Steven Van Zandt recently shared a post on X, where the rocker talked about George Harrison not getting enough recognition from Paul McCartney upon a question from one of his followers.
The user shared the Beatles’ ‘Only a Northern Song’ and asked Van Zandt:
“Today is the anniversary of us losing George [Harrison]. I saw where ‘Only a Northern Song’ is in part George criticizing Paul [McCartney] for being dismissive of George’s songs. Is this how you understand it to be?”
Van Zandt’s View On The True Meaning Of ‘Only A Northern Song’
The guitarist replied:
“We don’t acknowledge ‘death days,’ everyone lives forever in the Underground Garage, meanwhile, I never read that. George was referring to the fact that they all lost their publishing ownership (Northern Songs) since no artist even knew what that was when they started in the 60s.”
‘Only a Northern Song’ is a track by the Beatles, written by Harrison. It was recorded in 1967 during the sessions for their album ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ but was not included in the album. Instead, it was released in 1969 as part of the soundtrack for the animated film ‘Yellow Submarine.’
Harrison’s Dissatisfaction With Music Business And Northern Songs Ltd.
The lyrics of the song reflect Harrison’s dissatisfaction with the music business, particularly the band’s publishing company, Northern Songs Ltd. The title itself is a direct reference to this company, as the musician said in 1979:
“‘Only a Northern Song’ was a joke relating to Liverpool, the Holy City in the North of England. In addition, the song was copyrighted by Northern Songs Ltd, which I don’t own, so: ‘It doesn’t really matter what chords I play… as it’s only a Northern Song.’”
Still, Harrison was not very involved in creating the Beatles’ album ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.’ He used his song ‘Only a Northern Song’ to humorously express his disappointment about not being a main songwriter in the band like John Lennon and McCartney and about being allowed to record only a few songs each year.
Speaking to Billboard in 1999, the guitarist realized he was tricked by Dick James into signing away his song copyrights as a young adult, thinking he was just getting a publisher. He wrote ‘Only a Northern Song’ jokingly to express his frustration after seeing the financial success of these songs.
You can see the tweet below.
We don’t acknowledge “death days,” everyone lives forever in the Underground Garage, meanwhile, I never read that. George was referring to the fact that they all lost their Publishing ownership (Northern Songs) since no artist even knew what that was when they started in the 60s. https://t.co/ZS18IN5bde
— 🕉🇺🇦🟦Stevie Van Zandt☮️💙 (@StevieVanZandt) November 29, 2023
