The Night Before His Father Died, George Harrison Dreamt of Him Coming to Say Goodbye
The night before his father died, George Harrison dreamt of him coming to say goodbye. The bus driver wasn’t too pleased when his son left school to join a band. However, George made Harold very proud.
Harold Harrison, the father of George Harrison, wasn’t too pleased with his son’s choice of career
George developed a love for music at a young age. When George was 10, his mother, Louise, allowed him to buy a beginner’s guitar from a boy at school for 3 pounds, 10 shillings. Harold arranged his son’s first lessons.
George practiced until his fingers bled and the cheap guitar’s neck bent. Louise often stayed up all night with her frustrated son as he practiced. She reassured him that he’d get better with time.
Over the years, George became a great guitar player and started putting it before school. Eventually, he dropped out of school altogether and decided to pursue music full-time. His father was not pleased.
Harold was a very hard worker. He scheduled every bus in Liverpool, which involved 6,000 buses and 80 different routes. Harold wanted his children to become equally great workers and productive community members. However, when he realized that all his youngest son cared about was music, he got concerned.
Harold was less than enthusiastic about his son’s choice of career and grew even more apprehensive when George started dressing like a Teddy boy.
In Harrison, Mikal Gilmore wrote, “When Harry Sr. expressed concern about this rebellious appearance, George’s mother supported her youngest son’s boldness. ‘There’s more than enough sheep in this life,’ she told her husband. ‘Just let the boy be.'”
The night before his father died, George dreamt of him coming to say goodbye
Despite having initial doubts, Harold grew proud of his son. George became a Beatle and brought fame to the whole family. Unfortunately, George’s mother didn’t see all the great things he accomplished in his solo career. She died in 1970, with George chanting to Krishna by her side.
However, Harold remained supportive for the rest of his life. He even accompanied his son to the White House to meet the president in 1974.
In Here Comes The Sun: The Spiritual And Musical Journey Of George Harrison, Joshua M. Greene wrote, “In May 1978, at the Harrison home in Appleton, George’s father died in his sleep. As he had done for his mother, George now did for his father and sat by his side chanting, appreciating the love this man had given him and wishing him safe passage back to God.
“George had been a handful growing up, rebellious, defiant, dropping out of school, and joining a band—all against his father’s wishes at the time. As much as his success, George’s ability to remain a gentleman and lead a spiritual life had made his father proud.
“On the eve of his father’s death, George dreamed that Harold came to him and bade him farewell.”
George became a father soon after
Months after his father died, George and his soon-to-be wife, Olivia, had their first and only child, Dhani.
Greene wrote, “Through his newly minted father’s eyes George caught a glimpse of what his own father must have seen when George was a boy. ‘With a child around, I can realize what it was like to be my father,’ he told Rolling Stone magazine.”
George said being a parent puts you in three periods of time. You are the kid, parent, and grandparent. “You can relive certain aspects of being a child,” George said. “You can watch him and have all these flashbacks of when you were a kid. It somehow completes this generation thing.”
Dhani made George proud just as George made Harold proud. It all came full circle.
