3 Songs George Harrison Wrote to Voice His Frustration With The Beatles

George Harrison was frustrated with The Beatles for several reasons. He often felt restricted by Paul McCartney and John Lennon, who primarily handled songwriting duties. He was also annoyed by the band’s business and legal aspects, especially in dealings with Apple Records. To air out his grievances, George Harrison wrote a few songs with lyrics hinting at his annoyances. 

Here are 3 George Harrison songs that were written to air out his frustration with The Beatles

‘I, Me, Mine’

“I, Me, Mine” is from The Beatles’ 1970 album Let it Be and is the final song The Beatles recorded together. George Harrison wrote the song after an LSD trip when he realized how little material things matter. He became frustrated with his ego, and the recording itself is indicative of Harrison’s frustrations, as John Lennon didn’t record it after showing little interest. 

In his autobiography of the same name, Harrison explained how the acid trip led to him writing “I, Me, Mine.”

“Suddenly I looked around, and everything I could see was relative to my ego, like ‘that’s my piece of paper’ and ‘that’s my flannel’ or ‘give it to me’ or ‘I am’.” Harrison stated. “It drove me crackers, I hated everything about my ego, it was a flash of everything false and impermanent, which I disliked. But later, I learned from it, to realize that there is somebody else in here apart from old blabbermouth. Who am ‘I’ became the order of the day. Anyway, that’s what came out of it, ‘I Me Mine’.”

‘Wah-Wah’

During the Let it Be recording sessions, George Harrison quit The Beatles briefly after reaching a breaking point with Paul McCartney and John Lennon. While the guitarist returned to the band a week later, he wrote “Wah-Wah” during his time off to let his frustration out. The title referred to a headache and a foot pedal and was a diss aimed at McCartney and Lennon. 

In his autobiography, Harrison said the song’s message was “You’re giving me a b****y headache.” The track was never included on a Beatles album but was featured on his triple album, All Things Must Pass. 

‘Run of the Mill’

“Run of the Mill” is another of George Harrison’s songs from All Things Must Pass. He wrote it shortly after the tension-filled Let it Be sessions. The lyrics reflect Harrison’s annoyance with running Apple Corps with the other Beatles members. Harrison often shared how much he hated the business logistics of music, and “Run of the Mill” expressed how dysfunctional the band was. They couldn’t agree on how to run things, and this track provide insight on the inevitable collapse of The Beatles. 

“It’s like the North of England thing – you know, ‘Trouble at t’mill,’” Harrison wrote in his autobiography. “It was when Apple was getting crazy – Ringo wanted it blue, John wanted it white, Paul wanted it green, and I wanted it orange. Paul was falling out with us all and going around Apple offices saying, ‘You’re no good – everybody was just incompetent’ (the Spanish Inquisition sketch). It was that period – the problem of partnerships.”