Here Comes the Sun
Song by The Beatles • Harrison
Abbey Road (1969) — Mature, melodic, valedictory.
★ Marquee entry — extended editorial essay
Background
Harrison wrote it at Eric Clapton's Surrey home in spring 1969 after skipping an Apple Corps business meeting on a sunny afternoon. The song captures a feeling of relief after a long winter — both meteorological and metaphorical (the band's business affairs were chaotic; George was tiring of them).
What's distinctive
At 3:05 it sits in the top fifth by length. One of 28 UK songs led primarily by George. One of 22 solely Harrison-credited compositions in the canon. Recorded approximately 9 of 17 into the Abbey Road (1969) sessions. Carries the unique tag 'claptons-garden' — no other UK song shares it.Opening line — "Here comes the sun…" (brief identification excerpt; full lyrics © Sony Music Publishing — see Genius link in References.)
Recording
Cut 7 July 1969 at EMI with Harrison on acoustic guitar, McCartney on bass, Starr on drums (Lennon was hospitalised after a car crash in Scotland and absent from this and several other Abbey Road sessions). George overdubbed harmonium and the 1969 Moog Series III synthesizer (the first Moog on a Beatles record) in following weeks.
| Studio | EMI Studios — Studio Two & Three (last Beatles LP recorded as a band) |
|---|---|
| Tape machine | Studer J37 8-track (1969 upgrade), TG12345 console under construction |
| Console | EMI TG12345 transistor console (debuted on Abbey Road); some sessions on REDD.51 |
| Microphones | U47, U67, AKG C12, AKG D19/D20 (drums), STC 4038 |
| Outboard / effects | EMI RS124, EMT 140, Fairchild 660, ADT, compression on every channel (TG) |
| Guitars | Gibson Les Paul Standard 'Lucy' (Harrison), Fender Rosewood Telecaster (Harrison), Epiphone Casino, Moog Series III synthesizer |
| Amplifiers | Fender Twin Reverb, Fender Bassman, Vox UL730, Leslie |
| Producer | George Martin |
| Engineer / 2nd | Geoff Emerick (returned), Phil McDonald, Glyn Johns • Alan Parsons, John Kurlander (2nd) |
Pattern analysis
Legacy & release history
Never released as a UK single, but in the streaming era has become the most-played Beatles track on Spotify by a large margin (over 1 billion streams by 2024). A perpetual fixture of British summer compilations.
Mono & stereo
- Stereo only on UK release — the band's last three LPs were mixed for stereo; no UK mono LPs were issued.
Documented alternate versions
- Anthology 3 (1996) — alternate take or demo
- 2009 Stereo Remasters — Allan Rouse / Guy Massey remaster
- Abbey Road 50th Anniversary (2019) — Giles Martin stereo remix
Released on
- Abbey Road — LP, 26 September 1969
Cross-references
Other songs sharing themes (claptons-garden, george-classic, acoustic, moog, much-streamed)
Other songs led by the same vocalist
Other songs from this era
claptons-gardengeorge-classicacousticmoogmuch-streamed