Ten Favorite Solo Beatles Songs: Dark Horse (#3)
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (68884)
United States
September 4, 2017 8:34pm CST
The weekend is over, and my vacation is over. The alarms are set, and I've had to move the souvenir Louisville Slugger miniature bat out of its display in my bedroom because I don't want to beat the alarms to death tomorrow. 
What is not over, although I'm getting close, is my favorite solo Beatles songs. Here's the next song on my countdown.
#3: Dark Horse (George)
I used this in my "dark" series, and if I do an animals countdown it'll be there, too. I love this song. It shows that the Quiet Beatle had feelings, and wasn't afraid to put them in song.
Yes, he's not as bitter as Lennon and not throwing stones as big as Ringo in "Back Off Boogaloo" (Starr has maintained that song was not about Paul, but it's hard to interpret it any other way...don't remember T Rex needing to be told "get yourself together now and give us something tasty""). But you can hear the anger, subtly: over wife Patti's affair with Eric Clapton (whom she married after divorcing George), over the legal battles with former Beatles and former manager Allen Klein, over the way the critics treated him, and even anger at himself for taking it lying down ("I've been a cool jerk just looking for the source").
According to Picky Wedia, "dark horse" has a different "slang" meaning in England, which is what Harrison was aiming for, than the standard "long-shot winner" definition. The term is apparently the punch line of a sex joke, and that was what Harrison had in mind (given that Patti Boyd had been seeing Ron Wood before she took up with Clapton, all the time married to George).
Lots of great songs are conceived from turmoil and heartache (Clapton's side of the story was "Layla"). This is my favorite George hit.
Dark Horse
Written by George Harrison
Recorded by George Harrison
From Dark Horse, 1974
I thought that you knew it all along:
What is not over, although I'm getting close, is my favorite solo Beatles songs. Here's the next song on my countdown.
#3: Dark Horse (George)
I used this in my "dark" series, and if I do an animals countdown it'll be there, too. I love this song. It shows that the Quiet Beatle had feelings, and wasn't afraid to put them in song.
Yes, he's not as bitter as Lennon and not throwing stones as big as Ringo in "Back Off Boogaloo" (Starr has maintained that song was not about Paul, but it's hard to interpret it any other way...don't remember T Rex needing to be told "get yourself together now and give us something tasty""). But you can hear the anger, subtly: over wife Patti's affair with Eric Clapton (whom she married after divorcing George), over the legal battles with former Beatles and former manager Allen Klein, over the way the critics treated him, and even anger at himself for taking it lying down ("I've been a cool jerk just looking for the source").
According to Picky Wedia, "dark horse" has a different "slang" meaning in England, which is what Harrison was aiming for, than the standard "long-shot winner" definition. The term is apparently the punch line of a sex joke, and that was what Harrison had in mind (given that Patti Boyd had been seeing Ron Wood before she took up with Clapton, all the time married to George).
Lots of great songs are conceived from turmoil and heartache (Clapton's side of the story was "Layla"). This is my favorite George hit.
Dark Horse
Written by George Harrison
Recorded by George Harrison
From Dark Horse, 1974
I thought that you knew it all along:
This song (written in 1974) in my opinion is underrated. A lot of people gave it negative reviews because of Harrison's voice, but in a way the strain on his...
4 people like this
3 responses
@dgobucks226 (35716)
•
6 Sep 17
It's an ok nice song, but George had so many obvious great songs from the "All things Must Pass" album. "Hear Me Lord" is a beautiful song along with "What Is Life." George could really write some terrific spiritual tunes and these were two. I would also put "All Things Must Pass" in the same category of superb introspective music. I like Dark Horse it's just their were others I felt were better. Even the song "You" was a tune which impacted you on a romantic level.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
5 Sep 17
Not familiar with this Dark Horse of a song at all.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
6 Sep 17
Didn't she end up with Rod Stewart at some point, or am I confusing her with someone else?
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (68884)
• United States
6 Sep 17
The way she was going before she left George she may have been seeing Rod on the sly, too! 
I never heard about her with Rod, but I only recently discovered about her and Ron Wood before she ran off with Clapton. (Apparently she had a thing for guitarists, so that might eliminate Rod. )
I never heard about her with Rod, but I only recently discovered about her and Ron Wood before she ran off with Clapton. (Apparently she had a thing for guitarists, so that might eliminate Rod. )1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
6 Sep 17
@FourWalls - I didn't know about Ron Wood, either.
1 person likes this
