“Something” – Paul McCartney
(Words/music: George Harrison, available on Back in the U.S. – Live 2002, Capitol 2002)
The school where I worked on my masters’ degree had a clock above the library that played a different melody every hour. The first time I noticed the clock (and the only melody I can remember it playing) it was playing “Something.” It was a bright, sunny afternoon early in my first semester, and as the notes carried across the campus, everything looked more vibrant. It fit the scene so perfectly that I didn’t even realize what I was listening to until it was almost over; George Harrison’s simple melody seemed natural coming out of the bells of a clock tower, so I didn’t even realize that it was out of context right away.
It’s this simplicity that Paul McCartney’s ukulele version honors. During his 2001-2002 world tour, McCartney took a break from his greatest hits revue to perform Harrison’s signature Beatles tune, accompanied by four tiny strings. Recently, he’s performed the ukulele bit as an introduction, segueing into the traditional Abbey Road arrangement, but on this live album he performs the whole song by himself, including singing the lead guitar part. Even in this reduced setting, “Something” still captivates, as a 60 year old man and a ukulele alone kept tens of thousands of fans enraptured for three minutes. It’s appropriate, given that Harrison’s singing about the simple way that love affects us. It’s also a tribute to the versatility of Harrison’s song that whether in its lush studio arrangement, a clock tower bell system, or a tiny stringed instrument, the beauty radiates through. Rather than lean on its instrumentation, Harrison’s song relies on its melody and its honesty – in short, he made it simple to make it sound good.
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