According to Harrison biographer Simon Leng, the lyrics reflect "life's ephemeral character" and the "transitory" nature of love. Inglis suggests that the song is "stensibly" about "the end of a love affair". He and theologian Dale Allison note the optimism offered in Harrison's words, since, as Leng puts it, "a new day always dawns." Although "All Things Must Pass" avoids religiosity, Allison writes that its statement on the "all-inclusive" transience of things in the material world explains why so much of its 1970 parent album, "All Things Must Pass", "finds hope and meaning only in God, who does not pass away". The song's main message is offered in its middle eight: