GEORGE Harrison’s widow has given Ringo Starr a lost Beatles song her hubby wrote.

Olivia, 69, found typed lyrics to Hey, Ringo forgotten in a piano bench.

4 Hey Ringo.... Ringo Starr Credit: AP:Associated Press

George is thought to have written it as a plea for the band to stay together around the time of their 1970 split.

She told of Ringo’s shock — and said she hopes the star, 76, and fellow surviving Beatle Sir Paul McCartney, 74, put it to music.

She said: “He’d never seen this song before. He was so surprised. There was a folder in George’s piano bench.

4 Olivia Harrison and George were married for 23 years before his death in 2001 Credit: Rex Features

“Inside I found a typed lyric for Hey, Ringo. It dates from around 1970.

“He would put down a notebook and forget where he left it.

“A piano bench was the obvious place to stash the night’s debris.”

4 The Beatles at the height of their fame in the 1960s Credit: Getty Images

4 Lost track from the 1970s is thought to be a plea to keep the hit band together

The track, imagining a chat between him and his drummer pal, includes the lines: “Hey Ringo, now I want you to know. That without you my guitar plays far too slow.

“And Ringo, let me say this to you. I’ve heard no drummer who can play it quite like you.

“Wait a minute, Mr G. Stop flattering me. My drums sound bare when your guitar’s not there.”

Olivia is searching to see if George left a demo which his friends could use.

She added: “I need to dig a little. It would be great if George put it down on tape.”

MOST READ IN MUSIC PA TI GIRL JLo, 51, shows off her famous bum in see-through jumpsuit in sexy Pa Ti video SOUL SISTER All you need to know about Mica Paris including her hit songs and love life SUR-PRIZE WINNER Who won the Mercury Prize 2020? All the nominees from Stormzy to Dua Lipa Playlist Judge Jules fills us in on ten tracks that are rocking his digital crate right now Video Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit... older! Here’s Gina G 20 years after her Eurovision entry - and she still looks amazing Exclusive 'WILD WORLD' Yusuf/Cat Stevens on tuberculosis, his 'reimagined' new album & facing forward REKINDLED ROMANCE Meet Eleanor Calder, Louis Tomlinson's girlfriend and fashion blogger DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER It's 20 years since Oasis' incredible gig at Knebworth in front of 125,000 fans in Brit Pop era

The star, 58, died from cancer in 2001.

The lyrics, plus 141 written notes and pics, appear in an updated version of his memoir I, Me, Mine.