George Harrison - Writing's On The Wall

About "Writing's On The Wall"

"Writing's on the Wall" is a song by English musician George Harrison from his 1981 album Somewhere in England. It was also the B-side of the album's lead single, "All Those Years Ago", which Harrison wrote as a tribute to his former Beatles bandmate John Lennon. In his lyrics, Harrison sings of the transient nature of life and the importance of recognising a spiritual purpose. Although the song was written long before Lennon's murder in New York in December 1980, the lyrics' reference to how easily friends can be shot down and killed led listeners to interpret it as a further comment on Lennon's death.

Harrison recorded "Writing's on the Wall" at his Friar Park studio in England in 1980. A sombre and meditative track, it includes Indian classical instrumentation alongside the Western rock backing. The musicians on the recording include Ray Cooper, who plays various percussion instruments, keyboardist Gary Brooker, and Alla Rakha on tabla.

Along with "Life Itself", "Writing's on the Wall" marked Harrison's return to philosophical songwriting after his more subtle and light-hearted work since the mid 1970s. Several music critics and commentators recognise the song as a highlight of the otherwise disappointing Somewhere in England album. Harrison agreed to its use in the 1993 audio-book format of author Deepak Chopra's Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, where the track accompanies a passage read by Chopra.