After being sued for My Sweet Lord, George Harrison wrote this song. This was Harrison’s funny send-up of the He’s So Fine and My Sweet Lord plagiarism court case.
The line, “This tune has nothing Bright about it,” is a reference to Bright Tunes Music, the company that owned the publishing rights to “He’s So Fine” and sued Harrison.
It was the first single for Harrison’s Thirty Three & 1/3 album, and features Billy Preston on piano and organ, and Monty Python’s Eric Idle calling out a falsetto “Could be ‘Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch,” “No, sounds more like ‘Rescue Me’!” interjection right before the instrumental break.
The song peaked at #25 in the Billboard 100 and #30 in Canada in 1976. I bought this album when I was 10 and still enjoy it. I couldn’t stop playing Crackerbox Palace.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owens found that while he did not feel that George had ‘deliberately’ plagiarized the song ‘He’s So Fine’, there was substantial evidence that he did infringe on the song’s copyright. George was found guilty and ordered to pay damages in the amount of $587,000.”
From Songfacts
Harrison made a video for this song where he is seen pleading his case in courtroom that devolves into a full-on circus by the end, a metaphor for the actual proceedings. The video was shown on Saturday Night Live when Harrison was the musical guest on November 20, 1976. On the same show, Harrison’s video for “Crackerbox Palace” also aired.
This Song
This song has nothing tricky about it
This song ain’t black or white and as far as I know
Don’t infringe on anyone’s copyright, so
This song, we’ll let be
This song is in E
This song is for you and
This tune has nothing bright about it
This tune ain’t bad or good and come ever what may
My expert tells me it’s okay
As this song came to me
Unknowingly
This song could be you could be, ooh
This riff ain’t trying to win gold medals
This riff ain’t hip or square, well-done or rare
May end up one more weight to bear
But this song could well be
A reason to see
That without you there’s no point to this song
Ooh, ooh
But this song could well be
A reason to see
That without you there’s no point to this song
…
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I remember Crackerbox Palace and I guess I probably heard this one, but I never did catch the video and it is hilarious.
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Yea I noticed that Keith Moon is in it also.
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My fave Beatle. Have you seen the Peter Jackson film yet?
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Oh yes! I’m going to watch it again this weekend.
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I didn’t hear this today-but the other hit from 33 1/3rd on The Beatles Channel- Crackerbox Palace… It was great that George got a hit song out of the lawsuit.
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Just a year or so back… I noticed Moon was in the video.
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good song I was only half aware of before, hadn’t noticed the lyrics which are really clever! And the video- great! Ahead of his time as always.
I heard a rock station DJ talking about ‘Get Back’ today and he said his biggest takeaway was that George had some really good ideas that didn’t come about because John and Paul wouldn’t pay attention to him and therefore it was probably good that Harrison went solo. Hard to disagree with that, even if it wasn’t my biggest single take from the film.
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I thought John and Paul were helping on All Things Must Pass and I Me Mine quite well…they would move on rather quickly like they did with Gimme Some Truth and some of Paul’s songs. I think it came before Get Back…at least for the most part. When he wrote While My Guitar Gently Weeps it seemed to change somewhat.
They had a rule…basically who wrote the song…was the boss…like George telling Paul not to be so busy on Here Comes The Sun and Paul telling him not to mimick Hey Jude lines…but I do agree…they should have ALL released solo albums and got the songs out. That is what George was suggesting and preserving the Beatles…which I totally agree with…but with Klein coming…all of that went out the window.
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;la;;d;fa; is perhaps a typo at the end of the first paragraph?
I don’t really know any solo Harrison except All Things Must Pass and the radio hits but this sounds nice. I get slight Neil Diamond vibes off it for some reason. Video is good.
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Thank you! I don’t know what the heck I did there…
I love that Keith Moon made an appearance. I do like Cloud 9…it was a solid comeback album.
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Having worked under judges for close to 20 years, I can honestly say there are few, if any, I would trust my health, wealth, or well-being to! That whole scenario stinks to high heaven! I praise Geo for turning it on its head with, “This Song.”
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I wrote this 2 weeks ago but saved it for Dec for your return. Yes it is a good song and I love Keith Moon’s appearance in the video!
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Thank you for saving it until Dec! I’ve gotten through part 1 of the Get Back and still can’t get over how it ends. It’s good to see it in context and it’s a real shame Paul had to be such an azz! I am holding off until I cool down to watch part 2.
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It gets better lol…I’m reading Tune In right now…basically the Beatles main book…they did love each other and fought like brothers. George grounded Lennon and McCartney….you will like the rest….I did like their version of All Things Must Pass…I LOVED the harmonizing.
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It was mostly caused by Brian’s death. They needed a leader…and stupidly picked Klein.
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It’s easy to forget how YOUNG they all were. It’s difficult to realize how talented they each were and how productive they were. So sorry they were flim-flammed by that Klein punk.
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Yes it was…it pissed me off to hear about him. I actually felt sorry for all of them. Paul for seeing his partner lost and trying his best to get them going and the rest for the situation. George is great when he said they were foolish about the yacht concert… I just wish they would have played live at a concert. They would have rocked.
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I agree on Geo and the yacht idea. Don’t you think that the American tour experience soured them on live concerts? I can’t blame them for being a little hesitant.
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Oh I do…especially on tours… I wish they would have picked the Cavern…that would have been cool.
Jagger would tell them…it’s not the same out there now…teenagers are not like that anymore but they were scarred on tours.
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How ironic Mick would say that in light of the Altamont (sp?) Speedway incident. Maybe it wasn’t the teenagers but the security, but still…
I 100% agree it should have been the Cavern!
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You know who didn’t mess up? His playing was flawless…. That would be Ringo…he was as steady as you could get.
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Ringo seems like a gentle soul. You could see the discomfort in his face when the others were being childish. You’re right, he was steady throughout.
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You can take most songs from back in that time, and possibly today also, and if you dig deep enough, you will find an old tune with similar chords, progressions, or lyrics. Unfortunately, there is only so much music and notes you can put on a sheet in a sequence, and then they start to sound like one you wrote a while back. Plagiarism in music involves getting the right judge or jury to award you the money based on a lack of musical knowledge.
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What I don’t get is how did Chuck Berry not sue everyone?
Bob Dylan once said…a amateur borrows…a professional steals…but yea there is just so many ways you can play chords.
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The Beach Boys ripped old Chuck off a few times and he said nothing. Bob was correct.
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Ah the song brings back memories…
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Glad you liked it Kally.
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