George Harrison · 1970 · Behind the Songs
“What Is Life” is George Harrison at his most exuberant.
“What Is Life” is George Harrison at his most exuberant. First released on All Things Must Pass in 1970 and as a single in the United States in February 1971, it is a song that asks a profound question and answers it with sheer musical joy. The opening guitar figure is instantly recognizable, the rhythm is driving, and Harrison’s vocal performance is full of energy and conviction.
The song’s lyrics move between love and spiritual longing, and that ambiguity is part of its appeal. It can be heard as a love song, as a song of devotion, or as both at once — a reflection of Harrison’s belief that the two were not so far apart. The arrangement, with its horns, backing vocals, and Spector’s wall of sound, gives the track a celebratory lift, as if the question in the title is not a problem to be solved but a wonder to be sung about.
Decades later, “What Is Life” remains one of Harrison’s most played solo songs, and it is easy to hear why. It captures the feeling of All Things Must Pass in miniature: a songwriter finally free to express himself fully, and doing so with melody, rhythm, and an infectious sense of release. It is a song that makes you want to turn it up — and then to think, for a moment, about what you are turning up for.