The Beatles BibleWritten by George Harrison for his wife Pattie, ‘For You Blue’ was a straightforward blues song recorded during the Let It Be sessions.
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WikipediaFor You Blue is a Harrison composition appearing on Let It Be. It seems a bit lightweight lyrically, and musically it is a 12 bar blues, so it might seem like more of a impromptu jam than a fully developed song. But watching some out-takes from the Get Back sessions its clear that the Beatles spent a bit of time rehearsing it, paying particular attention to the sound, and that George was directing the process.
The overall effect is like early acoustic blues (e.g., Robert Johnson), with Harrison playing acoustic guitar and Lennon a slide guitar (from memory he is seen unboxing it in the documentary).
There is no bass, and McCartney is playing a purposefully prepared piano (with paper inserted into the strings to give a wiry sound) playing very sparse chords.
The sound is quite similar to Old Brown Shoe, but that song has more in the way of distinctive lyrics and chords, and is thickened with bass, electric guitar and hammond organ. In contrast For You Blue sounds deliberately thin and slightly discordant. It probably fit well with the project’s aims of simple no-nonsense recording, but for me it’s just a bit too thin.