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TL;DR:

  • The Beatles’ “Here, There and Everywhere” was inspired by a line from “Cheek to Cheek.”
  • Paul McCartney said he and John Lennon both loved the line in question.
  • He compared the lines of the song to the way The Beatles wrote their songs.
The Beatles in black-and-white
The Beatles | John Pratt / Stringer

Paul McCartney sometimes considers The Beatles‘ “Here, There and Everywhere” his favorite song. In addition, he revealed “Here, There and Everywhere” was inspired by a Fred Astaire song. Notably, “Here, There and Everywhere” appeared on one of the Fab Four’s most famous albums.

Paul McCartney likes ‘Here, There and Everywhere’ better than ‘Yesterday’

According to the 2015 book Conversations with Paul McCartney, was asked to name his favorite song. He revealed he sometimes said his favorite song was “Yesterday” because it’s been recorded by numerous artists, but more often he said his favorite song was “Here, There and Everywhere.”

He discussed the way Astaire’s “Cheek to Cheek” inspired “Here, There and Everywhere.” “[‘Cheek to Cheek’] was always one of my favorite songs,” he said. “I love the way it returns to its opening, it goes through the whole song: ‘Heaven … I’m in heaven.’ It comes back. Wow. It’s a simple little trick, but as a writer, I loved that. 

“I kind of did that in ‘Here, There and Everywhere,'” he continued. “So all these influences have always been there.” 

Paul McCartney discussed the verses of The Beatles’ ‘Here, There and Everywhere’

Paul further discussed The Beatles’ songwriting. “Unless you actually analyze the whole thing you wouldn’t know it, but they [the preamble ‘verses’] were definitely in a lot of what we did in The Beatles,” Paul recalled. “John and I liked that. 

“We used to talk about that as one of the things it would be good if we could do,” he said. “‘To lead a better life, I need my love to be here …’ Whereas in the old days they would have extended that: ‘She was here, and I was there, and I think she’s everywhere. Here …‘”

Related

Earth, Wind & Fire’s Cover of a Song From The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ Became a Hit

How the song performed on the charts

“Here, There and Everywhere” was not a single so it never charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appeared on The Beatles’ Revolver. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for six weeks and stayed on the chart for 93 weeks in total.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Here, There and Everywhere” never charted in the United Kingdom. On the other hand, Revolver peaked at No. 1 for seven of its 34 weeks on the U.K. chart.

“Here, There and Everywhere” inspired many covers. Petula Clark, Johnny Mathis, Jay and the Americans, Emmylou Harris, Sissel Kyrkjebø each performed the song. The tune also inspired an animated music video that can be seen on the Fab Four’s YouTube channel. The animated clip is a psychedelic take on The Beatles’ touring years, complete with unusual colors and a dancing dream girl. It’s part of a larger trend of music videos coming out long after the fact.

“Here, There and Everywhere” is an incredible ballad and it might not exist without “Cheek to Cheek.”

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