Nov 2 2009 By Jade Wright

George Harrison

IT’S not every day you find  yourself writing a song with a  former Beatle.

But Wirral  singer/songwriter  Dean Johnson found himself  doing just that when he was asked  to complete  a fragment of a song  originally written by George  Harrison at the height of  Beatlemania.

The original 10 lines were given  to biographer Hunter Davies by  George for inclusion in his   Beatles biography published in  the late 1960s, but were put aside  and forgotten until  recently.

They were picked up by BBC  Radio Merseyside’s Spencer  Leigh, who suggested that maybe   a contemporary songwriter could  make the fragment into a song. He  approached Dean.

“Spencer called me out of the  blue and left a message saying he  had an interesting proposition  for  me,” explained Dean, from Oxton.
“I called him back and when he  said he would like me to work on  George’s unfinished song  I found  it unbelievable, tremendously  exciting and above all a complete  honour.

“My brief was to follow George’s  sentiment through to its  conclusion. The words were both  brutally  honest and compassionate and  Harrison was obviously writing  from the heart.

“I just tried  by my best ability  to get into the mind of someone in  George’s position and I am so  pleased that  most people who have  heard it, think I achieved a  credible continuity with the  original lyrics.”

The original fragment was  written by George when Hunter  had asked each Beatle to submit  a  sample of their handwriting. It  was then discarded as scrap paper  from the floor of Abbey Road   studio, where it is almost certain  that it would have been thrown  out by the cleaners if he had not   picked it up.

When re-examining these  papers he came upon the  remarkable discovery.

The lyrics are of a personal  nature and were first thought to  be a song of unrequited love but   in hindsight they seem to allude  to George’s uneasy relationship  with John Lennon.

On the reverse side of the lyric  are instructions on how to reach  Beatles manager Brian Epstein’s  country house in Sussex, written  in Epstein’s hand.

It is now in the British  Library’s Beatles collection, along  with more material loaned by  Hunter  – who plans to donate  everything to the library after  his death.

The collection ranges from a  fan club membership card to the  lyrics of A Hard Day’s Night,   written by John Lennon on the  back of a birthday card to his  son Julian.

Hunter’s biography, entitled  The Beatles, is republished this  month, containing the lost lines  with  the blessing of George’s  estate.

The finished song, entitled  Silence (is its own reply), was  performed live during an  interview with  Hunter Davies  on Spencer Leigh’s On The Beat  programme.

I'm happy to say that it's  only a dream
When I come across  people like you,
It's only a dream  and  you make it obscene
With the things that you  think and you do.
You're so unaware of  the pain  that I bear
And jealous for what  you can't do.
There's times when I  feel that you haven't a  hope
But  I also know that  isn't true.
Every time I ask you  why
Silence is its own reply

It’s so hard to prove  what I can do
Compared to someone  like you
You make it look easy  but you still tease me
When you have got  nothing better to do
When the tears are  falling and its dawning
The truth will ring out  so clear
That no-one’s above  you and nobody can love  you
Until all that pain  disappears

Every time I ask you  why
Silence is its own reply

By the time we have  talked it over
It’s time to say goodbye

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/11/02/wirral-songwriter-completes-george-harrison-beatles-song-40-years-on-92534-25067387/

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