“I do it in this”: Why Paul McCartney is proud of ‘Here, There And Everywhere’
Attempting to summarise the legacy Paul McCartney has built and is still building feels impossible. It’s tough to think of another singular person who has done what he’s done, hit the heights he’s hit, harboured the love and support and respect that he has. Additionally, that doesn’t even begin to consider the looming legacy of his lengthy discography. Attempting to pick one song to sum it all up would be an unthinkable task, but there is one that has come to mind again and again for McCartney himself as a song he’d like to be remembered for.
Immediately, the question brings up hundreds of possible answers. Some would argue the case of a huge Beatles hit, like ‘Blackbird’ or ‘Hey Jude’. Others might pick ‘Band On The Run’ as his true opus with Wings. Big fans might fight the corner of a solo track, like ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’, or a somewhat forgotten album cut. It’s all subjective as the ultimate testament to McCartney’s impact, allowing there to be something for everyone in his back catalogue, connecting in some way to just about anyone.
But for McCartney himself, the question is muddied with personal experience too. He lived these songs, hearing within them the personal context that inspired him or the memories of the moment he wrote them. Especially for The Beatles tracks, the songs hold the remembrance of two of his best friends, lost along the way. So his thoughts on his best work are never going to be truly subjective, yet when it comes to his enduring love for one song, his personal connection to the track is perfectly balanced with a more critical awareness that he simply wrote a great tune.
“I’m often asked what my favourite song I’ve ever written is and I don’t ever really want to answer it,” McCartney said on a podcast with Paul Muldoon before surrendering, “But when pushed I’d go to ‘Here, There And Everywhere’.”
It’s easy to see why he picks it out. Sitting on Revolver, ‘Here, There And Everywhere’ is undeniably one of, if not the most, romantic songs McCartney has ever penned. “To lead a better life, I need my love to be here,” he begins, almost hymnlike, as he writes an ode to the simple joy of being in love and wanting someone around all the time. Listening back now, even the songwriter himself finds the lyrics staggeringly beautiful. “I like the line ‘Changing my life with the wave of her hand’”, he said, “I look at those kinds of lyrics now and think, where did that come from? What was I thinking of – the queen, waving out of a royal carriage or just my love [who] can just do it by hardly doing anything… it says a lot in a line.”
He remembered Lennon seeing the worth in the song way back when he first wrote it, holding it close as his own favourite of McCartney’s songs, too. During a quiet moment on a trip, Lennon and McCartney sat together and listened through some of their demos to decide which songs to work on next. “We were playing a cassette of our new recordings and my song ‘Here, There And Everywhere’ was on. And I remember John saying, ‘You know, I probably like that better than any of my songs on the tape’”, he recalled, adding tenderly, “Coming from John, that was high praise indeed.”
With his own pride in the song and the memory of his friend’s love for it, too, it’s a golden recipe for a special track. But there’s a third piece of the puzzle that makes this the song McCartney would be proud to be remembered for. “One of my favourite songs because of its structure is Cheek To Cheek,” he said, picking out the Fred Astaire number. “It starts off, ‘Heaven, I’m in heaven… then the middle eight, ‘Will carry me through to… heaven…’ It’s just like, yes! The way it just resolves up its own tail I always found wonderful,” he explained before adding, “And I think somebody said I do it in this.”
So now, the song is not only connected to his friend and his own sense of pride in his work but stands as a moment when McCartney seemed to nail the exact thing he loves about music, making ‘Here, There And Everywhere’ the song he thinks could sum up his whole legacy.
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