Not Guilty (song)

"Not Guilty" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1979 album George Harrison. He wrote the song in 1968 following the Beatles' Transcendental Meditation course in India with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an activity that he had led the group into undertaking. The lyrics serve as a response to the recrimination Harrison received from his bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the aftermath to the group's public falling out with the Maharishi, and as the Beatles launched their multimedia company Apple Corps. The band recorded the song amid the tensions that characterised the sessions for their 1968 double LP The Beatles (also known as the "White Album"). The track was completed in August 1968 but not included on the release.

Harrison revisited "Not Guilty" in early 1978, shortly after participating in the Rutles' television satire of the Beatles' history, All You Need Is Cash. In contrast to the atmosphere surrounding the song's creation, this period was one of personal contentment for Harrison, who enjoyed the opportunity to debunk the myths surrounding his former band. The musical arrangement similarly differs in mood from the 1968 version; where the latter features distorted electric guitars and harpsichord, Harrison's version reflects his adoption of a mellow jazz-pop style. The other musicians on the recording include Neil Larsen and Willie Weeks.

"Not Guilty" was known to be a Beatles outtake but the song was unheard by the public until the release of Harrison's 1979 album. The Beatles' version continued to be the subject of speculation among collectors. An edit of the band's recording was prepared for the aborted Sessions album in 1984 and became available on bootlegs before its official release on the Beatles' Anthology 3 outtakes compilation in 1996. The full version of the track, together with Harrison's May 1968 demo of the song, appears on the 50th Anniversary Edition box-set release of The Beatles.