Cheer Down

Lore & Background

The title of the song is attributed to Harrison's wife Olivia, who would tell her husband, "Okay, cheer down, big fellow" when he became too enthusiastic. Harrison first recorded a rhythm track for the song during the sessions for his 1987 album Cloud Nine. He subsequently finished the lyrics with assistance from Tom Petty. The following year, along with "Run So Far" and "That Kind of Woman", "Cheer Down" was among the four compositions that Harrison offered to Eric Clapton for inclusion on the latter's album Journeyman. Clapton instead decided to use it for the soundtrack to the film Lethal Weapon 2, which he had been commissioned to supply, but he persuaded Harrison to contribute his own recording for inclusion in the film.

Harrison completed "Cheer Down" at his home studio, FPSHOT, in March 1989. The song was again co-produced by Jeff Lynne, who had served the same role on Cloud Nine, in addition to forming the Traveling Wilburys with Harrison and Petty. The completed recording features a long closing slide guitar solo that author Simon Leng admires for its fluency and variation. In Leng's description, during this section, Harrison's playing "runs the gamut from Indian blues chops to two-part countermelodies and sweeping Pete Drake jaunts through the octaves".

Reader's Guide

"Cheer Down" was used over the closing credits of Lethal Weapon 2. It was then issued as the opening track on the accompanying soundtrack album, released on 10 August 1989 in the United States, and as a single to promote the film there, on 22 August. Issued on Warner Bros. Records, the single's B-side was "That's What It Takes", a track from Cloud Nine. The UK release, which took place on 27 November, on Harrison's Warner-distributed Dark Horse record label, instead used the newly recorded "Poor Little Girl" as the B-side. The single was the last such release by Harrison as a solo artist during his lifetime.

In October 1989, "Cheer Down" was included on Harrison's Dark Horse Records compilation album Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989, as the final track. Although Best of Dark Horse is no longer in print, "Cheer Down" was included on the 2009 career-spanning compilation Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison. It also appeared on the reissued soundtrack album in 2013, as part of a box set titled Lethal Weapon Soundtrack Collection.

Harrison performed "Cheer Down" throughout his 1991 Japanese tour with Clapton, which was Harrison's first tour since 1974. A version recorded on 15 December 1991 at the Tokyo Dome appears on Harrison's 1992 double album Live in Japan. He also performed it at the Natural Law Party Concert, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 6 April 1992.

Did You Know?

• The song's title came from Harrison's wife Olivia, who would say 'Okay, cheer down, big fellow' when he became too enthusiastic.
• Harrison first recorded a rhythm track for the song during sessions for his 1987 album Cloud Nine.
• The single was the last solo single released by Harrison during his lifetime.
• Harrison introduced the song during his 1991 Japanese tour as a song from the musical South Pacific.

Origin and the Lethal Weapon Connection

The title of this track owes its existence to a domestic quirk. Harrison's wife Olivia would nudge him with the phrase "cheer down, big fellow" whenever his energy levels ran a little too high, and that casual remark stuck as the song's name. The musical foundation was laid during the 1987 recording sessions for Cloud Nine, where Harrison captured a rhythm track. The lyrics, however, remained unfinished until he brought in Tom Petty to help shape the words. The following year, Harrison presented the song—along with "Run So Far" and "That Kind of Woman"—to Eric Clapton as potential material for Clapton's album Journeyman. Clapton ultimately passed on it for that project but recognized its fit for the Lethal Weapon 2 soundtrack, which he had been commissioned to supply. Rather than simply licensing the track, Clapton convinced Harrison to cut his own dedicated recording specifically for the film, a decision that shaped the song's eventual identity.

Studio Craft and the Slide Guitar Finale

Harrison finalized the recording at his home studio, FPSHOT, in March 1989, with Jeff Lynne serving as co-producer—a role Lynne had already filled on Cloud Nine and a partnership further deepened by their shared membership in the Traveling Wilburys alongside Petty. The session musicians included Lynne on bass, guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals, Richard Tandy on piano, Ray Cooper on percussion, and Ian Paice on drums, with Harrison handling lead vocals, guitar, and slide guitar. The track's most celebrated passage is its extended closing slide guitar solo, which author Simon Leng singled out for its fluidity and range. In Leng's assessment, Harrison's playing traverses a wide stylistic spectrum within that single section, moving from Indian-influenced blues phrasing through two-part countermelodies and into sweeping octave runs reminiscent of Pete Drake's style. This virtuosic outro gives the song a sense of restless momentum that distinguishes it from much of Harrison's other work.

The Final Solo Single and Compilation Life

"Cheer Down" played a distinctive role in Harrison's commercial output. It was placed over the closing credits of Lethal Weapon 2 and then issued as the opening track on the accompanying soundtrack album, which hit US shelves on 10 August 1989. A promotional single followed on 22 August under Warner Bros. Records, pairing the track with "That's What It Takes" from Cloud Nine as the B-side. The UK release came later, on 27 November, through Harrison's own Dark Horse label, and substituted a newly recorded "Poor Little Girl" for the flip side. This made "Cheer Down" the last single Harrison released as a solo artist before his death. The song also found a place on the October 1989 compilation Best of Dark Horse 1976–1989, where it closed the album. Though that collection is now out of print, the track carried forward onto the 2009 career-spanning retrospective Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison, and it reappeared in the 2013 Lethal Weapon Soundtrack Collection box set, ensuring its continued availability across multiple formats and decades.

On Stage: The 1991 Tour and Beyond

Harrison brought "Cheer Down" to life on stage during his 1991 Japanese tour alongside Eric Clapton—a tour that marked his first time on the road since 1974. The song occupied a special position in his set list as the most recent composition he performed, and it served as one of the rare occasions where he showcased his own slide guitar technique, since on most other nights he delegated those parts to Clapton's guitarist Andy Fairweather-Low. Harrison also developed a playful habit of introducing the track as a number from the musical South Pacific. A recording from the 15 December 1991 concert at the Tokyo Dome was included on his 1992 double album Live in Japan. He returned to the song on 6 April 1992 at the Natural Law Party Concert at London's Royal Albert Hall, his only full-length solo performance in Britain during that period, with Mike Campbell of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers stepping in for Clapton. Years later, American dobro player Rainer Ptacek recorded his own interpretation, issuing it on his 2001 album Live at the Performance Center.

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