Isn't It A Pitty

[taxman]

Do you think that this classic from All Things Must Pass, was directed to the other Beatles, especially Paul, because of all the mess they were at the time?
I say this especially because of the lyrics, of course, but there's also the end of the song that reminds me of Hey Jude.
Is there any thing written about this?

[Legs]

There will always be people who will find something in every song, that they think is directed against Paul.They are not only taking a stab at Paul, but also diminish George's lyrics doing so.

George's just saying that "Isn't It A Pitty" how we treat each other sometimes. I say it's about everyone including George himself, we all have done something, or said something to someone else that we regret later on. "Isn't A Pitty?"

There is one very good book, about George's solo work, it's called "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", by Simon Leng.

[beatlebangs1964]

The Leng book is an excellent, scholarly treatment of George Harrison's work. In the book I Me Mine, George himself says the song "Isn't It a Pity" is a general lamentation about how people treat one another when a relationship sours.

[L'Angelo Misterioso]

This is bit off topic but I'll write it anyroad.

Last week Paul said in his concert in Helsinki that sometimes you're too shy to tell people that you love them and you won't notice it until it's too late. The next song he performed then was "Here Today".http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry5.gif

I still think "Isn't It A Pity" is about Paul, but hell it's about many other people too. http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Apple Scruff]

Isn't It a Pity is my absolute favorite song by George ever. Its the most beautiful, beautiful song. The words touch my heart and they are breathtaking, and the music equals this affect on me. I'm not really sure who the song was directed towards, or if it was George just thinking about life in general, but every time I hear it I just stop to listen. Its such a powerful song.

[FPSHOT]

Ever since 1970 this song has been chasing me. Some things take so long... and are so useless ... and that is such a pity. The "why" comes along and yes George put it into this fantastic song which has dynamic that comes with sadness and you can call it the Spector "Wall Of Sound", but I believe it belongs with the feeling of "Pity" which is so hard to describe. Pity needs dynamic, it's pain and sometimes you like to shout it out loud as Georgs does here.

Pity / Patty ..... I always wondered about the connection between those two words and for instance the great guitar solo gives you time to think about that.

The combination with Hey Jude I have not seen in writing, but it sure is there, even in the chord structure.

George did this song Live in such a beautiful way that is a highlight of for instance "Live In Japan".

[Savoy Truffle]

I'm sure it's a general lament like George said but there's got to be personal references too. I've always thought it to relate to the Beatles as well as to George/Patti.

Great song and can probably strike a chord with all of us.

[Hari's Chick]

[ QUOTE ]
FPSHOT Posted:
George did this song Live in such a beautiful way that is a highlight of for instance "Live In Japan".

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, that is true. Even the band discussed that in the Live In Japan book...that they felt it was very powerful in the show.

George, when he was asked in February of 2001, what his favorites off of All Things Must Pass were~ he said they were Run of the Mill, Isn't It a Pity, and Awaiting on You All. So, George loved it too. http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[suckerfly]

[ QUOTE ]
FPSHOT Posted:
Ever since 1970 this song has been chasing me. Some things take so long... and are so useless ... and that is such a pity. The "why" comes along and yes George put it into this fantastic song which has dynamic that comes with sadness and you can call it the Spector "Wall Of Sound", but I believe it belongs with the feeling of "Pity" which is so hard to describe. Pity needs dynamic, it's pain and sometimes you like to shout it out loud as Georgs does here.

Pity / Patty ..... I always wondered about the connection between those two words and for instance the great guitar solo gives you time to think about that.

The combination with Hey Jude I have not seen in writing, but it sure is there, even in the chord structure.

George did this song Live in such a beautiful way that is a highlight of for instance "Live In Japan".

[/ QUOTE ]


The thing is, ''Isn't It A Pity'' was written back in 1966, it waited 4 years to ever show up on an album (eventually All Things Must Pass). 'Pity' was rejected by John Lennon, reasons why unknown, and Harrison still felt slightly bitter when bringing the song back for consideration in early 1969 at the Get Back sessions.

That Isn't It A Pity predates Hey Jude is one minor slight, which is why I believe there are 2 versions of the song on ATMP. Version Two, reportedly was the one recorded first, and by its sound, seems more 'Beatley' in arrangement and vocal structure. It's also simpler, more in keeping possible with an Isn't It A Pity 1966 pre-Phil Spector version. Isn't It A Pity 1 seems more like an update, a present (1970) version of it, and yes it does incorporate elements of Hey Jude (which aren't as strongly emphasised as they are in The Concert For George version), but Isn't It A Pity , as stated, was written at least 2 years before McCartney's Jude.

Other songs that were written in 1966 that waited years to be on album, were the Art of Dying (1970), and See Yourself(1976)

[matt5]

It has always been one of my favorites.

[beatlebangs1964]

As usual, Rob and Lorraine expressed it far better than I ever could have.

This is such a beautiful song and it is so profound and deeply and intensely moving. Just like the George we all love. I think George Harrison was a beautiful man and it takes a very deep and wise person to be able to create something of this extraordinary caliber.

[FPSHOT]

[ QUOTE ]
suckerfly Posted:That Isn't It A Pity predates Hey Jude is one minor slight, which is why I believe there are 2 versions of the song on ATMP. Version Two, reportedly was the one recorded first, and by its sound, seems more 'Beatley' in arrangement and vocal structure.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think it is a bit different with this song.

There is this bootleg I have, from the Get Back sessions.

It is a studio conversation where, as so many which turned up on ATMP, George introduced a new song and plays it.

George says it is a song and he says "i wrote way back in the Fiftees"... "about three years ago" and he says at the time he playd it to John, than rambles on about John not liking it "but I thought it was good" (and right he was) and refers to being in LA and was asked about writing a song for Frank Sinatra, so went over to see him. Then refers to Frank always just walking in the studio, sings maybe two takes of whatever is on the agenda and then that's it, he leaves again. So George says.. "then I thought I'd better do it myself http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif "

Then he starts the song on acoustic guitar, however in a quicker tempo than version One from ATMP and not the slightest near the "piano" version Two.

Compare the tempo to "Any Road" ( no not you, 69) a bit like that, like it could have been written on a Uke, because also the chords he plays are the high Uke ones...

hehe Paul can be heard just talking over it in the back... oh well George remembered that in the Anthology filming http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

then after a bit George stops and says "you can do it as Soul or as Folk" and plays a few little funky reaggae chords

then turns back to the original tempo and he sings the violin parts as they came on ATMP, you know, the first middle part on version One when the violins come in... and also sings the guitar solo start which comes in on volume One after the violins...

then talks again and says that it is just like a Folk song
or an Irish .. or Scottish ... ( don't know what he says but probably references to local words, like the Mantra in India http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif )

It is nice to hear that.

So... the origin is very much as the guitars you can hear on version One and even how it is done on CFG.

Now as for Hey Jude...

If we talk about the orchestration at the end of version One and the choir... I guess that is just Phil Spector's involvement.. I mean also the chords structure of this song is like so many songs...if you remember George played one hand piano chord, which is that the thumb would do the "bass" and three other fingers do the high part...difficult to explain but it is like the first things you learn in piano lessions...bass with the left finger and the chord with right...so that is where that sound comes from a bit... and the chords... well pick another song like All Together Now or even Imagine, and see the resemblance..

But the choir part I don't believe dates from 1966.. and was just part of the Wall Of Sound...

What could be, is that it is a little Harrisonic humor or cynical reference to the Beatles days and the Hey Jude end, or even like the previous song, Wah Wah, a little "Hi Paul http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif remember me?" but that is just me being cynical on a Friday maybe http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif George had more style to pack it in...

Volume 2 is I believe just part of the sessions like "yeah we could also do it like this" like George says in that Get Back session and because of all the piano's used on ATMP and his start on slide guitar, became just an alternative version.

Oh.. now what I'm trying to say hehe is that the 1966 or 1969 demos were just like volume One on ATMP.

[suckerfly]

See, thats cool information to have and get. Thanks.

I knew from book sources that Harrison's Isn't It A Pity did date back to 1966, but had no idea what he had musically for it. So really I had to guess with no sound source to say differently, and it was only a guess about IIAP Version 1 or 2. Spector's WALL OF SOUND on Version 1 I figured to be just that, a Spector inclusion, and even despite the criticism's hurled toward him and this sound, I have always believed his style suited Harrison far more than Martin's. Because Harrison did layer so many of his compositions, adding different melodic passages and instruments as the song developed. And the complaints about reverb for ATMP can really only be 'pinned' on a few songs:

WAH WAH
AWAITING ON YOU ALL
LET IT DOWN

These are the only songs that really get affected by the massive amount of multitracking that Spector and Harrison did on this album, where the sound quality actually starts going a bit down (because of tons of instruments recorded on to tape). The rest of this album is beautifully mixed and engineered (Phil McDonald, who makes Geoff Emerick sound a bit http://www.beatlelinks.net/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif).

Thanks for that audio information about Isn't It A Pity.

Another person said here they wished people would stop pointing out lyrics directed at Paul McCartney by George Harrison.But the thing is, these two had a history and problems when it came down to being creative, and self expression. McCartney liked to control, Harrison liked to be free. And when it gets down to it, Harrison namedrops more McCartney songs in his own lyrics than ever mentioning Lennon or Starkey. From the first mention of 'Ob-La-Di-bla-da' in Savoy Truffle, you get hint of a possible problem in their working partnership. Why Harrison mentions Ob-La-Di in a song about Eric Clapton's sweet tooth is worth discussion, because the way he states it is out of context with the rest of the song's intent, but fits in quite well with the warning that all that is sweet turns sour.

WAH WAH could as easily be about Lennon as well as McCartney, as was Not Guilty. But when you know a bit more information on what Harrison's situation in this band was, you may see his reasons for making open complaints about its politic.