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This Song

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For other uses, seeThis Song (disambiguation).
"This Song"
US picture sleeve
SinglebyGeorge Harrison
from the albumThirty Three & 1/3
B-side"Learning How to Love You"
Released15 November 1976
GenrePop rock[1]
Length4:14(album version)
3:45 (single edit)
LabelDark Horse
Songwriter(s)George Harrison
Producer(s)George Harrison withTom Scott
George Harrisonsingles chronology
"This Guitar (Can't Keep from Crying)"
(1975) 		"This Song"
(1976) 		"Crackerbox Palace"
(1977)

"This Song"is a song by English rock musicianGeorge Harrisonfrom his 1976 albumThirty Three & 1/3.It was released as the first single from the album and reached number 25 on the American pop charts but failed to chart in the UK. Harrison wrote the song as a response to the copyright infringement suit launched against him over his early 1970s hit "My Sweet Lord".The lyrics use terminology associated with the court case and mention other song titles as a satirical comment on the notion of plagiarism in popular music.[2]

Composition and recording

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George Harrison wrote "This Song" in March 1976 after spending a week in a New York courtroom, trying to convince a judge that his 1970 song "My Sweet Lord"did not infringe the copyright ofthe Chiffons' 1963 hit "He's So Fine".[3]According to Harrison, the plaintiff's witnesses got ridiculously in-depth, breaking "My Sweet Lord" down into several melody lines, or "motifs", as they referred to them.[4]The plaintiff's expert also drew up several charts with large musical notes on it to prove the point.[4]Harrison said in his autobiography,I, Me, Mine,that after several days, he "started to believe that maybe they did own those notes".[4]

Harrison wrote "This Song" to express his frustration at the infringement case in the form of an uptempo, piano-driven track. The song addresses the issue of musical plagiarism[5]and also mocks serious analysis of a pop song.[6]In his lyrics, Harrison states that the new composition came to him "unknowingly",[5]discusses itskeyand main riff, and asserts that he has his "expert's" approval.[7]With reference to Bright Tunes, the company that owned the copyright to "He's So Fine", he declares, "This tune has nothing 'Bright' about it".[8]

In musicologist Thomas MacFarlane's description, Harrison includes "musical jokes" and "familiar musical phrases" to further convey his view of a pop song's originality.[9]The opening riff recalls that ofthe Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)",[10]a similarity that Harrison soon acknowledges.[5]He sings that it might be recognisable from his 1975 single "You";other voices then interject, disagreeing over whether the song sounds more like" I Can't Help Myself "orFontella Bass' "Rescue Me".[11]The recording includesBilly Prestonon piano and organ, a horn arrangement byTom Scott,[12]andMonty Python'sEric Idleproviding the "ratbag" interjections about the song's originality.[13]

Release and reception

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Writing forGoldminemagazine in January 2002,Dave Thompsondescribed "This Song" as "a brilliantly constructed commentary on Harrison's more recent travails".[14]Billboarddescribed the track as "irresistible" due to its cheerfulness and the way "the words so cleverly play on the concept of trying to write an entertaining non-controversial song".[15]Cash Boxsaid "a jazzy piano and organ take off on the lead" and "a firey sax played by Tom Scott spits across thebridge."[16]Record Worldsaid "What if every time you wrote a song you had to run it through a computer to test its originality? That's the theme here, inspired by George's legal rift. The bright sound could make it his biggest yet."[17]

Music video

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Harrison directed a music video for the song,[18]which was filmed in a Los Angeles courthouse and satirised the 1976 plagiarism hearing. The clip was first shown on the 20 November 1976 episode ofSaturday Night Livehosted byPaul Simon,in which Harrison was a special musical guest. It features Harrison in a courtroom along with a cast of many of his friends (dressed up as the jury, bailiff, defence experts). DrummerJim Keltnerappears as the judge andthe Rolling Stones'Ronnie Wood(dressed as a "Pepperpot"character) mimics Idle's falsetto words; Harrison's girlfriend (later wife),Olivia Arias,appears between the people of the jury. The clip ends with Harrison playing guitar, with one hand handcuffed to a courtroom guard.[19]

Chicago radio stationWLS,which gave "This Song" much airplay, ranked it as the 72nd most popular hit of 1977.[20]It reached number 7 on their survey of 15 January 1977.[21]

Personnel

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Chart performance

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References

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  1. ^Allison, p. 36.
  2. ^Ian Inglis,The Words and Music of George Harrison,Praeger (Santa Barbara, CA, 2010;ISBN978-0-313-37532-3), pp. 61–62.
  3. ^Chip Madinger & Mark Easter,Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium,44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000;ISBN0-615-11724-4), p. 453.
  4. ^abcThirty Three & 1/3(CD booklet).George Harrison.Dark Horse Records.2004. p. 3.{{cite AV media notes}}:CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^abcInglis, p. 61.
  6. ^Lindsay Planer,"George Harrison 'This Song'",AllMusic(retrieved 2 March 2021).
  7. ^Tillery, p. 117.
  8. ^Clayson, pp. 353, 355.
  9. ^MacFarlane, p. 104.
  10. ^Allison, p. 157.
  11. ^Clayson, pp. 355–56.
  12. ^Madinger & Easter, p. 454.
  13. ^Clayson, p. 356.
  14. ^Dave Thompson, "The Music of George Harrison: An album-by-album guide",Goldmine,25 January 2002, p. 18.
  15. ^"Top Single Picks"(PDF).Billboard.20 November 1976. p. 70.Retrieved2020-07-13.
  16. ^"CashBox Singles Reviews"(PDF).Cash Box.November 27, 1976. p. 20.Retrieved2021-12-11.
  17. ^"Hits of the Week"(PDF).Record World.November 20, 1976. p. 1.Retrieved2023-03-03.
  18. ^The Editors ofRolling Stone,Harrison,Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002;ISBN0-7432-3581-9), p. 132.
  19. ^Allison, p. 37.
  20. ^"WLS Musicradio" Big 89 of 1977 "".oldiesloon.com.
  21. ^"WLS MUSICRADIO 89".Oldiesloon.com.1977-01-15.Retrieved2020-01-30.
  22. ^"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada".Collectionscanada.gc.ca.1976-12-25.Retrieved2021-02-23.
  23. ^"RPMTop Singles, January 22, 1977 "Archived13 April 2014 at theWayback Machine,Library and Archives Canada(retrieved 11 April 2014).
  24. ^"George Harrison – This Song",dutchcharts.nl (retrieved 11 April 2014).
  25. ^"George Harrison > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles",AllMusic(retrieved 11 April 2014).
  26. ^"Cash Box Top 100 Singles",Cash Box,8 January 1977, p. 3.
  27. ^"Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada".Collectionscanada.gc.ca.Retrieved2016-10-11.

Sources

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