Auction for handwritten Beatles lyrics

01/10/2007 9:34 PM, AP
Amanda Lee Myers

The original handwritten lyrics of the Beatles' melancholy rock song "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" will be auctioned off Monday.

Written by George Harrison on a single white sheet of paper in barely legible penmanship, the lyrics are expected to fetch between $500,000 and $800,000.

It's a "really significant and rare piece of memorabilia," said Neil Roberts, auction manager at Britain-based Cooper Owen, which is partnering with Scottsdale-based auctioneer Barrett-Jackson for the sale. "It shows the work in progress, the message, and the thoughts behind one of the band members."

The auctioneers declined to identify the owner of the lyrics.

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" came out in 1968 on the Fab Four's White Album.

The lyrics, which echo the strains within the band at the time, include lines like, "I don't know how someone controlled you," and "They bought and sold you."

The sheet of paper up for bid also includes some lyrics that didn't make it into the song that was released, including, "I look from the wings at the play you are staging," and "As I'm sitting here doing nothing but aging, still my guitar gently weeps."

Also on the paper is a line at the bottom of the page that Harrison wrote in apparent frustration over the troubled atmosphere in the recording studio. It reads, "The band leader said he ain't playin' no more."

Other celebrity items up for auction include a book report written by Britney Spears and a credit card used by Ella Fitzgerald.

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On the Net:

http://www.cooperowen.com

http://www.barrett-jackson.com