Within You Without You Lyrics

[Verse 1]
We were talking—about the space between us all
And the people—who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion

Never glimpse the truth—then it's far too late—when they pass away

[Verse 2]
We were talking—about the love we all could share—when we find it
To try our best to hold it there—with our love
With our love—we could save the world—if they only knew

[Chorus]
Try to realise it's all within yourself, no one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small, and life flows on within you and without you

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 3]
We were talking—about the love that's gone so cold and the people
Who gain the world and lose their soul

They don't know—they can't see, are you one of them?

[Chorus]
When you've seen beyond yourself
Then you may find, peace of mind is waiting there

And the time will come when you see we're all one, and life flows on within you and without you

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About

Genius Annotation

Being the only song on Sgt. Pepper written by George Harrison, Within You Without You was created with great influence from Indian style music, and was a great departure from the Beatles' previous work. It was written after Harrison spent six weeks of meditation in India with his mentor, Ravi Shankar, in 1966. Thus, it incorporates many of its ideas from hindu philosophy and teachings of the Vedas.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What instruments are used on this track?
Genius Answer

The most prominent instruments on this track are the tambura, sitar, and dilruba. These are accompanied by a swarmandal, violins, and cellos. The percussion of the track is performed on the tabla.

What did The Beatles say about "Within You Without You"?
Genius Answer

In his 1980 memoir I, Me, Mine George says

Within You Without You was written after I had got into meditation. We had entered into the All You Need Is Love consciousness after the LSD period. The song was written at Klaus Voormann’s house in Hampstead, London, one night after dinner. I was playing a pedal harmonium in the house, when the song came to me. The tune came first, then the first sentence…we were talking…. I finished the words later.

This was during the Sergeant Pepper period, and after I had been taking sitar lessons with Ravi Shankar for some time, so I was getting a bit better on the instrument. I was continually playing Indian music lessons the melodies of which are called Sargams, which are the bases of the different Ragas. That’s why around this time I couldn’t help writing tunes like this which were based upon unusual scales.

The best part of it for me is the instrumental solo in the middle which is in five/four time- the first of the strange rhythm cycles that I caught on to- one-two; one-two-three; one-two-one-two-three.

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Acoustic Guitar
Recorded At
EMI (Abbey Road) Studios, London, UK (March 15, 22; April 3, 1967)
Release Date
May 26, 1967
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