- Published on 1962 – 1965
- Author: Lennon/McCartney
- Track 4 on “Past Masters Volume 1“
What the Beatles said about “She Loves You”
JOHN 1963: “We wrote that two days before we recorded it, actually.”
PAUL 1963: “John and I wrote it together. We were in a van up in Newcastle somewhere, and we’d just gone over to our hotel. I originally got an idea of doing one of those answering songs, where a couple of us sing about ‘she loves you’ …and the other one sort of says the ‘yes, yes’ bit. You know, ‘yeah yeah’ answering whoever is saying it. But we decided that was a crummy idea anyway. But we had the idea to write a song called ‘She Loves You’ then. And we just sat up in the hotel bedroom for a few hours and wrote it, you know.”
JOHN 1963: “‘Yeah.’ That’s sort of the main catch phrase from ‘She Loves You.’ We’d written the song, and then suddenly realized we needed more… so we added ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ and it caught on.”
JOHN 1980: “It was written together (with Paul) and I don’t remember how. I remember it was Paul’s idea– instead of singing ‘I love you’ again, we’d have a third party. The ‘Woooo’ was taken from the Isley Brothers ‘Twist And Shout,’ which we stuck into everything.”
PAUL 1982: “Occasionally, we’d overrule George Martin, like on ‘She Loves You,’ we end on a sixth chord, a very jazzy sort of thing. And he said, ‘Oh, you can’t do that! A sixth chord? It’s too jazzy.’ We just said, ‘No, it’s a great hook, we’ve got to do it.'”
PAUL 1988: “We rehearsed the end bit of ‘She Loves You’ and took it to George. And he just laughed and said, ‘Well, you can’t do the end of course… that sixth… it’s too like the Andrew Sisters.’ We just said, ‘Alright, we’ll try it without,’ and we tried it and it wasn’t as good. Then he conceded, ‘You’re right, I guess.’ But we were both very flexible. We would listen to George’s ideas too, because he was a producer and a musician, and he obviously knew what he was talking about. There was good to-and-fro. We loved that bit, and we rehearsed it alot. John and I wrote that in a hotel room, on twin beds during an afternoon off– I mean, God bless their little cotton socks, those boys WORKED! Here I am talking about an afternoon off, and we’re sitting there writing! We just loved it so much. It wasn’t work.”
Info about “She Loves You”
“She Loves You” is one of the most influential and iconic song in history. It was written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released in 1963 as a single. The song is renowned for its catchy melody, energetic tempo, and memorable lyrics.
Lennon and McCartney started composing “She Loves You” on 26 June 1963 after a concert at the Majestic Ballroom in Newcastle upon Tyne during their tour with Roy Orbison and Gerry and the Pacemakers. They began writing the song on the tour bus, and continued later that night at their hotel in Newcastle eventually completing it the following day at McCartney’s family home in Forthlin Road, Liverpool.
“She Loves You” was released as a single in the United Kingdom on August 23, 1963. The song quickly became a massive hit, reaching the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart. It held the position for four consecutive weeks. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record in the United States as one of the five Beatles songs that held the top five positions in the charts simultaneously, on 4 April 1964. It remains the band’s best-selling single in the United Kingdom and the top-selling single of the 1960s there by any artist.
It was also the best-selling single in the UK for 14 years (until it was surpassed by Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Mull of Kintyre” in 1977). The song’s success wasn’t limited to the UK. It also achieved significant popularity in the United States, helping to launch the Beatles’ international career.
In November 2004, Rolling Stone ranked “She Loves You” number 64 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In August 2009, at the end of its “Beatles Weekend”, BBC Radio 2 announced that “She Loves You” was the Beatles’ all-time best-selling single in the UK based on information compiled by the Official Charts Company.
The lyrics are written from the perspective of a narrator giving advice to a friend about his romantic troubles. The repeated refrain of “She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah” became one of the most recognizable and memorable lines in popular music. “She Loves You” is often cited as a pivotal moment in the history of popular music. Its simple, infectious melody and harmonies helped to define the “Beatles sound” that would come to dominate the 1960s.
“She Loves You” is considered a classic of the early rock ‘n’ roll era. It’s often featured in lists of the greatest songs of all time and is a staple in the Beatles’ extensive discography. The song’s influence goes beyond music. Phrases like “Yeah, yeah, yeah” became synonymous with the Beatles and with the youth culture of the 1960s.
Overall, “She Loves You” is a pivotal song in the Beatles’ career and played a significant role in shaping the landscape of popular music. It remains a beloved and enduring classic to this day.
Meaning of “She Loves You”
“She Loves You” is a straightforward love song where the singer is conveying a message to a friend who is struggling with a romantic relationship. The narrator is offering reassurance and advice to his friend, telling him that he should take comfort in the fact that the girl he loves also loves him back.
The central message of the song is one of encouragement and support. It’s about celebrating mutual love and emphasizing the positive aspects of the relationship. The repeated refrain of “She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah” reinforces this message of affirmation and positivity.
The song’s lyrics are written in a way that is relatable and easy to understand, which contributed to its widespread popularity. The simplicity of the message, combined with the catchy melody and energetic performance by the Beatles, helped make “She Loves You” an enduring and beloved classic.
Personnel
- John Lennon – vocal, rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney – vocal, bass
- George Harrison – harmony vocal, lead guitar
- Ringo Starr – drums
- George Martin – producer
- Norman Smith – engineer
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