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{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Ride Rajbun
| cover =
| alt =
| type = Song
| artist = [[George Harrison]]
| album = The Bunbury Tails
| released = 5 October 1992
| format =
| recorded = March 1988<br />[[FPSHOT]], Oxfordshire; unknown studio, London
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = [[Music of India|Indian music]], [[children's song]]
| length = 4:59
| label = [[Polydor]]
| writer = [[George Harrison]], [[David English (cricketer)|David English]]
| producer = George Harrison
}}
"'''Ride Rajbun'''" is a song by English musician [[George Harrison]]. It was released in 1992 on the multi-artist charity album ''The Bunbury Tails'', which was the soundtrack to the British [[Animated series|animated television series]] of the same name. Harrison co-wrote the song's lyrics with ''Bunbury Tails'' creator [[David English (cricketer)|David English]]. The eponymous Rajbun was a character in the series based on English's friend and cricketer [[Rajendrasinh Jadeja]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=19 May 2021|title=The Kathiawadi Horse Rajendrasinh|url=https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/finchleycricketclub/news/the-kathiawadi-horse-rajendrasinh-jadeja-2617690.html|access-date=13 November 2022|website=Finchley Cricket Club|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=16 May 2021|title=Former Saurashtra cricketer, BCCI match referee Rajendrasinh Jadeja dead|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/former-saurashtra-cricketer-bcci-match-referee-rajendrasinh-jadeja-dead-101621145272171.html|access-date=13 November 2022|website=Hindustan Times|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=16 May 2021|title=Former Saurashtra, Mumbai allrounder Rajendrasinh Jadeja dies due to Covid-19|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/former-saurashtra-and-mumbai-all-rounder-rajendrasinh-jadeja-dies-due-to-covid-19/articleshow/82676050.cms|access-date=13 November 2022|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> one of a team of [[cricket]]-playing rabbits – in this case, from Bangalore in India. The composition is in the style of a [[nursery rhyme]] or [[children's song]], while the all-Indian instrumentation on the recording recalls some of Harrison's compositions for [[the Beatles]] during 1966–68.

Harrison recorded "Ride Rajbun" in March 1988, between the release of his successful comeback album, ''[[Cloud Nine (George Harrison album)|Cloud Nine]]'', and his formation of [[the Traveling Wilburys]]. Harrison's nine-year-old son [[Dhani Harrison|Dhani]] and English accompanied him on the recording, as fellow vocalists, and Indian musician and composer [[Ravi Shankar]] provided the opening [[sitar]] part. The song appeared in the ''Bunbury Tails'' episode "Rajbun Story", and on the soundtrack album alongside contributions from [[Elton John]], [[the Bee Gees]] and [[Eric Clapton]]. Issued briefly in only the UK, "Ride Rajbun" remains one of Harrison's rarest releases.

==Background==
{{quote box|quote= Whilst playing cricket with George one day at Friar Park a couple of years ago, I told him about my Bunburys, as he had his Wilburys. I suggested that he might like to write a song for the cartoon series, which had been directed by Bob Godfrey, who was involved in [the Beatles' animated film] ''Yellow Submarine''.<ref name="Harry p 43" />|source= – David English|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}
Having previously been averse to most [[team sports]],<ref name="Clayson p 364">Clayson, p. 364.</ref> [[George Harrison]] came to appreciate [[cricket]] while recording his 1987 comeback album, ''[[Cloud Nine (George Harrison album)|Cloud Nine]]'', with fellow musicians [[Jeff Lynne]] and [[Elton John]], both fans of the game.<ref>Leng, pp. 272–73.</ref> Author Ian Inglis suggests that Harrison's involvement in ''The Bunbury Tails'' – a children's [[Animated series|animated TV series]] about a group of heroic, sports-playing rabbits<ref name="Harry p 43">Harry, p. 43.</ref> – partly resulted from his friendship with [[Eric Clapton]],<ref>Inglis, pp. 105, 106.</ref> another cricket fan and an occasional player for the Bunbury Cricket Club.<ref>Clapton, p. 233.</ref> The latter was a charity-fundraising team founded in 1986 by writer and former [[RSO Records]] executive David English,<ref>Robert Philip, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/2311894/Loon-who-put-smile-on-face-of-cricket.html "Loon Who Put Smile on Face of Cricket"], ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 27 April 2007 (retrieved 7 November 2017).</ref><ref>[http://www.bunburycricket.co.uk/our-founder.html "Our Founder"], bunburycricket.co.uk (retrieved 7 November 2017).</ref> whose ''Bunbury Tails'' [[cartoon book]]s inspired the TV show.<ref>Inglis, pp. 105–06.</ref> According to English, he suggested to Harrison that he contribute a song to the series while they were playing cricket in the grounds of [[Friar Park]], Harrison's home in [[Henley-on-Thames]], Oxfordshire. English says he likened the "Bunburys" to Harrison's idea for a semi-fictional band, [[the Traveling Wilburys]],<ref name="Harry p 43" /> which Harrison would soon form with Lynne, [[Bob Dylan]], [[Tom Petty]] and [[Roy Orbison]].<ref name="Madinger & Easter p 475" />

Financed by [[the Bee Gees]],<ref name="Madinger & Easter p 474">Madinger & Easter, p. 474.</ref> production on ''The Bunburys Tails'' began in early 1988, although it would not air on British television until 1992.<ref name="Badman p 406" /> The series was directed by [[Bob Godfrey]], who had worked on [[the Beatles]]' 1968 animated film ''[[Yellow Submarine (film)|Yellow Submarine]]''.<ref name="Harry p 43" /> Harrison's participation followed his work on various film soundtracks, particularly for releases by his company [[HandMade Films]], during the five years preceding his return with ''Cloud Nine''.<ref>Leng, pp. 239–40, 269.</ref>{{refn|group=nb|These soundtrack projects included ''[[Water (1985 film)|Water]]'' (1985), ''[[Porky's Revenge!#Soundtrack|Porky's Revenge!]]'' (1985) and ''[[Shanghai Surprise]]'' (1986).<ref>Leng, pp. 240–41, 243–44.</ref> In addition, Harrison had supplied the soundtrack to HandMade's ''[[Time Bandits]]'' (1981)<ref>The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', pp. 194, 206.</ref> and would provide a song, "[[Cheer Down]]", for the 1989 film ''[[Lethal Weapon 2]]''.<ref>Allison, p. 138.</ref>}} The Bee Gees, Clapton and John were among the other artists who contributed to the ''Bunbury Tails'' soundtrack.<ref name="Clayson p 424">Clayson, p. 424.</ref><ref>[http://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Bunbury-Tails/release/1370385 "Various – The Bunbury Tails (CD, Album)"], [[Discogs]] (retrieved 6 January 2014).</ref>

Harrison wrote the song "Ride Rajbun" about one of the show's characters, Rajbun,<ref name="Huntley p 244">Huntley, p. 244.</ref> a rabbit who originated from the Indian city of [[Bangalore]].<ref name="Madinger & Easter p 475" /> In English's recollection, the night after he had made the request, Harrison called him at home in London and played the tune down the phone. The pair met the next day and co-wrote the song's lyrics.<ref>Harry, pp. 43–44.</ref>

==Composition==
Musically, "Ride Rajbun" is in the style of what author [[Alan Clayson]] calls "George's Indo-pop productions" for the Beatles, "[[Love You To]]" and "[[The Inner Light (song)|The Inner Light]]",<ref>Clayson, pp. 315, 424.</ref> released in 1966 and 1968 respectively.<ref>Lavezzoli, pp. 175, 182–83.</ref> The lyrics take the form of a traditional [[children's song]], author Simon Leng writes, with its refrain sung in [[Round (music)|rounds]], similar to "London's Burning".<ref name="Leng p 273" />

In a chorus that Inglis terms "[[nursery rhyme|nursery-rhyme]]-like", Harrison urges Rajbun to cycle away from his home in India and embrace his destiny:<ref name="Inglis p 106" />

{{blockquote|Ride Rajbun, ride Rajbun <br /> Seek your fame and speak your fortune <br /> Go on, Rajbun, ride your Ellie <br /> Cross the mountains, through the valleys.|author=|title=|source=}}

Inglis draws parallels between Rajbun's journey of discovery and that of nursery-rhyme or [[Folklore|folk-tale]] characters [[Pinocchio]], [[Dick Whittington and His Cat|Dick Whittington]] and [[Dorothy Gale]], in that he "has a 'quest' that awaits him".<ref name="Inglis p 106" /> On this journey, Harrison sings of Rajbun's adversaries,<ref name="Clayson p 424" /> one of which warns him: "You may think that you have heard the last of Katman / … I'll be watching you 'round ev'ry bend you'll take …"<ref>[http://www.bootlegzone.com/songxref.php?sid=40893&section=4 "Ride Rajbun"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108175653/http://www.bootlegzone.com/songxref.php?sid=40893&section=4 |date=8 January 2014 }}, Bootleg Zone (retrieved 6 January 2013).</ref> Inglis writes that Rajbun must face his quest "without 'fears' or 'tears'" and cites the verse-one lines "Bunbury stands for freedom / Being young and having fun" as evidence of the song's "overwhelmingly positive" message.<ref name="Inglis p 106" />

==Recording==
[[File:Dia5275 Ravi Shankar.jpg|thumb|right|165px|alt=A man sits cross-legged and holds a long-necked lute while looking to the side.|Ravi Shankar (pictured in 1988) performed the song's [[sitar]] introduction.]]
Harrison recorded "Ride Rajbun" in late March 1988,<ref name="Madinger & Easter p 475">Madinger & Easter, p. 475.</ref> at his Friar Park studio, [[FPSHOT]], and at an unnamed studio in London.<ref name="Leng p 272">Leng, p. 272.</ref> The song was his first to feature only [[Indian musical instruments|Indian instrumentation]] since "The Inner Light",<ref name="Leng p 273">Leng, p. 273.</ref><ref name="Inglis p 106">Inglis, p. 106.</ref> recorded in Bombay in January 1968.<ref>Lavezzoli, p. 183.</ref> The [[sitar]] introduction to "Ride Rabjan" – or [[alap]], in the [[Indian classical music|Indian classical]] tradition<ref>Lavezzoli, pp. 19, 23–24.</ref> – was performed by [[Ravi Shankar]].<ref name="Leng p 273" /> According to English, Harrison visited Shankar at the London hotel where the sitarist was staying and taped Shankar's intro in his hotel room.<ref name="Harry p 44" /> Harrison otherwise played all the sitar parts on the song.<ref name="Leng p 273" /> As with Harrison's appearance on "Friar Park", a track on Shankar's album ''[[Tana Mana]]'' (1987),<ref>Leng, pp. 246, 246fn.</ref> "Ride Rajbun" marked a rare collaboration between the two musicians in the years since their [[George Harrison–Ravi Shankar 1974 North American Tour|joint North American tour]] at the end of 1974.<ref>Shankar, pp. 212–13, 227–28.</ref>{{refn|group=nb|While their formal musical collaboration would not resume until Harrison began compiling the ''[[Ravi Shankar: In Celebration]]'' box set (1996),<ref>Lavezzoli, p. 197.</ref> he and Shankar, together with [[tabla]] player [[Alla Rakha]], also recorded the unreleased song "Dhani'", shortly after the birth of Harrison's [[Dhani Harrison|son]] in August 1978.<ref>Shankar, pp. 228–29.</ref>}}

Harrison sung the choruses with his son [[Dhani Harrison|Dhani]], and English (in the role of Katman) provided what Leng calls a "[[Cameo appearance|cameo]] vocal" part.<ref>Leng, pp. 272, 273.</ref> According to author [[Bill Harry]], [[Ray Cooper]] played percussion on the track; in English's description, all the other contributors were "top Indian musicians",<ref name="Harry p 44" /> none of whom are credited by name.<ref name="Madinger & Easter p 475" /> Besides sitar, the Indian instruments on the recording include [[tabla]], [[shehnai]] and [[bansuri]] (flute).<ref name="Leng p 272" /> From writing the song to the finished recording,<ref name="Harry p 44">Harry, p. 44.</ref> work on "Ride Rajbun" lasted for four days.<ref name="Madinger & Easter p 475" /> Harrison then left for Los Angeles,<ref name="Madinger & Easter p 475" /> a trip that resulted in the formation of the Traveling Wilburys.<ref>Badman, pp. 406–07.</ref>

==Release and reception==
"Ride Rajbun" appeared in the ''Bunbury Tails'' episode "Rajbun Story".<ref name="Badman p 406">Badman, p. 406.</ref> After the show's broadcast in 1992, on Britain's [[Channel 4]] network,<ref>Huntley, pp. 244–45.</ref> [[Polydor Records]] included the song on its soundtrack album from the series.<ref name="Madinger & Easter p 638">Madinger & Easter, p. 638.</ref> The UK-only album was released on 5 October that year,<ref name="Madinger & Easter p 638" /> on the same day that Harrison joined guitarist [[Gary Moore]] on stage at London's [[Royal Albert Hall]].<ref name="Badman p 487">Badman, p. 487.</ref> While Harrison made a number of concert appearances throughout 1992,<ref>Badman, pp. 489, 492.</ref> this period marked the end of his successful return to full-time music-making,<ref>Huntley, pp. 243, 245–46.</ref> after ''Cloud Nine'' and two albums with the Traveling Wilburys.<ref>Leng, pp. 263, 269.</ref> Although he would continue to record privately as a solo artist, "Ride Rajbun" was the last new Harrison song to be commercially released until "[[Horse to the Water]]" in 2001.<ref>Leng, pp. 273, 286.</ref>{{refn|group=nb|"Horse to the Water" was issued ten days before Harrison's death in November 2001,<ref>Tillery, pp. 167–68.</ref> on [[Jools Holland]]'s ''Small World, Big Band'' album.<ref>Allison, p. 145.</ref> A number of Harrison's recordings from the 1990s appeared on his posthumously released album ''[[Brainwashed (George Harrison album)|Brainwashed]]'' (2002).<ref>Leng, pp. 289–90.</ref>}} Proceeds from the ''Bunbury Tails'' album went to the Bunbury Cricket Club for dispersal to charity.<ref>Bathroom Readers' Institute, [https://www.bathroomreader.com/2014/06/bee-gees-meet-eric-clapton-bunbury-tails/ "The Bee Gees Meet Eric Clapton"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729221353/https://www.bathroomreader.com/2014/06/bee-gees-meet-eric-clapton-bunbury-tails/ |date=29 July 2017 }}, [[Uncle John's Bathroom Reader|bathroomreader.com]], 27 June 2014 (retrieved 7 November 2017).</ref>

The "Rajbun Story" episode was included on the [[home video]] of the series, although a narrator's voice renders Harrison's song almost inaudible.<ref name="Huntley p 245">Huntley, p. 245.</ref><ref name="Allison p 153">Allison, p. 153.</ref> With the album and video only available in the UK for a short time,<ref name="Huntley p 245" /> "Ride Rajbun" has become one of Harrison's rarest recordings.<ref name="Madinger & Easter p 474" /> The song has since appeared on [[Bootleg recording|bootleg]] compilations such as ''Artifacts III''.<ref name="Madinger & Easter p 474" />

Among Harrison's biographers, Elliot Huntley views "Ride Rajbun" as "another truly great 'lost' Harrison gem" alongside tracks released privately on the two ''Songs by George Harrison'' discs, in 1988 and 1992.<ref>Huntley, pp. 244, 245.</ref> Huntley laments the unavailability of "Ride Rajbun", since "the song is excellent, with a delightful melody, earnest vocals, and some great sitar work by Ravi Shankar".<ref name="Huntley p 245" /> Simon Leng similarly admires Shankar's "characteristically precious" alap; Leng writes that while the song "will never be regarded as a Harrison classic", it is significant within the artist's work as the first "purely Indian piece issued under his name since 'The Inner Light'".<ref name="Leng p 273" /> Ian Inglis notes the precedents set in the 1960s by Beatle songs such as "[[Yellow Submarine (song)|Yellow Submarine]]" and "[[Cry Baby Cry]]", which had reflected the band's "fascination with the conventions of the children's nursery rhyme", and comments on ''The Bunbury Tails''{{'}} "eccentric combination" of rabbits and cricket.<ref name="Inglis p 106" />

==Personnel==
*[[George Harrison]] – vocals, [[sitar]]s, backing vocals
*[[Dhani Harrison]] – vocals
*[[Ravi Shankar]] – sitar intro
*[[David English (cricketer)|David English]] – vocals
*''uncredited musicians'' – [[tabla]], [[shehnai]], flute, [[Tanpura (instrument)|tambura]], percussion
* [[Ray Cooper]] – percussion

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em|group=nb}}

==References==
{{reflist|20em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* Dale C. Allison Jr., ''The Love There That's Sleeping: The Art and Spirituality of George Harrison'', Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; {{ISBN|978-0-8264-1917-0}}).
* Keith Badman, ''The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001'', Omnibus Press (London, 2001; {{ISBN|0-7119-8307-0}}).
* Eric Clapton, ''Clapton: The Autobiography'', Broadway Books (New York, NY, 2007; {{ISBN|978-0-7679-2536-5}}).
* Alan Clayson, ''George Harrison'', Sanctuary (London, 2003; {{ISBN|1-86074-489-3}}).
* The Editors of ''Rolling Stone'', ''Harrison'', Rolling Stone Press/Simon & Schuster (New York, NY, 2002; {{ISBN|0-7432-3581-9}}).
* Bill Harry, ''The George Harrison Encyclopedia'', Virgin Books (London, 2003; {{ISBN|978-0-7535-0822-0}}).
* Elliot J. Huntley, ''Mystical One: George Harrison – After the Break-up of the Beatles'', Guernica Editions (Toronto, ON, 2006; {{ISBN|1-55071-197-0}}).
* Ian Inglis, ''The Words and Music of George Harrison'', Praeger (Santa Barbara, CA, 2010; {{ISBN|978-0-313-37532-3}}).
* Peter Lavezzoli, ''The Dawn of Indian Music in the West'', Continuum (New York, NY, 2006; {{ISBN|0-8264-2819-3}}).
* Simon Leng, ''While My Guitar Gently Weeps: The Music of George Harrison'', Hal Leonard (Milwaukee, WI, 2006; {{ISBN|1-4234-0609-5}}).
* Chip Madinger & Mark Easter, ''Eight Arms to Hold You: The Solo Beatles Compendium'', 44.1 Productions (Chesterfield, MO, 2000; {{ISBN|0-615-11724-4}}).
* Ravi Shankar, ''Raga Mala: The Autobiography of Ravi Shankar'', Welcome Rain (New York, NY, 1999; {{ISBN|1-56649-104-5}}).
* Gary Tillery, ''Working Class Mystic: A Spiritual Biography of George Harrison'', Quest Books (Wheaton, IL, 2011; {{ISBN|978-0-8356-0900-5}}).
{{refend}}

{{George Harrison}}

[[Category:1992 songs]]
[[Category:George Harrison songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by George Harrison]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by George Harrison]]
[[Category:Songs about rabbits and hares]]

Ride Rajbun - Revision history

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