Long Long Long

Though we did not realize it at the time when hearing Long Long Long on the "White Album" in November of 1968, we were actually listening to a devotional composition by George Harrison, the first of many that he would write.  In the coming years, he would turn some of them into hit singles, such as My Sweet Lord and Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth).  But the lyrics to this particular number were so vague that it was easily mistaken as being a conventional love song.

This was Harrison's fifth and final offering for the double album (his first, Not Guilty, did not make the cut).  By this time, John Lennon had stopped even showing up on days when a session was earmarked for one of George's songs - a sad comment on John's lack of support for his bandmate.

But Paul and Ringo were always ready and willing to assist, and were therefore present on October 7th as George led them through a whopping sixty-seven takes of the basic track.  With Ringo on drums and Paul playing an organ, George sang and played acoustic guitar as the three of them slowly worked out an arrangement for this relatively new and unfamiliar composition.  The 50th anniversary deluxe edition of the album allows us to hear take forty-four, which breaks down around the bridge.  Unfazed, George slips into another of his uncredited new songs from the time.  All sound in good spirits despite the great deal of time being spent on the track.

It was during the ending of take sixty-five that the happy accident of the rattling bottle of Blue Nun occurred when Paul hit a certain note on the Hammond organ.  A microphone was then set up to capture the sound for the final few takes while Ringo played a little drum roll and George provided a falsetto moan above it all, thus creating a strangely ominous conclusion to the song.

The final take - number sixty-seven - turned out to be the best, bringing the sixteen and a half hour session to an end.  The Threetles spent two hours the next day adding overdubs to the recording before turning their attention to two new songs by Lennon.  Thus, John may have been present for the early portion of this session, but he still did not participate on Long Long Long.  The overdubs include Paul's bass, a double-tracked lead vocal by George and an interesting second acoustic guitar part.  George somehow manages to make his guitar sound almost like a sitar - one source suggests this was done by a strategically-placed capo.

The final overdubs were added on October 9th, including backing harmony vocals by George and Paul, plus a piano part in the bridge by George Martin's assistant (and occasional producer at these sessions) Chris Thomas.  He was encouraged to play it in the style of the piano heard on the Moody Blues hit Go Now!

The song sits at the end of side three on the double album, serving as a calming antidote to the cacophony of the proceeding number Helter Skelter.