Meaning of Beware of Darkness (2014 Remaster)

by George Harrison · 2024

The song Beware of Darkness (2014 Remaster) by George Harrison is about staying vigilant against negative influences like sadness, confusion, deception, and greed that can cloud judgment and lead people astray.

This song has been Shazamed over 238,584 times. As of this writing, Beware of Darkness (2014 Remaster) is ranked 163

Beware of Darkness (2014 Remaster)’ by George Harrison is a song from the 1970s that talks about sadness, confusion, and how we can protect ourselves from negativity. We’re going to break down what this song really means, so let’s get into it together. ⬇️

The music feels like a slow-motion walk through a foggy evening, mysterious yet gentle, with every note wrapped in a sense of warning. Harrison creates a narrative that urges us to be careful of the hidden dangers in our minds and the world around us.

⚡ The chorus, simple but piercing—“Beware of Darkness”—echoes like a mantra, a plea to guard our hearts from the shadows that creep in without warning. We hear the words again and again, each repetition a little more urgent, as if Harrison is standing beside us, shaking us gently awake. Sometimes, as we listen, we realize he isn’t just warning us about external threats; he’s also reminding us how easy it is to get lost inside our own worries.

In the verses, Harrison warns against “falling swingers” and “thoughts that linger,” painting vivid images of pain mingling at our fingertips or hopelessness lurking in the dead of night. He tells us that sadness can sneak up, wound us, and leave us sore—reminding us, in a flash of poetic wisdom, that suffering isn’t our true purpose. The lyrics twist and turn, naming “soft shoe shufflers” (people who drift without awareness) and “greedy leaders,” weaving a tapestry of both personal demons and societal pitfalls, with the haunting refrain: Beware of Maya, beware of illusion.

As the song unfolds, the mention of “weeping Atlas Cedars” wanting to “grow, grow, and grow” throws in an unexpected metaphor—a tree’s yearning for light amid gloom, echoing our own struggle to reach for hope while darkness presses in. The blend of warning and encouragement hangs in the air, never quite settling, always urging us to question, to stay awake, to keep growing.

✨ George Harrison’s true intent is to remind us—through whispers, through warnings, through melodic shadows—that even when the world (or our thoughts) feels heavy with darkness, we have the power to notice it, name it, and seek out the light anyway.

Writer(s) of Beware of Darkness (2014 Remaster):