The Beatles’ White Album is legendary for many reasons, not least for featuring George Harrison’s iconic track, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” This timeless song, enhanced by Eric Clapton’s unforgettable guitar solo, has captivated listeners for generations. Recently, a conversation with a friend about George Harrison sparked a deeper exploration into the fascinating origin of this classic Beatles tune, specifically the seemingly unusual song title. The story behind “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is rooted in Harrison’s unique worldview and a touch of Eastern philosophy.
Recalling Beatles Lore and Ian MacDonald’s Insight
My friend and I were discussing George Harrison’s songwriting contributions to The Beatles, and I recounted the widely circulated story about how “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” came to be. From memory, I explained that Harrison, deeply intrigued by the concept of interconnectedness and meaning in all things, drew inspiration from the I Ching. As the story goes, upon randomly opening the I Ching, he encountered the phrase “gently weeps” and decided to build a song around it. It’s a testament to the enduring fascination with Beatles lore that these anecdotes, even if slightly imperfect in recollection, continue to circulate among fans.
Later, seeking to verify the details, I turned to Ian MacDonald’s acclaimed book, Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the Sixties. MacDonald’s meticulous song-by-song analysis provides invaluable context to the Beatles’ entire discography. While MacDonald is known for his sometimes critical opinions on the Beatles’ heavier tracks, including “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” his research is undeniably thorough. Regarding the song’s lyrical genesis, MacDonald noted, “The characteristically accusatory lyric, written after returning from India, originated in one of the many random impulses The Beatles resorted to around this time, Harrison finding the phrase ‘gently weeps’ by chance in a book.” A footnote further clarified, citing The Beatles Anthology as the source, “He chose the phrase thus in accordance with his understanding of Indian teaching that there is no such thing as coincidence, that meaning inheres in every moment (The Beatles Anthology, p. 306).”
The Beatles Anthology and Harrison’s Explanation
MacDonald’s reference to The Beatles Anthology book led me directly to George Harrison’s own words on the matter. In this comprehensive Beatles archive, Harrison recounts the inspiration behind “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”:
GEORGE: I wrote ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ at my mother’s house in Warrington (the spiritual home of George Formby). I was thinking about the Chinese I Ching, ‘The Book of Changes’. In the West we think of coincidence as being something that just happens — it just happens that I am sitting here and the wind is blowing my hair, and so on. But the Eastern concept is that whatever happens is all meant to be, and that there’s no such thing as coincidence — every little item that’s going down has a purpose.
‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ was a simply study based on that theory. I decided to write a song based on the first thing I saw upon opening any book — as it would be relative to that moment, at that time. I picked up a book at random, opened it, saw ‘gently weeps’, then laid the book down again and started the song.
Harrison’s account reveals a slightly nuanced origin story. It wasn’t the entire phrase “while my guitar gently weeps” he encountered, but rather just “gently weeps.” Furthermore, while many sources point to the I Ching as the book in question, Harrison’s recollection in The Beatles Anthology simply states “any book.” However, the strong association with the I Ching persists, given his mention of it immediately preceding the anecdote.
Delving Deeper into the I Ching
The I Ching, or “Book of Changes,” is an ancient Chinese divination text with roots stretching back millennia. Used as both a philosophical system and a tool for guidance, the I Ching involves casting yarrow stalks or coins to generate hexagrams, symbolic figures that offer insights into situations and potential outcomes. Each hexagram, composed of six lines representing yin and yang, carries a wealth of interpretations and wisdom.
My own introduction to the I Ching came through literature, specifically Philip K. Dick’s novel, The Man in the High Castle. Dick masterfully incorporated the I Ching into his narrative, portraying characters who consult it for crucial decisions. Intriguingly, Dick himself used the I Ching during the writing process, mirroring his characters’ actions and allowing the hexagrams to influence the plot. This immersion piqued my curiosity, leading me to acquire my own copy of the I Ching years ago and explore its complexities, experimenting with different divination methods.
The Quest for “Gently Weeps” in the I Ching
Driven by this newfound curiosity and MacDonald’s account, I wondered if it was possible to pinpoint where George Harrison might have encountered “gently weeps” within the I Ching itself. My personal edition is quite extensive, exceeding 800 pages and filled with detailed commentary – possibly differing significantly from the edition Harrison might have used in the late 1960s.
To investigate further, I made a key assumption: that Harrison’s I Ching edition was likely less laden with scholarly commentary and focused more on the core translations of the ancient Chinese text. Essentially, I imagined Harrison opening his I Ching and encountering a page displaying the English translation of the original verses.
Alt text: George Harrison, of The Beatles, playing his iconic Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, embodying the musical genius behind “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.
Searching for “Weep” in the Concordance
My edition of the I Ching proved invaluable for this investigation, as it included a comprehensive concordance. This index allowed me to quickly search for specific words throughout the text. Searching for “weep,” I discovered it appeared in the I Ching in two distinct hexagrams.
The first instance is in Hexagram 3, Sprouting or Difficulty at the Beginning, where the phrase “weeping blood, coursing thus” appears. The second occurrence is within Hexagram 61, Centering Conforming or Inner Truth, containing the phrase “maybe weeping, maybe singing.”
Hexagram 3 (Sprouting) and “Weeping Blood”
Hexagram 3’s “weeping blood, coursing thus” arises in the context of a transforming line, specifically the Six Above. In I Ching divination, transforming lines indicate shifts and developments in a situation. The reading associated with this line is:
Riding a horse, arrying thus. Weeping blood, coursing thus.
Weeping blood, coursing this. Wherefore permitting long-living indeed?
While “weeping” is present, the modifier “blood” makes it a less likely candidate for inspiring “gently weeps.” It’s difficult to imagine a translation error or interpretation that could bridge the gap between “weeping blood” and “gently weeps.”
Hexagram 61 (Centering Conforming) and “Maybe Weeping”
Hexagram 61, however, presents a more compelling possibility. The phrase “maybe weeping, maybe singing” also appears in a transforming line reading, specifically the Six-at-third line, again associated with an old yin transforming into a young yang:
Acquiring antagonism. Maybe drumbeating, maybe desisting. Maybe weeping, maybe singing.
Maybe drumbeating, maybe desisting. Situation not appropriate indeed.
Here, “maybe weeping” is intriguingly close to “gently weeps.” Could Harrison’s edition of the I Ching have translated “maybe weeping” as “gently weeping”? It’s certainly within the realm of possibility.
Alt text: Image of I Ching Hexagram 61, visually representing the concept of “Centering Conforming” or “Inner Truth” potentially linked to the lyrical inspiration of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”.
One of the most prevalent English translations of the I Ching is the Wilhelm/Baynes version, translated from Chinese to German and then to English. Notably, this was the edition Philip K. Dick used in 1962 while writing The Man in the High Castle. In the Wilhelm/Baynes translation, Hexagram 61 is titled “Inner Truth,” and its themes of sincerity and inner resonance could conceptually align with the emotional depth of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
While definitive proof remains elusive, the evidence suggests a compelling possibility. It is plausible that George Harrison, in the spring of 1968, seeking inspiration and embracing the philosophy of interconnectedness, opened his I Ching to Hexagram 61 and encountered a translation of “maybe weeping” that resonated with him as “gently weeps.” This serendipitous encounter, whether a direct translation or a more interpretive reading, may have sparked the title and ultimately contributed to the creation of one of the Beatles’ most enduring and emotionally resonant songs, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
