"The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison, released on his 1973 album Living in the Material World. Like the album's title track, it was inspired by the teachings of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), more commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement. The song is an uptempo rock track with elements of blues and gospel. Some commentators have described it as the musical highpoint of Living in the Material World, with Harrison's slide guitar playing singled out as being among the finest performances of his career.
The composition originated during a period marked by Harrison's devotion to a Hindu-aligned ascetic life and the height of his public association with the Hare Krishna movement, which included his donation of Bhaktivedanta Manor for use as an ISKCON temple. In his lyrics, Harrison sings of the falsehood of striving for wealth or power in the material world and advocates a direct relationship with one's deity as a genuine life goal. In doing so, he belittles the role of political leaders, as well as his own status as a celebrated rock musician. The song's Krishna Conscious message was also reflected in Harrison's choice of artwork for the Material World album, specifically the reproduction of a painting from a Prabhupada-published edition of the Bhagavad Gita.
Harrison recorded "The Lord Loves the One" between October 1972 and March 1973 with session musicians Nicky Hopkins, Klaus Voormann, Jim Keltner and Jim Horn. While the music has invited critical praise, the devout assertions in Harrison's lyrics typified what some reviewers in 1973 viewed as an overly didactic message on much of the parent album. Among reviewers in the 21st century, the composition continues to divide opinion. Although some commentators consider it an obvious choice as a live track, Harrison performed "The Lord Loves the One" only once in concert – on the opening night of his 1974 North American tour with Ravi Shankar.
Background
In his 1980 autobiography, I, Me, Mine, George Harrison credits the influence for "The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)" to A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,George Harrison, p. 254. founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), also known as the Hare Krishna movement.Allison, p. 45. Harrison's association with ISKCON began in December 1968,Tillery, p. 69. when he befriended a small group of devotees that Prabhupada had sent to London to establish what became the Radha Krishna Temple.Greene, pp. 103, 106.Muster, p. 26. The Gaudiya Vaishnava teachings of Prabhupada, based on Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, resonated with Harrison,Greene, pp. 150–51. whose quest for an ego-less, God-conscious existence amid the false reality of Beatlemania had first taken him to India in September 1966.The Editors of Rolling Stone, pp. 33–34, 36.Lavezzoli, p. 176.
Harrison provided the devotees with financial assistance,Lavezzoli, p. 195. in addition to producing their hit recording of the 5000-year-old Hare Krishna mantra, to help spread the message of Krishna Consciousness.The Editors of Rolling Stone, p. 180.Olivia Harrison, p. 236. He then met Prabhupada in England in September 1969Tillery, pp. 71–72, 161. and was impressed by the acharya's declaration that he was merely "the humble servant of the servant of the servant" of the Hindu god Krishna.Clayson, p. 269.Greene, pp. 85, 149–50. In line with Prabhupada's contention that the chanting of Sanskrit mantras led to a direct connection with God,Tillery, p. 58. Harrison adopted the practice, counting out each mantra on Hindu prayer beads stored inside a cloth bag that he wore over his shoulder.Clayson, pp. 247, 299.O'Dell, pp. 139–40, 154.
Further Harrison-produced recordings by the Radha Krishna Temple followed their "Hare Krishna Mantra" single, culminating in an eponymous album released on Apple Records in May 1971."The Radha Krishna Temple", Apple Records (retrieved 1 June 2014).Castleman & Podrazik, p. 101. By that time, the devotees were regular guests at Harrison's Friar Park estate,Clayson, p. 306. and he subsequently bought permanent accommodation for the growing UK arm of ISKCON, at what became known as Bhaktivedanta Manor.Dwyer & Cole, pp. 31–32. When Prabhupada died in November 1977, he bequeathed one of the rings he was wearing to Harrison, referring to him as the Hare Krishna movement's "archangel".Clayson, p. 268.Greene, p. 225.
Composition Author Dale Allison writes of the lyrical themes in "The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)": "this song preaches karma, warns about judgment at death, and exalts love as our most important aspiration."Allison, p. 149. Harrison wrote the song over 1971–72, a period of heightened devotion on his part,Huntley, pp. 87, 89.Clayson, pp. 318–19. as well as one of frustration due to the legal and business issues afflicting his Concert for Bangladesh aid project. The idea for the composition came about after a conversation with Prabhupada,Tillery, p. 112. when the latter visited Harrison at Friar Park.George Harrison, p. 254.
The song begins with a riff over the chords of B major and B7,George Harrison Living in the Material World: Sheet Music for Piano, Vocal & Guitar, p. 76. which is then followed by a chorus, rather than a verse.George Harrison, p. 256. Author Simon Leng describes the musical mood as "mean, dirty blues – funky and low-down", accompanying a "most uncompromising lyric".Leng, p. 132. In Allison's view, the lyrics to the chorus equate love received from one's deity with "human love" (in that it "grows as it is reciprocated"), while also serving as a statement on karmic retribution:Allison, p. 126.
The first verse reflects Harrison and Prabhupada's discussion that day – although the reference to political leaders "acting like big girls" is an example of Harrison reverting to "Scouse parlance", according to author Alan Clayson.Clayson, p. 322. The latter also notes the antipathy that Harrison felt towards politicians following the Bangladesh aid project, when the American and British governments continued to withhold funds intended for the millions of starving Bangladeshi refugees.Clayson, pp. 315–16, 317. The lyric centres on maya, or the illusory nature of human existence, as Harrison sings of humankind behaving as if "we own this whole world", oblivious to the consequences and the end that awaits the individual in this life.Allison, pp. 79, 85. Allison summarises the message to mean: "karma is the law of our existence; substituting ego for God is our problem; we must prepare ourselves for death."Allison, pp. 45–46.
As with another Prabhupada-inspired track that he wrote during this period, "Living in the Material World",Lavezzoli, pp. 194–95. Harrison expresses his belief that the pursuit of fame and riches – particularly in the music industry – is meaningless.Leng, p. 131. In the second verse of "The Lord Loves the One", he sings: "We all fool around, with objectives in mind / To become rich or famous, with our reputations signed ..."George Harrison, p. 257. While author Joshua Greene compares Harrison's songs from this period to Vedic sutras,Greene, p. 194. Allison specifies this verse-two message to a passage from the Katha Upanishad, which reads: "Intoxicated, deluded by the glamour of riches, the childish do not see that they must pass away. They think, 'This is the world and there is no other.'"Allison, p. 85.
As with the ISKCON-inspired "Awaiting on You All", Allison views the conditions that Harrison imposes in the song's choruses as a rare exception within the singer's work. Elsewhere, Allison continues, Harrison's songwriting reveals "a strong belief in the efficacy of unmerited divine grace".Allison, pp. 126, 129. In a 1982 interview, Harrison described his statement on God rewarding those who first look to God as a "flexible" one, adding: "In one way, I'm never going to get out of here [i.e., escape the constant cycle of reincarnation] unless it's by His grace, but then again … [t]he amount of grace I would expect from God should be equal to the amount of grace I can gather or earn."Chant and Be Happy, pp. 29–30.
Among other Harrison biographers' interpretations of the lyrics, Ian Inglis writes of Harrison's unwelcome "evangelical" message regarding "the consequences of a life of selfishness and greed which finds no place for 'the Lord'". In contrast, Leng views the verses as "the singer's inner conversation", in which Harrison acknowledges the futility of his own existence, at a time when he felt overwhelmed by his success as a solo artist following the Beatles' break-up in 1970.Leng, pp. 132, 137–38. Of the apparent sermonising in the choruses, Leng concludes: "'The Lord Loves the One' conveys the same basic message as 'what you put in is what you get out,' so, at one level, it's more a matter of common sense than divine revelation."
Recording Harrison began sessions for his Living in the Material World album in October 1972,Leng, p. 124. at Apple Studio in London.Madinger & Easter, p. 439. As a result of the problems associated with the Bangladesh project, author Peter Doggett writes, "[e]verything connected with the physical world seemed to annoy him." The studio manager at the time,Doggett, p. 192. former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, recalls Harrison wearing his Hindu prayer bag and "mumbling away, chanting his mantra", often unable to reply to questions put to him.Emerick & Massey, p. 330. As for all the tracks on the album, the recording engineer on "The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)" was Phil McDonald, who had also worked in that capacity for the Beatles.Madinger & Easter, p. 462.Emerick & Massey, pp. 275, 318.
The recording opens with Harrison's acoustic guitar and an electric piano riff that creates "a sense of foreboding", according to Inglis, who likens the intro to Three Dog Night's 1970 hit single "Mama Told Me Not to Come". Along with Harrison, the musicians on the basic track were Jim Keltner (drums), Nicky Hopkins (electric piano) and Klaus Voormann (bass).Spizer, p. 254. Part of Harrison's guide vocal from the basic track was retained for the official release.Madinger & Easter, p. 441.
Among the overdubs, which were completed by the end of February 1973, Harrison added slide guitarMadinger & Easter, pp. 440, 441. and Jim Horn played various saxophone parts that Leng describes as "a straight lift from Harrison's favorite 'Savoy Truffle' model", with baritone saxophone prominent in the mix.Leng, pp. 37, 132. Assisting Horn on "The Lord Loves the One", Voormann played one of the tenor saxophone parts,Kevin Howlett's liner notes, booklet accompanying Living in the Material World reissue (EMI/Parlophone, 2006; produced by Dhani & Olivia Harrison), p. 11. a role he had recently provided on Harry Nilsson's Son of Schmilsson album (1972), to which Harrison and Hopkins also contributed.Castleman & Podrazik, pp. 115, 208, 220.
Release and representation in album artwork