Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
If you're listening to this song
You may think the chords are going wrong
But they're not
We just wrote them like that
If you're listening late at night
You may think the band are not quite right
But they are
The just play it like that
And it doesn't really matter what chords I play
What words I say
Or time of day it is
As it's only a Northern song
It doesn't really matter what clothes I wear
What words I pair
Or if my hair is brown
'Cause it's only a Northern song
If you think the harmony
Is a little dull and out of key
You're correct
'Cause there's nobody there
And it's only there's no one there
You may think the chords are going wrong
But they're not
We just wrote them like that
If you're listening late at night
You may think the band are not quite right
But they are
The just play it like that
And it doesn't really matter what chords I play
What words I say
Or time of day it is
As it's only a Northern song
It doesn't really matter what clothes I wear
What words I pair
Or if my hair is brown
'Cause it's only a Northern song
If you think the harmony
Is a little dull and out of key
You're correct
'Cause there's nobody there
And it's only there's no one there
Lyrics submitted by Ice, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Only a Northern Song Lyrics as written by George Harrison
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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Techno Ted
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actually the song was written as Lennon and Mccartney owned 15% each of Northern Songs, and Harrison only owned 0.8& so it meant that Lennon & Mccartney earned more on a song of Harrison's than he did himself. therefore he wrote this song as he didn't really care what the lyrics say, what time of day etc. as it's only a Northern Song therefore it doesnt really matter.
Great song.
Thanks for explaining the significance. It makes sense now.
@musicislifeismusic very interesting, thanks for sharing
I LOVE GEORGE HARRISON!!!
I have a totally different idea. I think George was being sarcastic to the fans. "it does't really matter what chords I play..." he is saying that no matter how crappy and random the song is, because its a Beatles song, it is going to be popular. And he was correct. I'm not saying that I don't like the song, because I do like it, I'm just sure that if a less worshipped band released the song the same way first, it would have died.
Plus, "only a northern song" sounds like "only another song"
@Ev003 I agree
i love this song. def under-rated since only 6 people have checked it out! George Harrison had some great philosophies and when they actually let him right he came out with some good stuff. I think this song shows some influence from his study of eastern philosophy. "it doesnt really matter what chords i play etc..." Just doing what ur called to do... being part of the universe... not disturbing it. i love it how he can make chords sound a little off but still harmonize.
I love this song. It's very laid back in music and lyrics. The song' lyrics degrade the song itself. Very interesting.
I read that in this song George Harrison is complaining about British tax laws. Since they were from Northern England, they were considered "northerners". He is complaning that the only thing that matters, negatively, is that he is a northerner. Everything else, such as 'the chords he plays, the words he says' are irrelevant. He is being sarcastic.
A significant amount of the Beatles earnings went to taxes, so I think this is what triggered his feelings of unfairness
You refer to "Taxman", also writen by George.
@datim The song in which he criticizes the English tax system of the time is "Taxman". The reference to a "Northern Song" here is to the company set up by the Beatles, Brian Epstein and Dick James to publish Beatles songs, Northern Songs Ltd. Therefore, what George was saying was literally, "It's only a Beatles song." It really has nothing to do with them being from Liverpool, which is not really considered 'the north'. He's really just saying that they could write any old crap and it would still be held in high esteem.
the words 'it doesnt matter what chords i play' are actually a reference to Northern Songs Ltd., and are there because george didnt own Northern, thus it didnt matter if the song was good
george wrote the lyrics 'it doesnt matter what chords i play' because he didnt own Northern Songs Ltd., and it didnt matter to him if the song was good
I heard George wrote this as a kind of attack on John and Paul for not taking his songwriting seriously. This was originally supposed to be on Sergeant Pepper's, but didn't make it. The title comes from Northern Songs Ltd.
That's correct, you know you're history.<br /> <br /> He deliberately made it disjointed.
Oh my god, your***<br /> <br /> I hate it when people make that mistake.
Me and my dad were listening to this song, and he told me that Northern Songs Ltd. was what George wrote his songs under (but i allready knew that). And when he was saying "It's Only a Northern Song", he was commentated that Lennon/McCartney's songs would always be more popular, and compared to them, George's songs didn't really matter. This would kind of make it awkward for the beatles when they were recording this...
@scimitar_255 Yes, I've heard this explanation from some well respected sources, but it never sits right with me. The "and it doesn't really matter what chords I play<br /> What words I say, Or time of day it is" works in this context, but when capped with "It's only a Northern Song" the meaning for me shifts, as it then includes songs written by the other three. The meaning for me is then that any old crap will do, as long as it's by them.