paul’s idea to include George in his band together with John Lennon.

Yet, as The Beatles progressed, so was George’s eagerness to be equally relevant as a songwriter in the group. With his competition being the Lennon-McCartney duo themselves, it’s tough for him to secure a decent spot in any album; John was so-so, and it was Paul who often pushed the quiet Beatle’s songwriting talents aside.

Nonetheless, Paul had since apologized for not being able to recognize George’s talents and had been appreciative of George’s work. At some point, Paul even created a song that channeled a familiar tune that’s quite similar to his old bandmate’s style.

Four years later since Harrison’s passing in 2001, McCartney released an album entitled Chaos and Creation In the Backyard (2005), wherein it contained a song called “Friends to Go.” Macca confessed in an interview that the song is something that George’ would’ve thought of doing if he was still alive.

“Funny thing about some songs is when you’re writing them you can think you’re someone else,” the musician explained. “I mean when I was doing ‘Long and Winding Road’ I thought I was Ray Charles. In actual fact, my record of it, the Beatles’ record of it, is nothing like Ray Charles at all. But in my mind, I was being him. I was playing Ray.”

He commented further: “And on ‘Friends to Go,’ I realized I was playing George Harrison. So, to me, it just started to sound like a George Harrison song. So, I was writing with that in the back of my mind.”

While writing, Paul kept thinking that the melody and the lyrics he created would somewhat pass on to be one of George’s. It’s one of the songs he admitted to channeling a former Beatle’s spirit in songwriting; most of the time, he’s carrying the spirit of John Lennon.

Listen to the song below.