"Here, There and Everywhere" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their seventh studio album, Revolver (1966). Credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was written by Paul McCartney at John Lennon's home in June 1966, with the Beach Boys song, "God Only Knows" (1966), serving as inspiration. The lyrics were inspired by Jane Asher, McCartney's then girlfriend at the time.

Described as a soft rock and pop song, it was recorded on 14 June 1966 at EMI Studios in London, with additional overdubbing taking place on 16 and 17 June. On the first day of recording, they taped the song four times, before taping it another nine times due to being unsatisfied with the final take. They eventually settled on the fourteenth take, adding various overdubs to take thirteen. The recording was produced by George Martin and engineered by Geoff Emerick.

"Here, There and Everywhere" was released on 5 August 1966 in the United Kingdom and 8 August in the United States, appearing on Revolver. The song received positive reviews from critics upon its release, with many deeming it a standout on the album. As a solo artist, McCartney has included "Here, There and Everywhere" on various live albums and live performances of his, with the song being one of his favorites from the Beatles. It has been rated high amongst rankings of the Beatles' discography, and was named by Mojo as the 4th-greatest song of all time in 2000. "Here, There and Everywhere" was covered by the American singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris, and also by Sean Lennon and Elvis Costello as part of McCartney's 80th birthday. In April 2025, the song was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Background and recording Following the critical acclaim of their 1965 album Rubber Soul, the Beatles began recording their next studio album, Revolver, in April 1966. During Paul McCartney's stay at John Lennon's house in June 1966 at Weybridge, he began developing "Here, There and Everywhere", being inspired by the Beach Boys song "God Only Knows" (1966). Credited to Lennon–McCartney, McCartney recalled he was waiting for Lennon to wake up while he was out by Lennon's pool with his guitar, and began strumming in E. By the time Lennon had woken up, McCartney had written most of the song, and they went inside to finish it. John later recalled "[Here, There and Everywhere, t]his is a great one of his." The lyrics were written about McCartney's then girlfriend, Jane Asher.

"Here, There and Everywhere" was the second to last song recorded for Revolver, behind "She Said She Said". It was recorded on 14 June 1966 at EMI Studio Two in London, with overdubbing sessions taking place on 16 and 17 June. George Martin produced it, while Geoff Emerick engineered it. During the period of seven hours on the first day of recording, they recorded the song four times, with Paul providing rhythm guitar and guide vocals. The recording featured harmonies, double-tracked vocals, and layered guitars. After McCartney and Ringo Starr further recorded it, they settled on the fourth take, and received an overdub of three-part block harmonies. The band later returned to the studio, this time with Lennon and George Harrison present. Unsatisfied with the fourth take, they recorded it another nine times, with Harrison on lead guitar. Lennon, although present, did not play on the track. The drums, bass, and electric guitars were all perfected by the thirteenth take. The group settled on take fourteen, overdubbing new backing vocals onto take thirteen. The final song began mixing for Revolver on 17 June, and was completed in mono and stereo on 21 June.

Composition and musical structure "Here, There and Everywhere" is a ballad that has been considered a soft rock and pop song with a length of two minutes and 29 seconds. The song utilizes a time signature and switches between the keys of G major and B-flat major. In his chapter on Revolver in the book The Album, James Perone describes "Here, There and Everywhere" as a "mid 1960s love ballad that could find its way into the set list for bands at a senior prom" and a track that to some listeners appears "syrupy and mushy". The verse is based on an ascending major chord sequence, while the middle eight (four bars in length) modulates to the relative major of the tonic. The introduction beginning "To lead a better life" opens in the key of G and involves a I–iii–III–ii–V7 chord progression. The III (B chord) on "I need my love to be here" (arpeggiated in the melody line) is a dissonant substitute for the more predictable VI (E7) that would normally lead to the ii (Am) chord.

The verse opens on "Here, There and Everywhere" in the key of G (with simultaneous I (G chord) and melody G note) and moves to a I–ii–iii–IV chord shift (G–Am–Bm–C) through "making each day of the year". This repeats on "Changing my life with a wave"; but immediately after (in bar 5) the song changes on "of her hand". It goes down six semitones from the IV (C chord) to a vii (Fm) [adding a non-G scale C] then a V-of-vi (B7) chord [adding a non-G scale D] which briefly modulates towards a new tonic E minor. McCartney mostly sings a B note ("of her hand") over both Fm, where it is the eleventh, and the B7, where it is the tonic. When the sequence is repeated ("nobody can"), McCartney sings both B and C over the Fm, the C natural producing a tritone.

During the bridge segment beginning "I want her everywhere", the key centre shifts via an F7 chord (a VII in the old G key and a V7 in the new B key) to a I–vi–ii (B–Gm–Cm) chord progression in B major. It then shifts again via a D7 chord (a III7 in the old B key and a V7 in the new Gm key) to G minor where there is a i–iv (Gm–Cm chord) progression. Finally, the pivot of D7 takes the scale back to the G major tonic and reinforcing G melody note of "Here, There and Everywhere". The staff of Rolling Stone stated "The tune's chord sequence bears Brian Wilson's influence, ambling through three related keys without ever fully settling into one, and the modulations – particularly the one on the line 'changing my life with a wave of her hand' – deftly underscore the lyrics, inspired by McCartney's girlfriend, actress Jane Asher."

Release and reception EMI's Parlophone label issued "Here, There and Everywhere" in the United Kingdom on 5 August 1966, and in the United States on 8 August, as part of side one on Revolver. It was sequenced between "Love You To", and "Yellow Submarine". "Here, There and Everywhere" was subsequently featured on the 1977 compilation album, Love Songs, and as a B-side to the CD edition of "Real Love", which included the seventh and thirteenth takes combined into one. It also featured in the 1984 film, Give My Regards to Broad Street, which stars McCartney. The American singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris recorded a cover of "Here, There and Everywhere", which appeared on her third studio album, Elite Hotel (1975). McCartney has also performed "Here, There and Everywhere" several times as a solo artist, including during his 1991 Unplugged Tour, the New World Tour (1993), the 2002 Driving World Tour, and the 2003 Back in the World tour. It has also appeared on his live albums Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) (1991), Paul Is Live (1993), Back in the U.S. (2002), and Back in the World (2003). In 2022, Lennon's son, Sean, and the English musician Elvis Costello both performed a cover of "Here, There and Everywhere" in celebration of McCartney's 80th birthday.

"Here, There and Everywhere" received positive reviews from music critics, and some have considered it a standout track on Revolver. Richie Unterberger, in his review for AllMusic, describes "Here, There and Everywhere" as one of its author's "outstanding contribution[s]" to the genre of "love ballads", and a song with "the sound of an instant standard". Tim Riley says that "Here, There and Everywhere" "domesticates" the "eroticisms" of "Love You To", and he praises the composition as "the most perfect song" that McCartney had written up to that point. Journalist Hunter Davies referred to "Here, There and Everywhere" as "a pearl of a song." Scott Plagenhoef, writing for Pitchfork, called "Here, There and Everywhere" "a model of sepia-toned sentimentality". Chris Coplan of Consequence of Sound drew comparison with "Got to Get You into My Life" as songs that are "seemingly out of place" on Revolver, amid the overtly psychedelic and experimental music that typifies the album. Lennon later described it as "one of [his] favourite songs of the Beatles", and McCartney has also stated it is one of his personal favourites. On 11 April 2025, "Here, There and Everywhere" was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), indicating sales of over 250,000.

"Here, There and Everywhere" commonly appears near the top of Beatles songs rankings. Music critic Jim Bevigila classified "Here, There and Everywhere" as the 26th-best Beatles song in his book Counting Down The Beatles: Their 100 Finest Songs (2017), calling it the "heart" of Revolver. In 2000, Mojo named it the 4th-greatest song of all time, and it also appeared at number 25 in a Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Beatles songs in 2010. "Here, There and Everywhere" made an NME list of the 100 greatest Beatles songs in 2015 as chosen by popular musicians and critics, with the English singer-songwriter Little Boots nominating it, who called it a "touching and intimate song." Bill Wyman of Vulture ranked it at number seven out of 214 in his ranking of every Beatles song, Mark Beaumont of NME placed it at number 34 out of 188, and Music journalist Michael Gallucci listed it at 45 out of 229. Rolling Stone named it the 25th-greatest Beatles song in 2020. Since its release, "Here, There and Everywhere", has become highly popular among mainstream recording artists, along with "For No One".

Personnel According to Ian MacDonald:

Paul McCartney – double-tracked lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, finger-snaps John Lennon – backing vocals, finger-snaps George Harrison – lead guitar, backing vocals, finger-snaps Ringo Starr – drums, finger-snaps

Certifications

References

Bibliography