George Harrison gained a reputation as being a seeker of sorts, constantly searching for insight about the way to live his life under the strange circumstances of being a worldwide celebrity. As it happens, he was also actively researching the proper way to leave this life.
The song “Art of Dying,” which was released on Harrison’s incredible triple album All Things Must Pass in 1971, expresses some of the former Beatle’s ideas on the subject, many of which were sourced from his study of Indian religious beliefs. It’s an incredibly nimble lyric that elucidates a weighty subject with smarts and feeling.
A Song Years in the Making
Many of the songs that appeared on All Things Must Pass were begun when Harrison was still a member of The Beatles. In the case of “Art of Dying,” he had begun writing it all the way back in 1966, some five years before he’d get a chance to release it once he had gone solo. Early versions of the song even contained references to Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein.
The title of “Art of Dying” is telling, because that’s essentially what Harrison is trying to communicate to his audience. As he explained in his book I, Me, Mine, he was singing about trying to get to a point where all loose ends are tied up when it’s time to shuffle off this mortal coil:
“Everybody is worried about dying, but the cause of death (which most can’t figure out unless they are diseased) is birth, so if you don’t want to die you don’t get born! So the ‘art of dying’ is when somebody can consciously leave the body at death, as opposed to falling down dying without knowing what’s going on. The Yogi who does that (Maha-samadhi) doesn’t have to reincarnate again.”
Harrison’s own life was cut short by cancer and a stabbing incident, and he died at 58 years old. If you believe his wife Olivia’s quote from the documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World, his seeking seems to have paid off. “He lit the room,” Olivia said, describing the moment when Harrison died.
The Meaning of the Lyrics to “Art of Dying”
“Art of Dying” is one of the more thrilling musical tracks on All Things Must Pass, a swirling cacophony distinguished by the horns of Bobby Keys and Jim Price and Eric Clapton’s wah-wah guitar. The dense arrangement was probably no accident, since the lyrics hint at the difficulty of finding clarity and locating your priorities amidst the unrelenting rush of life.
Harrison frames the song in three verses, each of which refers to an eventuality that all persons must encounter. And he starts at the end: There comes a time when all of us must leave here. He suggests that any religious beliefs picked up along the way won’t stop any of this from occurring: There’s nothing sister Mary can do / Will keep me here with you.
In the second verse, he explains how things will get mixed up for you before you reach this point: When things that seemed so very plain / Become an awful pain. That’s when the quest can get quite muddled: Searching for the truth among the lying / And answered when you’ve learned the art of dying.
The last verse presents the end of the road again, only this time, Harrison describes it from the perspective of those who’ve unburdened themselves of the baggage of their life and are ready for the next journey: There’ll come a time when most of us return here / Brought back by our desire to be / A perfect entity.
In the middle eight, he suggests this kind of grace isn’t just handed to you: But if you want it / Then you must find it. George Harrison certainly did his share of spiritual searching. Consider “Art of Dying” his how-to for an enlightened ending.
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Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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