Introduction

“While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is a song from The Beatles album “The Beatles (The White Album)”, written by George Harrison and recorded by the band in 1968.
The song also includes an overdub by Eric Clapton, who plays lead guitar on the track.
The song is written about the unrealised potential of love in the world, and how by their music, The Beatles teach their audience how to finally “unfold their love”.
The song is also written as a duet between a man and a guitar, George sings – and his guitar answers.

Interpretation

Verse 1:

I look at you all, see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps.
I look at the floor, and I see it needs sweeping
Still my guitar gently weeps.

The first part of the verse –  George looks at the people of the world, and sees the love that’s “sleeping” in them – for some reason they refrain from loving each other.
this line can also be interpreted as a direct message to the audience standing infront of him.
The second part of the verse – George suddnly realises the floor in his room needs sweeping and is distracted from his thoughts about the world. this line however, emphasizes something much bigger.

Maybe the reason that we refrain from utilizing the full potential of love, is because we are being distracted by simple, mundane stuff, like our daily jobs or our floors that need sweeping?

Bridge 1:

I don't know why nobody told you
How to unfold your love.
I don't know how someone controlled you
They bought and sold you.

The first part of the bridge continues the messege in the first part of verse 1, nobody told people how to love, they only learn it for the first time listening to the beatles.

The second part of the bridge –  This line can be interpreted either as another plea aimed at the crowd, as George can’t explain how corporations “bought and sold” them with commercials, distracting them from what’s important.

or as a plea towards his bandmates and other muscians who are “bought and sold” into the industry – “selling out”.

Verse 2:

I look at the world, and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps.
With every mistake, we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps.

The first part of the verse –  George looks at the world and sees that despite the horrible things that happen, the world keeps turning, times are changing and humanity is evolving.
The second part of the verse continues the first part, when terrible things happen we indeed survive and thrive, but (!) we must learn from every mistake that had happened and led to these terrible occasions in order to prevent them from happening again. wars and political assassinations happen because we refrain from loving each other and rather hate each other and fight.

Guitar solo:

Eric Clapton wanted the solo to imitate a weeping sound, as it should in a song about a weeping guitar. for that he uses a fair amount of bends (bending a guitar string up / down), some are “two step bends” or even “quarter step bends” which are not easy to achive precisely. Eric also uses vibrato technic (moving the string up and down a little bit or moving your finger from side to side on the string while staying on the same fret). He also combines both technics in this solo.

Bridge 2:

I don't know how you were diverted
You were perverted too.
I don't know how you were inverted
No one alerted you.

The second bridge is about how without guidance people of the world started acting terribly wrong, no one told them to stop, no one alerted them.

Some say these lyrics might be about someone who used to be close to George, but changed.

Verse 3 and outro:

I look at you all, see the love there that's sleeping
While my guitar gently weeps.
(I look) Look at you all
Still my guitar gently weeps.

Oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, oh, ooh..

The third verse repeats the main messege of the song, now aimed directly at the audience or the listeners – ” I look at you all” instead of “I look at the world”.

In the outro, George is mimicking Eric’s guitar with his vocals.

Eric Clapton’s contibution

When “The White Album” was written, the beatles were in terrible condition and weren’t cooperating, while Ringo did like the song, Paul and John didn’t show much excitment, and didn’t want to help George with the recording.
George was convinced that the song is good, or at least isn’t terrible, and told Eric about the troubles he and his bandmates were having with the recordings. Eric saw George as the more talented member of the band, as well as a good friend, encouraged George to keep trying, that’s when George asked him to join and overdub the lead guitar parts of the song.

At first Eric was reluctant to participate, because “nobody ever plays on Beatles records” (exept The Beatles themselves), and indeed Clapton was the only one to ever contribute a guitar solo to a beatles album.

Eric was already known at that time as a world class guitar player, and his presence in the studio made John and Paul cooparate and act their best in a while, as they had much respect towards him.

Eric and George’s friendship

It must be noted that Eric and George had a very strong friendship, they’ve toured together for many years, until georges death in 2001. George helped Eric write the song “Badge” and George wrote “Here Comes The Sun” at Clapton’s country home. Clapton also made multiple appearances at George’s album “All Things Must Pass”.
Even the fact that they share an ex-wife – Pattie Boyd, did not break their friendship.

Even before Pattie and George’s marriage collapsed, Eric still courted her, but was refused, he even wrote one of his most famous songs about Pattie – “Layla”.
Their freindship still remained strong, George even humorosly called Eric his “husband-in-law”. A year after George died, Clapton set a tribue concert in his name, called “Concert for George”.

Noteable covers

Due to it’s complexity, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” is a hard song to cover, therfore there are not many covers of this song to be found, but there are a few noteable ones.
First and foremost there’s Eric Clapton’s performance of the song in “Concert for George”, playing with Georges son on stage:

Another cover, with a funky approach, by “The Main Squeeze”:

And finally, a cover by Kfir Ochaion, who makes the guitar do the talking: