"Old Brown Shoe" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by George Harrison, the group's lead guitarist, it was released on a non-album single in May 1969, as the B-side to "The Ballad of John and Yoko". The song was subsequently included on the band's compilation albums Hey Jude, 1967–1970 and Past Masters, Volume Two. Although "Old Brown Shoe" remains a relatively obscure song in the band's catalogue, several music critics view it as one of Harrison's best compositions from the Beatles era and especially admire his guitar solo on the track.
The lyrics to "Old Brown Shoe" address the concept of duality while its rhythm is partly in the ska style. The Beatles rehearsed the song during the sessions for their Let It Be album in January 1969. Harrison subsequently taped a solo demo of the song, along with two other compositions that the band had overlooked: "Something" and "All Things Must Pass". The group formally recorded "Old Brown Shoe" in April, during the early sessions for Abbey Road.
The 1969 demo was released on the Beatles' Anthology 3 compilation in 1996. A concert version by Harrison was included on his 1992 album Live in Japan. Gary Brooker performed the song at the Concert for George tribute in November 2002, held at London's Royal Albert Hall a year after Harrison's death.
Background and inspiration
George Harrison wrote "Old Brown Shoe" in January 1969 on a piano rather than guitar, his main instrument. The song's rhythm suggests the influence of ska. In his 1980 autobiography, I, Me, Mine, Harrison says that the lyrical content started as a study in opposites and addresses "the duality of things". This idea was also prevalent in the Beatles' 1967 single "Hello, Goodbye", which Paul McCartney had written as an exercise in word association. For Harrison, the concept of duality also appealed on a philosophical level, consistent with his interest in Eastern religion.