View source for I Me Mine

{{for|George Harrison's autobiography|I, Me, Mine}}
{{good article}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2010}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox song
| name          = I Me Mine
| cover         = "I Me Mine" sheet music cover.jpg
| cover_size    = 165
| border        = yes
| caption       = Cover of the original [[Chas. H. Hansen Music Corp.|Hansen Publishing]] sheet music
| artist        = [[the Beatles]]
| album         = [[Let It Be (album)|Let It Be]]
| released      = {{Start date|1970|05|08|df=y}}
| recorded      = 3 January and 1 April 1970
| studio        = [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI]], London
| genre         = [[Rock music|Rock]], [[folk music|folk]]-[[blues]]
| length        = {{Duration|m=2|s=26}}
| writer        = [[George Harrison]]
| label         = [[Apple Records|Apple]]
| producer      = [[Phil Spector]]
}}
"'''I Me Mine'''" is a song by the English rock band [[the Beatles]] from their 1970 album ''[[Let It Be (album)|Let It Be]]''. Written by [[George Harrison]], it was the last new track the group recorded before [[Break-up of the Beatles|their break-up]] in April 1970. The song originated from their January 1969 rehearsals at [[Twickenham Film Studios]] when they were considering making a return to live performance. Written at a time of acrimony within the group, the lyrics lament humankind's propensity for self-centredness and serve as a comment on the discord that led to Harrison temporarily leaving the Beatles. The musical arrangement alternates between [[waltz]]-time verses and choruses played in the [[hard rock]] style.

The song reflects Harrison's absorption in Hindu texts such as the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' and their denouncement of ego in favour of [[universal consciousness]]. When Harrison presented "I Me Mine" at Twickenham, [[John Lennon]] showed little interest and instead waltzed with [[Yoko Ono]] while the other Beatles rehearsed the song. Footage of the couple dancing was included in the ''[[Let It Be (1970 film)|Let It Be]]'' documentary film. In January 1970, by which point Lennon had privately left the group, the three remaining members formally recorded the song at [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI Studios]] in London for the ''Let It Be'' album. When preparing the album for release, producer [[Phil Spector]] extended the track by repeating the chorus and second verse, in addition to adding orchestration and a female choir.

Among music critics, several writers have identified "I Me Mine" as a powerful final performance by the Beatles and an apt statement from Harrison. The song has been referenced by some religious scholars in their commentary on [[egoism]]. Harrison titled his 1980 autobiography ''[[I, Me, Mine]]'' after the track. The original recording, lasting just 1:34, appeared on the Beatles' 1996 outtakes compilation ''[[Anthology 3]]'', introduced by a mock announcement from Harrison referring to Lennon's departure.

==Background and inspiration==
{{quote box|quote=I kept coming across the words I, me and mine in books about yoga and stuff ... [about the difference between] the real you and the you that people mistake their identity to be ... I, me and mine is all ego orientation. But it is something which is used all the time ... "No one's frightened of saying it, everyone's playing it, coming on strong all the time. All through your life, I me mine."{{sfn|Harry|2003|pp=233–34}} |source= – George Harrison, 1997|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}

[[George Harrison]] wrote "I Me Mine" on 7 January 1969, during the second week of [[the Beatles]]' filmed rehearsals at [[Twickenham Film Studios]] in west London.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=328}} The film project – which became known as ''Get Back'' and eventually ''[[Let It Be (1970 film)|Let It Be]]''{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=93, 109}}{{sfn|Hamelman|2009|p=137}} – formed part of the Beatles' proposed return to live performance for the first time since 1966.{{sfn|Clayson|2003|pp=257–59}} Harrison recalled that after spending two months in the United States in late 1968, he was "quite optimistic" about the new project, but the situation within the group "was just the same as it had been when we were last in the studio ... There was a lot of trivia and games being played".{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=316}} For Harrison, the power struggle between [[John Lennon]] and [[Paul McCartney]], and the constant presence of Lennon's girlfriend, [[avant-garde]] artist [[Yoko Ono]],{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|p=1}} created an atmosphere that contrasted sharply with the creative freedom and camaraderie he had recently enjoyed with [[Bob Dylan]] and [[the Band]] in upstate New York.{{sfn|Tillery|2011|p=86}}

The 7 January rehearsal was marked by acrimony, as the Beatles argued over the direction of the project.{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|p=79}} Hours were given over to rehearsing McCartney's "[[Maxwell's Silver Hammer]]" with little improvement,{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=245}} and McCartney confronted Lennon over his lack of new songs, drawing a sarcastic response from Lennon.{{sfn|Womack|2007|p=255}}{{refn|group=nb|Lennon had become addicted to heroin over the previous months{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=321}}{{sfn|Fremaux|2018|p=134–35}} and had written little since the Beatles completed their [[The Beatles (album)|self-titled double album]] (also known as the "White Album") in October 1968.{{sfn|O'Gorman|2003|p=72}} He later attributed his descent into addiction to the other Beatles' hostility towards Ono, Lennon's constant companion from the start of the White Album sessions.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=150–51}}}} Since the start of the project, Harrison had presented several new songs for consideration,{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=59}}{{sfn|Fremaux|2018|pp=129–30}} only to see them given laborious treatment by the band or overlooked entirely.{{sfn|O'Gorman|2003|p=73}} That day, he confronted his bandmates about their attitude to his songs;{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|p=114}} he later complained that due to their greater experience as songwriters, Lennon and McCartney viewed their own material as the priority and "I'd have to wait through ten of their songs before they'd even listen to one of mine".{{sfn|Womack|2007|p=256}} Harrison wrote the song at home that night,{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=319}} drawing inspiration from the divisive atmosphere in the band.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=328}} The melody was inspired by either the incidental music on a [[BBC]] television programme he watched, ''Europa – The Titled and the Untitled'',{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|p=114}} played by an Austrian [[brass band]]. {{sfn|Everett|1999|p=233}} or incidental music, composed by [[Tristram Cary]] for an episode of ''[[Out of the Unknown]]'' which aired prior to that programme on [[BBC Two|BBC2]].<ref>{{cite web | title=The Beatles Bible - Get Back/Let It be sessions: Day five | date=8 January 1969 | url=https://www.beatlesbible.com/1969/01/08/get-back-let-it-be-sessions-day-five/ }}</ref>

[[File:Swami Vivekananda-1893-09-signed.jpg|thumb|upright=0.65|The song's message was partly inspired by the teachings of Hindu monk [[Swami Vivekananda]].]]
When discussing "I Me Mine", Harrison said he was addressing the "eternal problem" of [[egoism]]{{sfn|Harrison|2002|p=158}}{{sfn|Allison|2006|pp=119–20}} and that his perspective was informed by his past experiences with the hallucinogenic drug [[LSD]].{{sfn|Harry|2003|pp=233–34}}{{sfn|Inglis|2010|pp=14, 142}} He said the concept was in keeping with [[Swami Vivekananda]]'s teaching that an individual's goal in life was to realise their divine qualities by transcending ego concerns, which Harrison called "the little 'i'", and seeing themselves as part of "the big 'I'; i.e. [[Om|OM]], the complete whole, [[universal consciousness]] that is devoid of duality and ego".{{sfn|Harrison|2002|p=158}} 

Author Jonathan Gould describes the song as a "commentary on the selfishness" of Lennon and McCartney,{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=598}} while musicologist [[Walter Everett (musicologist)|Walter Everett]] says that after Harrison had written "[[Not Guilty (song)|Not Guilty]]" in 1968 as a "defense against the tyranny of his songwriting comrades", "I Me Mine" was his "mocking complaint about their stifling egos".{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=233}} In their study of the tapes from the ''Get Back'' project, authors Doug Sulpy and Ray Schweighardt write that Lennon and McCartney regularly overlooked Harrison's compositions, even when his songs were "far better than their own".{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|p=1}}

==Composition==
The verses of "I Me Mine" are in the [[Key (music)|key]] of [[A minor]] while the chorus is in [[A major]].{{sfn|Pedler|2003|p=185}} This technique of [[Parallel key|parallel minor/major]] contrast is common in the Beatles' songwriting and had been employed by Harrison in his 1968 songs "[[While My Guitar Gently Weeps]]"{{sfn|Pedler|2003|p=185}} and "[[Savoy Truffle]]".<ref>{{cite web|last=Pollack|first=Alan W.|date=1998|url=http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/st.shtml|title=Notes on 'Savoy Truffle'|publisher=Soundscapes|access-date=12 February 2018}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|It also appears in [[Lennon–McCartney]] compositions such as "[[The Fool on the Hill]]", "[[Fixing a Hole]]", "[[Michelle (song)|Michelle]]", "[[Things We Said Today]]", "[[Do You Want to Know a Secret]]" and "[[Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)]]".{{sfn|Pedler|2003|p=185}}}} Everett likens the melody of the verses to the European [[folk music]] typified by [[Mary Hopkin]]'s debut single for the Beatles' [[Apple Records|Apple]] record label, "[[Those Were the Days (song)|Those Were the Days]]".{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=233}} He views this folk aspect as "well suited" to Harrison's use of the same "F-against-E7 sound" he first adopted in "[[I Want to Tell You]]".{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=233}}{{refn|group=nb|Author Simon Leng describes the melody as "gently undulating" in the style of "[[If I Needed Someone]]" and Harrison's recent collaboration with Dylan, "[[I'd Have You Anytime]]".{{sfn|Leng|2006|p=82}}}} The composition originally included a [[Flamenco guitar|flamenco]]-style instrumental passage{{sfn|Everett|1999|pp=233–34}} but Harrison subsequently replaced this section with a chorus repeating the line "I me-me mine".{{sfn|Unterberger|2006|pp=242, 280}} In its final form, the structure comprises an intro, two combinations of verse and chorus, followed by a verse.<ref name="Pollack/Notes">{{cite web|first=Alan W.|last=Pollack|year=1999|url= http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/imm.shtml|title=Notes on 'I Me Mine'|publisher=Soundscapes|access-date=5 May 2020}}</ref> The verse and chorus are also differentiated by their [[time signature]]: the former is in {{music|time|3|4}} time while the latter is in {{music|time|4|4}}.<ref name="Pollack/Notes" />

Musicologist [[Alan W. Pollack|Alan Pollack]] describes the song as "an interesting folk/blues stylistic hybrid with more than just a touch of the hard rocking waltz beat".<ref name="Pollack/Notes" /> The verse begins with two repeated phrases, each consisting of a shift from the i minor (Am) chord to a IV (D7), emphasising the [[Dorian mode]],{{sfn|Pedler|2003|p=277}} followed by ♭VII (G), V7 (E7) and i minor chords.<ref name="Pollack/Notes" /> The verse continues with a minor iv (Dm) chord for two bars<ref name="Pollack/Notes" /> before shifting to V7 (E7), after which a ♭9 (F natural) melody note results in what musicologist Dominic Pedler terms the "dark drama" of an E7♭9 chord and an example of the Beatles' employment of an "exotic intensifier".{{sfn|Pedler|2003|p=18}} There then follows a [[Chromatic scale|chromatically]] descending bass line over the i minor chord, leading to VI (F7) and the transition into the {{music|time|4|4}} chorus.<ref name="Pollack/Notes" /> The latter presents as a heavy rock{{sfn|Leng|2006|p=40}} [[12-bar blues]] but is abbreviated to 10 bars since the V chord functions as a re-transition to the verse.<ref name="Pollack/Notes" /> Pedler also comments on the unusual aspect of the song concluding on an ♭VI (Fmaj7) chord in A minor key.{{sfn|Pedler|2003|p=290}}

The set of pronouns that form the song's title are a conventional way of referring to the ego in [[Hinduism|Hindu]] and [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] philosophy.{{sfn|Strawson|2000|p=45}} The lyrics reference the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]'' 2:71-72,{{sfn|Womack|2007|p=271}} part of which advocates a life "devoid of any sense of mineness or egotism".{{sfn|Allison|2006|p=31}}{{refn|group=nb|These final verses in [[Bhagavad Gita#Chapter 2 (72 verses)|Chapter 2]]{{Broken anchor|date=2024-10-13|bot=User:Cewbot/log/20201008/configuration|target_link=Bhagavad Gita#Chapter 2 (72 verses)|reason= The anchor (Chapter 2 (72 verses)) [[Special:Diff/1063681773|has been deleted]].}} of the ''Gita'' can be translated as: "They are forever free who renounce all selfish desires and break away from the ego-cage of 'I', 'me' and 'mine' to be united with the Lord. This is the supreme state. Attain to this, and pass from death to immortality."{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=420}}}} According to spiritual biographer [[Gary Tillery]], the song targets McCartney and Lennon "for being so fixated on their own interests" but also laments all of humankind's propensity for egocentricity.{{sfn|Tillery|2011|p=86}} The lyrics state that this self-centredness is constant and in all actions and desires.{{sfn|Inglis|2010|p=14}} Tillery says that the message is both ironic and tragic from a Hindu perspective, which contends that ego is merely an illusion; egocentricity is therefore akin to a single drop of water focusing on its own course at the expense of the ocean surrounding it.{{sfn|Tillery|2011|p=86}}

==Twickenham rehearsals==
[[File:John Lennon en echtgenote Yoko Ono verlaten het Hilton Hotel te Amsterdam, Bestanddeelnr 922-2491.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[John Lennon]]'s dependence on [[Yoko Ono]] (left) contributed to the divisive atmosphere that Harrison sought to address in the song.{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=327–28}}]]
The rehearsals at Twickenham Film Studios were filmed and recorded by director [[Michael Lindsay-Hogg]] with the intention that the documentary film would accompany a televised concert by the Beatles.{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|p=318}}{{sfn|O'Gorman|2003|pp=70–71}} On the morning of 8 January, Harrison played "I Me Mine" to [[Ringo Starr]] while they waited for Lennon and McCartney to arrive. He introduced the song as a "heavy waltz"{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=233}} and joked to Starr, with reference to McCartney's plans for the concert: "I don't care if you don't want it in your show."{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=272}} Harrison said he might use the song in a musical he was planning to write with Apple press officer [[Derek Taylor]] about the company.{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|pp=113–14}}

The Beatles spent considerable time rehearsing "I Me Mine" on 8 January,{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|p=113}} performing it a total of 41 times.{{sfn|Unterberger|2006|pp=241, 242}} As rehearsed, the song was just a minute and a half in length.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=233}} McCartney and Starr provided enthusiastic support, according to author John Winn, while Lennon "mostly opts out".{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=245}} Lennon ridiculed the song.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=233}} In Sulpy and Schweighardt's description of the rehearsals, Lennon "jokes that a collection of freaks can dance along with George's waltz" and he tells Harrison to "get lost – that the Beatles only play rock and roll and there's no place in the group's playlist for a Spanish waltz".{{sfn|Womack|2007|p=257}}{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|pp=123–24}} McCartney also mocked "I Me Mine" by singing in a Spanish accent.{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|p=128}} According to Beatles biographer [[Kenneth Womack]], Lennon's derision, which followed his ignoring suggestions from Harrison regarding musical arrangements over the previous days, was an example of Lennon "baiting" his bandmate. Womack says this was informed by Harrison being the most outspoken of the Beatles in objecting to Ono's constant presence, and by Lennon's annoyance at Harrison's abundance of new songs.{{sfn|Womack|2007|p=257}} In Everett's view, Lennon's comments about "I Me Mine" suggest he was "jealous at Harrison's widening vocal range as well as his confidence in his compositional abilities".{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=233}}{{refn|group=nb|Everett states that whereas Lennon's songwriting had been "central" to the White Album, "Harrison's twelve new compositions in January 1969 (including the untaped '[[Wah-Wah (song)|Wah-Wah]]') are far more interesting than those of his elder".{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=232}}}}

Lennon made similarly derogatory remarks that day about McCartney's ballads "[[Let It Be (song)|Let It Be]]" and "[[The Long and Winding Road]]".{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|pp=127, 129}} According to Gould, Harrison was particularly upset that his bandmates griped about the time spent learning "I Me Mine" yet then indulged in "a laborious rehearsal of a song like 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' which struck George as a paragon of pop inanity".{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=536}} On 10 January, Harrison walked out of the sessions, weary of what he considered to be McCartney's overbearing attitude{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|pp=329–30}} and Lennon's lack of engagement with the project.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=328}}{{sfn|Clayson|2003|pp=261–62}}

==Production==
===Recording===
[[File:Abbey road studios.jpg|thumb|right|[[Abbey Road Studios]] (formerly EMI Studios) in 2005. "I Me Mine" was the last new song recorded by the Beatles before their break-up in April 1970.]]
In October 1969, Lindsay-Hogg completed an edit of the documentary film,{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=360}} which included footage of Harrison playing "I Me Mine" for Starr.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=233}}{{refn|group=nb|His comment that "I don't care if you don't want it in your show" was also included,{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=272}} with a stray guitar note added to mask an expletive.{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|p=114}}}} Harrison, Starr and McCartney were then shown performing the song while Lennon danced with Ono.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=233}}{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=291}} Since the scenes were relatively prominent,{{sfn|Womack|2007|p=271}}{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=232}} the Beatles had to record the song for inclusion on the accompanying soundtrack album, still titled ''Get Back'' but soon to become ''[[Let It Be (album)|Let It Be]]''.{{sfn|Everett|1999|pp=233, 273–74}} On 3 January 1970, Harrison, McCartney and Starr met at EMI Studios (now [[Abbey Road Studios]]) to work on the track with producer [[George Martin]].{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=367}}{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|p=315}} Lennon did not attend the session; having privately left the band in September, he and Ono were on holiday in Denmark at the time.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=360}}{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=112}}

{{quote box|quote=You all will have read that Dave Dee is no longer with us. But Mickey and Tich and I would just like to carry on the good work that's always gone down in number two [EMI Studio 2].{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=195}}|source= – Harrison's announcement before take 15 of "I Me Mine", referring to Lennon's departure from the Beatles|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}
The group recorded 16 takes of the basic track, with Harrison on acoustic guitar and singing a guide vocal, McCartney on bass guitar, and Starr playing drums.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=195}} Beatles historian [[Mark Lewisohn]] describes the session as an efficient one in which the bandmates indulged in an instrumental jam after take 6 and also played a "delightful" cover of [[Buddy Holly]]'s "[[Peggy Sue Got Married (song)|Peggy Sue Got Married]]", sung by Harrison before beginning take 12.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=195}} At the start of take 15, Harrison delivered a mock press statement in which he made a joking reference to Lennon's absence{{sfn|Clayson|2003|p=282}} by recasting the four Beatles as members of the British pop group [[Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich]].{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=195}}

Aside from vocals, the overdubs on take 16 were two [[Distortion (music)|distorted]] electric lead guitars (Harrison) and lead acoustic parts (Harrison & McCartney),{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=367}} and McCartney's [[Hammond organ]] and electric piano.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=360}} The recorded track lasted 1 minute 34 seconds.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=199}}{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=275}} When engineer [[Glyn Johns]] compiled the proposed ''Get Back'' album, he retained the studio chatter that preceded take 16, as Harrison says, "All right. Are you ready, Ringo?" and Starr replies, "Ready, George!"{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=360}} The pre-take 15 announcement, followed by take 16 of "I Me Mine",<ref name="Lewisohn/Anthol3">{{cite AV media notes|first=Mark|last=Lewisohn|title=[[Anthology 3]] |others=[[The Beatles]] |p=41|year=1996 |type=CD booklet liner notes |publisher=[[Apple Records]] }}</ref> was released on the ''[[Anthology 3]]'' outtakes compilation in 1996.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=360}}

===Track extension and orchestral overdubs===
As with Johns' May 1969 version of ''Get Back'', the Beatles rejected his January 1970 submission of the album.{{sfn|Spizer|2003|pp=75, 162, 181–82}}{{sfn|Sulpy|Schweighardt|1999|pp=314–15}} Lennon and Harrison then asked American producer [[Phil Spector]] to rework ''Let It Be''.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=269}}{{sfn|Hamelman|2009|pp=136–37}}{{refn|group=nb|Lennon and Harrison invited Spector to salvage the project after being impressed with his production of Lennon's [[Plastic Ono Band]] single "[[Instant Karma!]]"{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=115–16}}}} Spector decided to extend the length of "I Me Mine" by repeating the rock-style chorus in the middle of the song and the second verse.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|pp=197, 199}} The extension was carried out on 23 March,{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=275}} with Harrison present for much of the remixing session.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=197}} It was achieved by copying the tape from the 1:20 mark,{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=381}} after the line "flowing more freely than wine", thereby adding a further 51 seconds to the running time.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|pp=197, 199}}

Along with "The Long and Winding Road" and "[[Across the Universe]]",{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|pp=198–99}}{{sfn|Womack|2007|pp=270–71}} Spector chose to augment "I Me Mine" with his signature [[Wall of Sound]].{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=380}}{{sfn|Spizer|2003|pp=199–200}} On 1 April, he overdubbed a 27-piece string section, six brass players, and additional drums by Starr.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=275}}{{sfn|Winn|2009|pp=380–81}} Although Lewisohn states that the female choir hired by Spector for the session did not sing on "I Me Mine",{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=199}} music critic [[Richie Unterberger]] lists their contribution among the song's Wall of Sound characteristics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/let-it-be-mw0000192939|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|title=The Beatles ''Let It Be''|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=8 May 2020}}</ref> To the consternation of the EMI engineers, Spector also insisted on hearing the tracks with full [[Tape echo|tape]], plate and chamber echo in place – effects that were usually introduced during final mixing and proved difficult to add.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=198}}

As the last of the three songs to be amended by Spector on 1 April, these additions to "I Me Mine" were the final overdubs on a Beatles track before the group's break-up.{{sfn|Everett|1999|pp=275–76}} The final version, as "re-produced" by Spector, was included on ''Let It Be''.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=199}} A similar edit, without the orchestral overdubs but retaining the repeated portion, was made available on the ''[[Let It Be... Naked]]'' album in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mixonline.com/news/news-articles/naked-truth-about-beatles-let-it-benaked/425110 |title=The Naked Truth About The Beatles' Let It Be Naked |last1=Hurwitz |first1=Matt |date=1 January 2004 |publisher=[[Mix (magazine)|Mixonline]] |access-date=20 September 2016}}</ref>{{sfn|Womack|2014|pp=421–22}}
{{Clear}}

==Album and film release==
''Let It Be'' was issued on 8 May 1970{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=376}} with "I Me Mine" sequenced as the fourth track, between "Across the Universe" and "[[Dig It (Beatles song)|Dig It]]".{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=197}} The release followed a month after McCartney's public announcement that he was leaving the Beatles, which had resulted in the group's break-up.{{sfn|Badman|2001|pp=4, 8}}{{sfn|Gould|2007|p=600}} For Harrison, the break-up provided the impetus for starting work, with Spector as his co-producer, on the triple album ''[[All Things Must Pass]]'', which includes songs that had been overlooked by the Beatles.{{sfn|The Editors of ''Rolling Stone''|2002|pp=39–40, 187}}{{sfn|Leng|2006|pp=39, 75–77}}

The pre-release press screening of the ''Let It Be'' film took place in London on 18 May.{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=8}} Unaware of the events at Twickenham Films Studios in January 1969,{{sfn|Clayson|2003|p=261}} [[Nina Hibbin]] commented in the socialist newspaper ''[[Morning Star (British newspaper)|Morning Star]]'': "George Harrison, with his strong-boned face and shut-in expression, looks as if he could fit into any tough and isolated position – as a shepherd in Bulgaria or the manager of a suburban post office."{{sfn|Harry|2003|p=248}} Music critic [[Tim Riley (music critic)|Tim Riley]] includes the scene where Harrison debuts "I Me Mine" for Starr among the documentary's "knockabout moments", but adds that the film's "emotional undertow is an impenetrable dance of egos", as demonstrated by Lennon and Ono waltzing to the song.{{sfn|Riley|2002|pp=290–91}}{{refn|group=nb|He also cites the scenes where Lennon remains silent apart from when singing, McCartney's disapproval of Lennon's vocal in "[[I've Got a Feeling]]", and Harrison's curt response to musical directions from McCartney.{{sfn|Riley|2002|pp=290–91}}}}

According to critic Garry Mulholland, the scene featuring Lennon and Ono waltzing, "in love, temporary oblivious to the band politics", provides "the only glimpse of pleasure" in the Twickenham-based portion of the film, which is otherwise "''all'' about McCartney, holding court, talking in that phoney mid-Atlantic twang".{{sfn|Mulholland|2010|p=}} [[Media theorist]] Stephanie Fremaux writes that the "I Me Mine" segment shows Harrison resolutely ignoring his surroundings, as "Throughout the film, he confronts the idea of image and persona, commenting that, like solo music, each Beatle should just be themselves rather than continually try to contrive images to adhere to."{{sfn|Fremaux|2018|p=130}}{{refn|group=nb|Fremaux rues that Lindsay-Hogg's final edit omits many of Harrison's remarks regarding image. She highlights a conversation about the band's 1968 meditation sojourn [[The Beatles in India|in India]] where Lennon and McCartney agree that the Beatles hid their true personalities, a contention that Harrison describes as "the biggest joke", since the purpose of the trip had been to be their true selves, and adds: "if you were really yourself, you wouldn't be any of who we are now."{{sfn|Fremaux|2018|p=130}}}}

==Critical reception==
Among contemporary reviews of the album, Alan Smith of the ''[[NME]]'' derided ''Let It Be'' as "a cheapskate epitaph" and a "sad and tatty end" to the band's career,{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=137}}{{sfn|Hamelman|2009|pp=137–38}} but he admired the "Russian-flavoured 'I Me Mine'" as "a strong ballad with a frantic centre".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Smith|first=Alan|title=New LP Shows They Couldn't Care Less|magazine=[[NME]]|date=9 May 1970|page=2}} Available at [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-beatles-let-it-be-apple Rock's Backpages] (subscription required).</ref> In ''[[Melody Maker]]'', [[Richard Williams (journalist)|Richard Williams]] wrote: "'I Me Mine' has a great organ/guitar intro, meditative verses and a tempo switch in and out of the rocking chorus, which has guitar riffs one step away from [[Chuck Berry]]. George put a lot of strength into this."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Richard|last=Williams|title=Beatles R.I.P.|magazine=[[Melody Maker]]|date=9 May 1970|page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor=Sutherland, Steve|title=[[NME|NME Originals]]: Lennon|year=2003|publisher=IPC Ignite!|location=London|page=75}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|In his January 1971 review of ''All Things Must Pass'', Williams commented: "Harrison's light has been hidden under the egos of McCartney and Lennon. From time to time there have been hints on several of their albums that he was more than he was being allowed to be."{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=24}}}} Reviewing for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', [[John Mendelsohn (musician)|John Mendelsohn]] ridiculed Spector's use of lush orchestration, particularly on "The Long and Winding Road", adding: "'I Me Mine,' the waltz sections of which reminds one very definitely of something from one of ''[[The Al Jolson Story]]''{{'}}s more maudlin moments, almost benefits from such treatment … As [Spector has] left it, though, it, like 'Winding Road,' is funny enough to find cloying but not funny enough to enjoy laughing at."<ref name="rollingstone.com">{{cite magazine|last=Mendelsohn|first=John|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/let-it-be-19700611|title=The Beatles: Let It Be |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=11 June 1970|access-date=12 August 2016}}</ref>

In 2002, [[David Fricke]] of ''Rolling Stone'' included the song in his list of the "25 Essential Harrison Performances" and said: "Harrison signed off [from the Beatles] in style; his angry, grinding guitar is the honest sound of exhaustion and hard-won freedom."{{sfn|The Editors of ''Rolling Stone''|2002|p=201}} Dave Lewis of ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]'' ranked "I Me Mine" at number 6 in his 2016 list of the ten songs that "highlight George Harrison's profound contribution to The Beatles". He said that it "hinted at the egos at play" that led to the break-up.<ref>{{cite web|first=Dave|last=Lewis|title=The Top 10 Best Beatles Songs Written by George Harrison|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-top-10-best-beatles-songs-written-by-george-harrison|publisher=[[Loudersound|loudersound.com]]|date=27 June 2016|access-date=31 July 2019}}</ref>

According to Beatles biographer [[Ian MacDonald]], "I Me Mine" "would have been a more truthful choice" for the B-side of the Beatles' final single, "The Long and Winding Road", rather than Harrison's "[[For You Blue]]", which was chosen instead.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=340}} He says the song "juxtaposes a self-pitying Gallic waltz (complete with [[Edith Piaf|Piaf]] wobble) against a clamorous blues shuffle – suggesting that selfishness, personal or collective, subtle or crude, is always the same". Although he describes Harrison's lyric as "typically thoughtful", MacDonald finds that it "touches a nadir of worldly pessimism in the line 'Even those tears: I me mine'".{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=367}} In a 2003 review for ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'', [[John Harris (critic)|John Harris]] described Harrison's vocal as "frequently pitched just short of falsetto" and a "delight", and admired the string arrangement for "teas[ing] out the sense of camp" underlying the song."<ref name="Harris/CanUDigIt">{{cite book|first=John|last=Harris|chapter=Let It Be: Can You Dig It?|title=[[Mojo (magazine)#Special editions|Mojo Special Limited Edition]]: 1000 Days of Revolution (The Beatles' Final Years – Jan 1, 1968 to Sept 27, 1970)|year=2003|location=London|publisher=Emap|page=133}}</ref>

Author [[Mark Hertsgaard]] includes "I Me Mine" among the "honorable mentions" that counter ''Let It Be''{{'}}s reputation as a substandard final album by the band.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=270}} He comments that Spector's orchestral overdubs were less intrusive than on "The Long and Winding Road" and "Across the Universe" because "the Beatles' playing was already so compelling", and he highlights Harrison's guitar playing and the changes in time signature as elements that lifted a potentially bleak theme and "gave the song real bite".{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|pp=271–72}} Less impressed, Tim Riley rues that Spector's orchestration and choir fail to explore the ironies behind the joyful rock 'n' roll chorus "mocking the hubris of the verses", as his additions instead "virtually drown them". Riley concludes: "As unfettered rock 'n' roll with acoustic verses, Harrison's song answers greed with a crude groove; with Spector's ornaments, the track is a washout."{{sfn|Riley|2002|pp=296–97}}

==Legacy==
{{quote box|quote=''Let It Be'' is the sound of four grown men with shared histories and diverging futures trying to squeeze blood from stones ... "I Me Mine" famously stands as the last new Beatles song recorded before the group's split. Funny that it's a Harrison tune – and a corker at that, an attack on egotism that turns from doomy 6/8 [[Orchestral pop|orch-pop]] ballad to scorching '50s-style rocker.<ref>{{cite web|last=Partridge|first=Kenneth|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/6561045/beatles-let-it-be-track-by-track-album-review|title=The Beatles' 'Let It Be' at 45: Classic Track-by-Track Album Review|publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|billboard.com]]|date=8 May 2015|access-date=31 July 2019}}</ref> |source= – Kenneth Partridge, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'', May 2015|width=30%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
Although a session on 20 August 1969, to oversee the creation of the master tape of their ''[[Abbey Road]]'' album, marked the last time that all four Beatles were present in the recording studio,{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=317}}{{sfn|Hamelman|2009|p=135}} "I Me Mine" was the last new song recorded by the Beatles.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|p=195}} In his book ''[[Revolution in the Head]]'', MacDonald writes that this was a "poetic stroke of fate", given the song's subject matter.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=367}} Harrison titled his 1980 autobiography after the song.{{sfn|Allison|2006|pp=31, 146}}{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=422}} It was the first autobiography by a former Beatle{{sfn|Harry|2003|p=233}} and originally published by [[Genesis Publications]] as a luxury leather-bound edition{{sfn|Tillery|2011|pp=121, 164}} in the style of the same company's ''Log of HMS Bounty''.{{sfn|Clayson|2003|pp=382–83}} The title was intended as an ironic comment on the falseness of adhering to a self-focused perspective.{{sfn|Allison|2006|pp=31, 119}} According to Harrison's foreword, he titled the book ''I, Me, Mine'' to acknowledge that it "could also be seen as 'a little ego detour'" of his own.{{sfn|Harrison|2002|p=11}}{{refn|group=nb|Originally issued in a limited edition of 2000 copies, the book's retail price was £148 ({{Inflation|UK|148|1980|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}).{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=254}}{{sfn|Inglis|2010|p=108}} The foreword concludes: "I have suffered for this book; now it's your turn."{{sfn|Harrison|2002|p=11}}}}

[[File:George Harrison Vrindavan.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|Harrison (left) with friends from the [[Hare Krishna movement]] in 1996. The song helped establish his legacy as one of rock music's most overtly spiritual songwriters.]]
"I Me Mine" came to symbolise Harrison's perspective on an ego-less and depersonalised existence.{{sfn|Allison|2006|p=31}} According to Christian historian and theologian [[Dale Allison]], this theme is one of three ways in which Harrison's body of work represents a "religious scheme of salvation", the first of which he identifies as: "Our problem is that our individual egos attach themselves to the material world ... Engrossed with things that don't really matter, we become preoccupied with the visible, with the transient instead of the transcendent ..."{{sfn|Allison|2006|pp=114–15}} In an article coinciding with the release of [[Martin Scorsese]]'s 2011 documentary ''[[George Harrison: Living in the Material World]]'', Steve Rabey of the [[Religion News Service]] cited "I Me Mine" among the Beatles songs that contributed to Harrison's standing as "perhaps the most explicitly and consistently theological rock star of the last half-century". Rabey added: "he nudged his bandmates – and his listener fans – a bit further to the East, encouraging audiences to open themselves to new (or very old) spiritual influences."<ref>{{cite web|first=Steve|last=Rabey|title=How George Harrison Changed the Way We Believe|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/spirituality/how-george-harrison-changed-way-we-believe|website=[[National Catholic Reporter]]|date=11 October 2011|access-date=11 May 2020}}</ref>

Author and academic [[Jeffery D. Long]], an advocate for [[religious pluralism]], credited Harrison, followed by the 1982 film ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'' and the work of writer [[Fritjof Capra]], as the influences that led him to study the ''Bhagavad Gita'' and embrace [[Hindu Dharma]]. In a 2015 interview, Long quoted "I Me Mine" when outlining how the concepts of self and consciousness differ in the Hindu, Buddhist and [[Jainism|Jain]] traditions.<ref>{{cite web|first=Vikram|last=Zutshi|title=In Conversation with Dr. Jeffery Long: Dharma, Religion and Politics|url=http://www.sutrajournal.com/conversation-with-dr-jeffery-long-by-vikram-zutshi|website=Sutra Journal|date=November 2015|access-date=11 May 2020}}</ref> Speaking at a [[TED (conference)|TED Conference]] in June 2007, [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhist]] [[Robert Thurman]] referenced the song when he discussed the power of true empathy that accompanies the realisation that "you are the other being", adding:
<blockquote>Somehow by that opening, you can see the deeper nature of life. And you can get away from this terrible iron circle of I, me-me, mine. Like the Beatles used to sing. You know, they really learned everything in the '60s. Too bad nobody ever woke up to it, and they're trying to suppress it since then. I, me-me, mine. It's like a perfect song, that song. A perfect teaching.<ref>{{cite web|author=Thurman, Bob|title=Bob Thurman: We can be Buddhas|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5cZITQDTrE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/h5cZITQDTrE| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|publisher=[[Ted Talk|TED]] on [[YouTube]]|date=20 June 2007|time=6:56–7:52|access-date=2 May 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref></blockquote>

In March 2015, the ''NME'' listed the track at number 94 in its list "100 Greatest Beatles Songs As Chosen By Music's A-Listers". One of the members of the [[indie rock]] band [[Gengahr]] commented that "When exploring music at a young age I remember this song's weird change of time signatures and rhythm between sections confusing me as to how it was able to exist as one song, but it just does", and he recognised the drum sound and rhythm as a precursor to early [[hip hop]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Emily|last=Barker|display-authors=etal|url=http://www.nme.com/photos/100-greatest-beatles-songs-as-chosen-by-music-s-a-listers-100-51/372764#/photo/4|publisher=[[NME|nme.com]]|date=17 March 2015|title=100 Greatest Beatles Songs As Chosen By Music's A-Listers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321000656/http://www.nme.com/photos/100-greatest-beatles-songs-as-chosen-by-music-s-a-listers-100-51/372764#/photo/7|archive-date=21 March 2015|access-date=31 July 2019}}</ref>

[[Marc Ford]] recorded a version of "I Me Mine" for the album ''[[Songs from the Material World: A Tribute to George Harrison]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicemissions.com/artists/albums/index.php?album_id=2112 |title=Various Artists – Songs From The Material World |last=Scanland |first=Dennis |publisher=Music Emissions |date=23 April 2003 |access-date=11 August 2016 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> released in February 2003 to coincide with what would have been Harrison's 60th birthday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/73177/rock-vets-fete-harrison-on-tribute-disc |title=Rock Vets Fete Harrison on Tribute Disc |author=Billboard staff|publisher=[[Billboard (magazine)|billboard.com]]|date=11 December 2002|access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref> [[Beth Orton]] recorded the song as a [[Medley (music)|medley]] with "Dig It" for ''Let It Be Revisited'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mojocovercds.com/cd/328 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210030207/http://mojocovercds.com/cd/328 |title=Let It Be Revisited |publisher=Mojo Cover CDs|archive-date=10 February 2011|access-date=11 August 2016}}</ref> a CD included with the October 2010 issue of ''Mojo''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mojo 203 / October 2010|url=http://www.mojo4music.com/1889/mojo-issue-203-october-2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160830143957/http://www.mojo4music.com/1889/mojo-issue-203-october-2010|archive-date=30 August 2016|publisher=[[Mojo (magazine)|mojo4music.com]]|access-date=21 May 2020}}</ref>{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=544}} At the [[George Fest]] tribute to Harrison in 2014, "I Me Mine" was performed by [[Britt Daniel]] of the band [[Spoon (band)|Spoon]],<ref>{{cite web |first=Daniel |last=Kreps |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/all-star-george-harrison-tribute-concert-coming-to-cd-dvd-20151211 |title=All-Star George Harrison Tribute Concert Coming to CD/DVD |publisher=[[Rolling Stone|rollingstone.com]] |date=11 December 2015 |access-date=28 February 2017 |archive-date=15 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170115002149/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/all-star-george-harrison-tribute-concert-coming-to-cd-dvd-20151211  }}</ref> who said that it was his favourite song by Harrison.<ref>{{cite web|first=Philip|last=Cosores|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2014/09/live-review-george-fest-at-the-fonda-theatre-in-hollywood-928/ |title=Live Review: George Fest at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood (9/28)|website=[[Consequence of Sound]]|date=30 September 2014 |access-date=28 February 2017}}</ref> [[Elliott Smith]] and [[Laibach]] have each covered the song.<ref name="Fontenot/About">{{cite web|last=Fontenot|first=Robert|url=http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatlessongs/a/The-Beatles-Songs-I-Me-Mine.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922223726/http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatlessongs/a/The-Beatles-Songs-I-Me-Mine.htm |title=The Beatles Songs: 'I Me Mine' – The history of this classic Beatles song|publisher=[[About.com|oldies.about.com]]|date=2015|archive-date=22 September 2015|access-date=20 September 2016}}</ref>

==Personnel==
According to Ian MacDonald{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=367}} and Mark Lewisohn,{{sfn|Lewisohn|2005|pp=195, 199}} except where noted:

'''The Beatles'''
* [[George Harrison]] &ndash; lead and harmony vocals, acoustic and electric guitars{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=234}}
* [[Paul McCartney]] &ndash; harmony vocal, bass guitar, [[Hammond organ]], [[electric piano]]
* [[Ringo Starr]] &ndash; drums

'''Additional musicians'''
* Uncredited &ndash; 18 [[violin]]s, four [[viola]]s, four [[cello]]s, [[harp]], three [[trumpet]]s, three [[trombone]]s
* Uncredited – female choir{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=296}}
* [[Richard Hewson]] – brass and string arrangements

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em|group=nb}}

==References==

{{Reflist|20em}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|first=Dale C. Jr|last=Allison|author-link=Dale Allison|title=The Love There That's Sleeping: The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison|url=https://archive.org/details/lovetherethatssl00dale|url-access=registration|publisher=Continuum|location=New York, NY|year=2006|isbn=978-0-8264-1917-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Badman|first=Keith|title=The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001|publisher=Omnibus Press|location=London|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7119-8307-6}}
* {{cite book|author=The Beatles|year=2000|author-link=The Beatles|title=The Beatles Anthology|publisher=Chronicle Books|location=San Francisco, CA|isbn=0-8118-2684-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/beatlesanthology0000unse}}
* {{cite book|last=Clayson|first=Alan|author-link=Alan Clayson|title=George Harrison|publisher=Sanctuary|location=London|year=2003|isbn=1-86074-489-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Doggett|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Doggett|title=You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup|publisher=It Books|location=New York, NY|year=2011|isbn=978-0-06-177418-8}}
* {{cite book|author=((The Editors of ''Rolling Stone''))|title=Harrison|publisher=Rolling Stone Press|location=New York, NY|year=2002|isbn=978-0-7432-3581-5|url=https://archive.org/details/harrison00fine}}
* {{cite book|last=Everett|first=Walter|author-link=Walter Everett (musicologist)|year=1999|title=The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-19-512941-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Fremaux|first=Stephanie|title=The Beatles on Screen: From Pop Stars to Musicians|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2bJTDwAAQBAJ|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|location=New York, NY|year=2018|isbn=978-1-5013-2713-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Gould|first=Jonathan|title=Can't Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain and America|publisher=Piatkus|location=London|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7499-2988-6}}
* {{cite book|first=Steve|last=Hamelman|chapter=On Their Way Home: The Beatles in 1969 and 1970|editor-last=Womack|editor-first=Kenneth|year=2009|title=The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles|location=Cambridge, UK|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-68976-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Harrison|first=George|author-link=George Harrison|title=I, Me, Mine|publisher=Chronicle Books|location=San Francisco, CA|year=2002|orig-date=1980|isbn=978-0-8118-5900-4}}
* {{cite book|first=Bill|last=Harry|author-link=Bill Harry|title=The George Harrison Encyclopedia|publisher=Virgin Books|location=London|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7535-0822-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Hertsgaard|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Hertsgaard|title=A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles|publisher=Pan Books|location=London|year=1996|isbn=0-330-33891-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Inglis|first=Ian|title=The Words and Music of George Harrison|publisher=Praeger|location=Santa Barbara, CA|year=2010|isbn=978-0-313-37532-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Leng|first=Simon|title=While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison|publisher=Hal Leonard|location=Milwaukee, WI|year=2006|isbn=978-1-4234-0609-9}}
* {{cite book|first=Mark|last=Lewisohn|author-link=Mark Lewisohn|title=The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962–1970|publisher=Bounty Books|location=London|year=2005|orig-date=1988|isbn=978-0-7537-2545-0}}
* {{cite book
| last=MacDonald
| first=Ian
| year=2005
| author-link=Ian MacDonald
| title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties
| publisher=Pimlico
| location=London
| isbn=1-84413-828-3
}}
* {{cite book|last=Miles|first=Barry|author-link=Barry Miles|title=The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years|year=2001|publisher=Omnibus Press|location=London|isbn=0-7119-8308-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Mulholland|first=Garry|title=Popcorn: Fifty Years of Rock 'n' Roll Movies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZwM24q8leUsC&q=%22I+Me+Mine%22|year=2010|publisher=Hachette|location=London|isbn=978-1-409112204}}
* {{cite book|first=Martin|last=O'Gorman|year=2003|chapter=Film on Four|title=[[Mojo (magazine)#Special editions|Mojo Special Limited Edition]]: 1000 Days of Revolution (The Beatles' Final Years – Jan 1, 1968 to Sept 27, 1970)|publisher=Emap|location=London|pages=68–75}}
* {{cite book|last=Pedler|first=Dominic|title=The Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O8w1cyT65ZIC&q=%22I+Me+Mine%22|publisher=Omnibus Press|location=London|year=2003|isbn=978-0-7119-8167-6}}
* {{cite book|first=Tim|last=Riley|author-link=Tim Riley (music critic)|title=Tell Me Why – The Beatles: Album by Album, Song by Song, the Sixties and After|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JXn8AgAAQBAJ |publisher=Da Capo Press|location=Cambridge, MA|year=2002|orig-date=1988|isbn=978-0-306-81120-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Spizer|first=Bruce|author-link=Bruce Spizer|title=The Beatles on Apple Records|publisher=498 Productions|location=New Orleans, LA|year=2003|isbn=0-9662649-4-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Strawson|first=Galen|author-link=Galen Strawson|chapter=The Phenomenology and Ontology of the Self|editor-last=Zahavi|editor-first=Dan|title=Exploring the Self: Philosophical and Psychopathological Perspectives on Self-Experience|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-qDE2cAqPCIC&q=%22I+Me+Mine%22+Hindu+philosophy&pg=PA45|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|location=Amsterdam|year=2000|isbn=978-9-02725143-5}}
* {{cite book|last1=Sulpy|first1=Doug|last2=Schweighardt|first2=Ray|title=Get Back: The Unauthorized Chronicle of the Beatles' ''Let It Be'' Disaster|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|location=New York, NY|year=1999|isbn=0-312-19981-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Tillery|first=Gary|author-link=Gary Tillery|title=Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison|publisher=Quest Books|location=Wheaton, IL|year=2011|isbn=978-0-8356-0900-5}}
* {{cite book|first=Richie|last=Unterberger|author-link=Richie Unterberger|title=The Unreleased Beatles: Music & Film|publisher=Backbeat Books|location=San Francisco, CA|year=2006|isbn=978-0-87930-892-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Winn|first=John C.|year=2009|title=That Magic Feeling: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966–1970|publisher=Three Rivers Press|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-0-307-45239-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Womack|first=Kenneth|author-link=Kenneth Womack|year=2007|title=Long and Winding Roads: The Evolving Artistry of the Beatles|publisher=Continuum|location=New York, NY|isbn= 978-0-8264-1746-6}}
* {{cite book|last=Womack|first=Kenneth|year=2014|title=The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara, CA|isbn=978-0-313-39171-2}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://www.thebeatles.com/i-me-mine|Full lyrics for the song at the Beatles' official website}}

{{Let It Be}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1970 songs]]
[[Category:The Beatles songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by George Harrison]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Phil Spector]]
[[Category:Music published by Harrisongs]]
[[Category:Indian mythology in music]]
[[Category:Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements]]
[[Category:Rock ballads]]
[[Category:1970s ballads]]
[[Category:Swami Vivekananda]]
[[Category:Folk ballads]]