Released posthumously in 2002, this track by George celebrates renewal after hardship. Written during his final years as he faced serious health challenges, the song shows that George faced death with hopeful anticipation. George had survived cancer once, faced it again, and still chose to write about new beginnings rather than endings. The rising sun becomes a metaphor for life's persistent tendency toward renewal.
In one of his last songs, George reminded us that the same sun that sets also rises and the same seasons that bring winter promise spring. Whether intentional or not, this song brings to mind the hopeful lyrics of one of George’s greatest compositions, “Here Comes the Sun”. As he faced mortality, he chose to focus once again on the sun rising rather than the setting.
Struggling through dark periods, we often forget that dawn inevitably comes. Depression, grief, and crisis create tunnel vision where we can't imagine conditions improving. But George's message carries empirical truth: throughout history, personal and collective, darkness has always eventually given way to light. Not because someone deserved it or earned it, but because that is life's pattern.
Even his death couldn't negate the song's message. Released after he was gone, Rising Sun itself demonstrates renewal: George's voice and vision living beyond his physical presence, continuing to inspire and comfort. His final musical gift suggests that even the ultimate ending contains seeds of continuation.
Today, I will trust that whatever darkness I'm experiencing will eventually give way to light, and look for any small signs of dawn beginning.
What feels impossibly dark in your life right now that might actually be just before breakthrough? How might viewing current difficulty as pre-dawn darkness rather than permanent night change your endurance?
