Run Of The Mill

Album: All Things Must Pass (1970)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Mojo magazine February 2012 asked Olivia Harrison if there is one particular song of her late husband that always connects him with her. She replied citing this All Things Must Pass track, explaining, "It's a really beautiful song. It's lyrics are very inspiring - 'It's you that decides/Which way will you turn'- and always a lovely reminder of him."
  • The expression "run of the mill" dates from the beginning of the 20th century and used to describe someone or something that is ordinary in quality. The allusion was to materials or fabrics as they emerged from the production process in a mill and before they'd been inspected for quality.
  • Harrison wrote the song still feeling bitter about the breakup of the Beatles. The title, which doesn't appear in the lyrics, probably refers to the second class Beatle status that he felt he had: "Another day for you to realize me or send me down again."
  • All Things Must Pass was Harrison's first solo album after The Beatles broke up. Phil Spector produced it, bringing in a troupe of A-list musicians to build his "wall of sound." Appearing on "Run Of The Mill" were:

    Carl Radle: bass
    Jim Gordon: drums
    Gary Wright: piano
    Bobby Whitlock: organ
    Jim Price: trumpet
    Bobby Keys: saxophone

    After the sessions,
    Gordon, Radle and Whitlock formed Derek and the Dominos with Eric Clapton, who also played on the album.

Comments: 1

  • Lune from EarthG-d is in this song.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In Songs

Sending Out An SOS - Distress Signals In SongsSong Writing

Songs where something goes horribly wrong (literally or metaphorically), and help is needed right away.

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.