| "World of Stone" | |
|---|---|
 1975 B-side face label | |
| Song by George Harrison | |
| from the album Extra Texture (Read All About It) | |
| A-side | "You" |
| Released | 22 September 1975 |
| Recorded | 2 May – 27 June 1975 |
| Studio | A&M (Los Angeles) |
| Genre | Rock, soul |
| Length | 4:40 |
| Label | Apple |
| Songwriter(s) | George Harrison |
| Producer(s) | George Harrison |
"World of Stone" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison, released in 1975 on Extra Texture (Read All About It), his final album for Apple Records. It was also issued as the B-side of the album's lead single, "You". Harrison wrote the song in 1973 but recorded it two years later, following the unfavourable critical reception afforded his 1974 North American tour with Ravi Shankar and the Dark Horse album. Due to its context on release, commentators view "World of Stone" as a plea from Harrison for tolerance from these detractors. According to some of his biographers, the lyrics reflect Harrison's doubts regarding his devotion to a spiritual path – an apparent crisis of faith that followed his often-unwelcome spiritual pronouncements during the tour, and which permeated his work throughout 1975.
Harrison recorded "World of Stone" in Los Angeles with backing from musicians such as David Foster, Gary Wright and Klaus Voormann. The downbeat mood of the recording and the piano-based arrangement typify the Extra Texture album while also demonstrating the influence of soul music on Harrison's career during this period. While some reviewers have described the track as a moving ballad, several of his biographers hold it in low regard. Author and theologian Dale Allison describes the song as an "expression of alienation from the world".[1]
- ^ Allison, p. 159.