# In 1968, The Beatles wrote a song to make everything better. It pissed off George Harrison so much he responded out of spite

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1968-the-beatles-wrote-a-song-to-make-everything-better-it-pissed-off-george-harrison-so-much-he-responded-out-of-spite/
- Published: 2026-11-14T04:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-14T04:22:19+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/1968-the-beatles-wrote-a-song-to-make-everything-better/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- McCartney asked Harrison not to play guitar on “Hey Jude”.
- Harrison’s later “Isn’t It a Pity” echoed its singalong feel.
- The dispute reflected wider tensions over Harrison’s role.

## Summary

Paul McCartney wrote “Hey Jude” to comfort John Lennon’s son Julian during his parents’ divorce, but disagreements over the song’s arrangement exposed tensions between McCartney and George Harrison. The story matters because it illustrates Harrison’s frustration at being treated as a junior member of the band, even as his own songwriting was gaining strength.

McCartney recalled asking Harrison not to play guitar on the track, because he felt Harrison’s responses to the vocal lines did not fit. The article links that dispute to “Isn’t It a Pity”, a song Harrison recorded for his first solo album, which builds towards prominent guitar parts and a “na na na” refrain reminiscent of “Hey Jude”. It presents the arrangement as a possible pointed response, while acknowledging that this interpretation is speculative.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.