really want to see you, lord, but it takes so long, my lord (12. 114)

The first chart-topper of a former Beatle, George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” (previously) began a four-week run at number one in the US market on this day in 1970. Originally given to fellow artist under the same label, Billy Preston—session musician who played keyboard for Little Richard, the Everly Brothers, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles whom was recognised in his own right for his funk and gospel compositions (“Will it Go Round in Circles” and the Joe Cocker hit “You Are So Beautiful”)—which Harrison produced for his record Encouraging Words in September of the same year, the song’s author included it on the triple album All Things Must Pass, engineered by Phil Spector (see above) and given the Wall of Sound Treatment (see also) to highlight and enhance Harrison’s signature slide guitar. Intended as a statement against religious sectarianism, the modern and inclusive hymn is a reflection of Harrison’s yearning for a direct and unmediated relationship with God, in line with the teachings of philosopher and teacher Swami Vivekananada who introduced yoga and the Vedas to the western world in the late nineteenth century (see also) with the maxim “If there is a God, we must see him, and if there is a soul, we must perceive it,” echoed with a degree of impatience, later reconciled, in the opening verses.