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}} "Isn't It a Pity" is a song by English musician George Harrison from his 1970 solo album ''All Things Must Pass''. It appears in two variations there: one the well-known, seven-minute version; the other a reprise, titled "Isn't It a Pity (Version Two)". Harrison wrote the song in 1966, but it was rejected for inclusion on releases by the Beatles. In many countries around the world, the song was also issued on a double A-side single with "My Sweet Lord". In America, ''Billboard'' magazine listed it with "My Sweet Lord" when the single topped the Hot 100 chart, while in Canada, "Isn't It a Pity" reached number 1 as the preferred side. An anthemic ballad and one of Harrison's most celebrated compositions, "Isn't It a Pity" has been described as the emotional and musical centrepiece of ''All Things Must Pass''〔 and "a poignant reflection on The Beatles' coarse ending".〔 Co-produced by Phil Spector, the recording employs multiple keyboard players, rhythm guitarists and percussionists, as well as orchestration by arranger John Barham. In its extended fadeout, the song references the closing refrain of the Beatles' 1968 hit "Hey Jude". Other musicians on the recording include Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Gary Wright and the band Badfinger, while the reprise version features Eric Clapton on lead guitar. The song appeared as the closing track on Harrison's career-spanning compilation ''Let It Roll'' (2009), and a live version, from his 1991 tour with Clapton, was included on ''Live in Japan'' (1992). Clapton and Preston performed the song together at the Concert for George tribute in November 2002. "Isn't It a Pity" has been covered by numerous artists, including Nina Simone, Matt Monro, Cowboy Junkies, Paul Young, Elliott Smith, Galaxie 500, Jonathan Wilson and Graham Nash, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Roberta Flack. ==Background and composition== While no longer the "really tight" social unit they had been throughout the chaos of Beatlemania〔George Harrison, in The Beatles, p. 83.〕 – or the "four-headed monster", as Mick Jagger famously called them〔("George Harrison – In His Own Words" ), superseventies.com (retrieved 3 October 2012).〕〔Caroline Gammell, ("Rolling Stones envied The Beatles' singing prowess – Sir Paul" ), ''The Telegraph'' online, 23 May 2011 (retrieved 25 June 2012).〕 – the individual Beatles were still bonded by genuine friendship during their final, troubled years as a band,〔Hertsgaard, p. 310.〕 even if it was now more of a case of being locked together at a deep psychological level after such a sustained period of heightened experience.〔MacDonald, pp. 288, 300.〕 Eric Clapton has described this bond as being just like that of a typical family, "with all the difficulties that entails".〔Eric Clapton interview, in ''George Harrison: Living in the Material World''.〕 When the band finally split, in April 1970 – a "terrible surprise" for the outside world, in the words of author Mark Hertsgaard, "like the sudden death of a beloved young uncle"〔Hertsgaard, p. 277.〕 – even the traditionally most disillusioned Beatle, George Harrison, suffered a mild bereavement.〔Leng, p. 91.〕 Towards the end of May that year, among the dozens of tracks that would be considered and/or recorded for his ''All Things Must Pass'' triple album, Harrison returned to a number of unused songs that he had written during the late 1960s.〔The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', p. 39.〕 "Isn't It a Pity" was one of these, having most recently been rejected by the Beatles during the January 1969 ''Get Back'' sessions that resulted in their final album, ''Let It Be''.〔MacDonald, p. 302.〕〔Miles, p. 332.〕 According to Abbey Road engineer Geoff Emerick, however, the song had been offered for inclusion on 1967's ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', while Mark Lewisohn, the band's acknowledged recording historian, has stated that it was first presented during sessions for the previous year's ''Revolver''.〔MacDonald, p. 302fn.〕 Lewisohn's opinion appears to tally with a bootlegged conversation from the ''Get Back'' sessions, where Harrison reveals that John Lennon had vetoed "Isn't It a Pity" three years before, and that he (Harrison) considered offering the song to Frank Sinatra.〔Sulpy & Schweighardt, p. 269.〕 (Harrison had recently met Sinatra in Los Angeles while working there with Apple signing Jackie Lomax.〔Clayson, ''George Harrison'', pp. 259−60.〕) Despite its relative antiquity by 1970, the song's lyrics lent themselves well to the themes of spiritual salvation and friendship that define ''All Things Must Pass'',〔Leng, pp. 86–87, 91–92.〕〔The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', p. 40.〕 being consistent with the karmic subject matter of much of the album.〔Matthew Greenwald, ("George Harrison 'Isn't It a Pity'" ), AllMusic (retrieved 30 March 2014).〕 In his 1980 autobiography, Harrison explains: "'Isn't It a Pity' is about whenever a relationship hits a down point ... It was a chance to realise that if I felt somebody had let ''me'' down, then there's a good chance ''I'' was letting someone else down."〔Harrison, p. 170.〕 His lyrics adopt a nonjudgmental tone throughout:〔 Harrison biographer Ian Inglis has referred to the song's "surprisingly complex" lyrics, which in one sense can be seen as a personal observation on a "failed love affair" yet at the same time serve as a comment on "the universal love for, and among, humankind".〔Inglis, pp. 25, 26.〕 This theme had featured in previous Harrison songs such as "Within You, Without You" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and would remain prominent in much of his subsequent compositions.〔Inglis, p. 26.〕 The same parallels regarding the universality of love in Harrison's work has been noted by Dale Allison, author of the first "spiritual biography" on the ex-Beatle; "When George asks, 'Isn't It A Pity?'," Allison writes, "the scope of his question is vast: it embraces almost everything."〔Allison, p. 34.〕 Speaking to ''Billboard'' editor-in-chief Timothy White in 2000, Harrison said of "Isn't It a Pity": "It's just an observation of how society and myself were or are. We take each other for granted – and forget to give back. That was really all it was about."〔("George Harrison: 'All Things' In Good Time" ), billboard.com (retrieved 22 September 2013).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Isn't It a Pity」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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