Did George Harrison Hide a Dig at Paul McCartney by Teasing Someone Else in This 'White
It’s no small secret that tension was building amongst the Fab Four in their final years as a band, and one could argue that no Beatle was more familiar with these feelings than George Harrison, who repeatedly butted heads with Paul McCartney and John Lennon for creative input. While the latter musicians’ compositions comprised most of the Beatles’ records, Harrison normally only got one song, if any, per album side.
Given this growing animosity, many listeners have speculated whether Harrison’s contribution to Side No. 4 of the Beatles’ eponymous album from 1968 included a not-so-subtle dig at McCartney. If there was a jab to be found, Harrison did an excellent job sugar-coating it—literally.
Each side of the Beatles’ “White Album” features one song that George Harrison wrote. Side No. 1 features Harrison’s melancholy ballad, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Side No. 2 features “Piggies,” Side No. 3 closes with Harrison’s “Long, Long, Long,” and finally, Side No. 4 features an apparent candy-themed dig at Eric Clapton, “Savoy Truffle.”
Harrison and Clapton developed a close relationship over the years, leading to Clapton’s sole guest appearance on the same Beatles album. (Yep, he’s the guitarist behind “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” not Harrison.) According to the “Quiet Beatle” in his memoir, I, Me, Mine, he wrote “Savoy Truffle” after a mid-1960s hangout sesh with Clapton.
“At that time, he had a lot of cavities in his teeth and needed dental work,” Harrison wrote (via BeatlesBible). “He always had a toothache, but he ate a lot of chocolates. He couldn’t resist them. Once he saw a box, he had to eat them all. He was over at my house, and I had a box of Good News chocolates on the table and wrote the song from the names inside the lid.”
Source: Melanie Davis/americansongwriter.com
