George Harrison, a gardener’s life
“I am a very humble person. I don’t want to stay in the music industry full time, because I’m a gardener. I plant flowers and watch them grow. I don’t go to events or parties. I’m at home and look at the flowing river.”
Many claim that George Harrison was the least interested in being a Beatle and accused him of having been caustic towards the dramas of his Fab period. Others claim he was crushed by John and Paul’s fame and creativity. My friend Nicola, when George expressed less than flattering impressions about Oasis, told me that was bitter in his opinion because he was aware of being forgotten.
It is unique that as one of the most reserved people in the rock and roll jet set, he in reality created a lot of bitterness.
Unravelling the ribbon of the story, the Beatles were a phenomenon that suddenly exploded. They emerged from nothing and returned to nothingness. It was unrepeatable and unrepeated brillance. All four of them were the Beatles, in spite of themselves: John with the impetus, Paul with enthusiasm, Ringo with his loyalty and the ability to keep the pieces together; George with the strength to listen, patience to wait for his turn, originality.
When George was enthusiastic about something, he had the strength to have others follow him, as was the case with India and the Maharishi. We have him to thank for introducing the sitar into music. The first great benefit rock event, the concert for Bangladesh, was his work.
Regarding the frustration, it was partly about the group but a notable percent was due to hysteria. The Beatles appeared to the world’s public in ’63 but the partnership began in ’58. Their relationship was first of all adolescent and then adult which became, in the years of success, a business matter.
George lived his development and personal growth in the shadow of John and Paul and many dynamics, caused by enormous success, remained the same as adolescence: how can he not suffer?
He had contradictory passions that spanned from Formula One to meditation and women; from music to gardening and cinema. George was the one who, during a night with Paul playing She’s Leaving Home, asked, “Beautiful, what is it?”
When his son Dhani, after his schoolmates ran over singing Yellow Submarine and discovering that his father was part of the group, asked him why didn’t you ever tell me that you were in the Beatles? George replied: “Sorry. I suppose I should have talked to him about it.
But George was also what he wrote All Those Years Ago and When We Were Fab. He had a profound sense of irony and the alleged lack of interest in the wonderful period, in fact, a need to dissect a demon.
To understand George Harrison, one would have to accept what was really important to him. George’s existence has oscillated, like a few others, between the materiality of earthly things and the pursuit of spirituality. For him, the Beatles were a happy and even tormented period of his life, but his life didn’t stop with the Beatles.
All experiences, whether positive or negative, are fundamental if they teach you something. If they teach you nothing, they’re nothing.
George Harrison
Originariamente pubblicato su www.enricomattioli.com il 27 maggio 2018.