George Harrison Said He Wasn’t Bitter About Pattie Boyd Leaving Him for Eric Clapton When He Covered ‘Bye Bye, Love’ — the New Couple Even Helped
George Harrison said he wasn’t bitter about his first wife, Pattie Boyd, leaving him for his friend, Eric Clapton, when he covered The Everly Brothers’ “Bye Bye, Love.” The new couple even helped George record the song.
Pattie Boyd officially left the former Beatle for Eric Clapton in 1974
Since the day they met on the set of The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night in 1964 and fell in love with each other at first sight, George and Boyd were inseparable. Later, they embarked on a spiritual journey together.
However, George became more spiritual than Boyd. The pair said their vows in 1966, but George started leaving Boyd behind, dedicating most of his free time to learning more about God-consciousness.
Boyd felt left out and abandoned. However, Boyd loved her husband, although she claims he started being unfaithful. Meanwhile, George and Clapton started hanging out. It didn’t take long for Clapton to fall in love with Boyd.
After Clapton briefly dated Boyd’s sister to make her jealous, Boyd received a love letter from him addressed to “Layla.” She assumed it was from a stranger, but Clapton told her it was from him.
Shortly after, Clapton wrote “Layla” for Boyd. They secretly met, and Clapton played her the song. Boyd knew everyone would know the song was about her. Despite feeling uncomfortable that Clapton was pushing her in a direction she didn’t want, it was getting harder for Boyd to resist him.
Later, Clapton appeared at a party Boyd attended at Robert Stigwood’s home. Boyd was secretly thrilled Clapton was there.
Then, George arrived and found her in the garden with Clapton, who told his friend he was in love with his wife. Still, Boyd remained with George, but his infidelities continued. She went to Clapton for comfort, and they started an affair.
In late 1973, Boyd revealed her affair with Clapton to George and moved in with him. For the most part, George shrugged off the complexity of the situation.
George Harrison said he wasn’t bitter when he covered ‘Bye Bye, Love’
Throughout his marriage to Boyd, George wasn’t perfect. So, who was he to dictate who Boyd wanted to be with? And who better than Clapton? According to Joshua M. Greene’s Here Comes The Sun: The Spiritual And Musical Journey Of George Harrison, George said looking at Clapton was “like looking at myself.”
“I’d rather she was with him than with some dope,” he said.
Clapton was amazed at George’s nonchalance. “He managed to laugh it all off when I thought it was getting pretty hairy,” he later said. “I thought the whole situation was tense—he thought it was funny. He helped us all through the split-up.”
George moved on spiritually from the ordeal. Everything was amicable. Yet, he recorded a seemingly bitter cover of “Bye Bye, Love” and changed the lyrics to reflect his relationship with Boyd.
He sings, “There goes our lady, with a-you-know-who/ I hope she’s happy, old Clapper too/ We had good rhythm (and a little slide) till she stepped in/ Did me a favour, I … threw them both out.”
George told India Today in 1976 that he wasn’t bitter. He said, “Eric’s a good friend, a really nice guy. I don’t regret anything, that was a joke. People thought I was bitter but it was only my way of saying hello to them!”
Greene wrote, “On the final mix, Clapton played guitar and Pattie sang in the chorus.”
George didn’t just sing about his failed marriage on ‘Bye Bye, Love’
The former Beatle and Boyd’s divorce was “clean and straightforward.” George dealt with the situation through song like he always did. He even started years before the pair divorced. In 1972, before George recorded “Bye Bye Love,” he wrote “So Sad.”
Greene wrote, “On a trip to New York, alone in his Park Lane Hotel suite, George wrote ‘So Sad.’ The song spoke of cold winds, lost love, and dreams abandoned. But he had come far in understanding how deeply entangled perfect souls became in an imperfect world.
“‘If we were all perfected beings,’ he told a New York reporter that week, ‘we wouldn’t be here in the physical world. . . . We can allow for each others’ inadequacies or failings with a little compassion, you know.'”
George was left with no body or voice until he met his second wife, Olivia Arias, who made him happy for the rest of his life.
