Composition
I Me Mine is the ego problem. There are two 'I's: the little 'i' when people say 'I am this'; and the big 'I' - is duality and ego. There is nothing that isn't part of the complete whole. When the little 'i' merges into the big 'I' then you are really smiling! —George Harrison, The Beatles AnthologyThe set of pronouns which forms the song's title is a conventional way of referring to the ego in a Hindu context. For example, the Bhagavad Gita 2:71-72 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." Perhaps subconsciously, the song also reflects Harrison's reaction to the clashes of egos in the Beatles' painful closing days as a group.
After receiving his "eternal problem" inspiration, Harrison played some chords to the 6/8 time signature, and added a bluesy bridge. The song was inspired by the incidental music for a BBC television program, Europa—The Titled and the Untitled, which aired on 7 January 1969; Harrison wrote the song that night and performed the song for the other Beatles the following morning.
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