There She Goes

"There She Goes" is a song written by British singer/guitarist Lee Mavers and recorded first by Mavers' band, The La's.

In May 2007, the NME magazine placed the song at number 45 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.^[1]

Lyrics and meaning

Structurally, the song is very simple and contains no verses, only a single chorus repeated four times and a bridge.

"There She Goes" has gained a reputation for being about the use of heroin; the lyrics seem to refer to a woman, but on closer inspection of some lines ("There she goes again... racing through my brain... pulsing through my vein... no one else can heal my pain"), the possible drug connotations become apparent. Several newspapers ran articles about The La's and their apparent ode to heroin. When asked about the rumour in 1995, the group's bassist John Power replied, "I don't know. Truth is, I don't wanna know. Drugs and madness go hand in hand. People who you've known all your life... they're steady, then they're not. But you can't ponder, 'cause it kills you, la.'"^[2] However, in the 2003 book In Search of The La's: A Secret Liverpool by MW Macefield, ex-La's guitarist Paul Hemmings denied the rumour, and added, "Jeremy Fisher, you don't know what you are talking about."

Release and reception

The first version of the song was released by The La's in 1988, and again on January 2, 1989, but failed to chart. The track was remixed by Steve Lillywhite in 1990 for inclusion on their debut album The La's. This remixed version was issued as a single on October 22, 1990, and hit number 13 in the UK charts (and later hit number 49 in the U.S.). It was the biggest success The La's were ever to enjoy and remains the song for which the band is chiefly remembered.

In May 2007, NME magazine placed "There She Goes" at number 45 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.^[3] In 2008, it was also re-released as a vinyl single for its 20th anniversary.

Music video

There are two music videos for this song. The first music video which was released in 1988 was recorded by a camcorder. It shows the band performing the song in an alleyway, a hill or mountaintop and some footage of their concerts is shown. The band are also seen in a park. The video ends with the drum logo being shown.

The second music video which was released in 1990 was a more professional one. It was recorded with a TV camera. It shows the band performing in a street and a town and in a back street with footage of a woman in her 20's or 30's in the video. They are also shown performing with city buildings behind them later revealed to be Los Angeles due to the U.S. Bank Tower clearly visible. The lead guitarist, Petr Camell and drummer Neil Mavers are revealed to be the two new members. The video ends with the woman's face being shown.

Use in media

It has appeared on several film soundtracks, including The Parent Trap, Fever Pitch, Girl, Interrupted , Gilmore Girls and So I Married an Axe Murderer (where both the original and Boo Radleys version appear).

For several seasons in the 1990s the song's distinctive guitar riff was used as backing for the 'Goal of the Month' clips on BBC TV's Match Of The Day.

Formats and track listings

• All songs written by L.A. Mavers.

Other reissues

Personnel

The La's^[4]

• Lee Mavers – guitar, vocals
• John Power – bass, backing vocals
• John "Boo" Byrne – guitar
• Chris Sharrock – drums
• Barry Sutton – guitar (on "All by Myself")
• Paul Hemmings – guitar (on "Way Out")
• John "Timmo" Timson – drums (on "Way Out")
• Peter "Cammy" Camell – guitar (on "There She Goes" John Leckie version)
• Iain Templeton – drums (on "There She Goes" John Leckie version)

Production^[4]

• Bob Andrews – producer
• Dave Charles – engineer
• Jeremy Allom – engineer, producer (on "All by Myself")
• Mike Haas – engineer (on "All by Myself")
• Steve Lillywhite – producer, mixing (on "Freedom Song"), remixing (on "There She Goes" 1990 version)
• Mark Wallis – additional producer, engineer (on "Freedom Song")

Other personnel

• Ryan Art – design

Chart performance

1988 release

1990 release

Cover versions

• The Boo Radleys recorded a version used in the soundtrack to So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993).
• Robbie Williams included the song as a b-side to "No Regrets" (1998).
• The Wombats included the song as a b-side to "Kill the Director" (2008).
• You Am I performed the song on their Let's Be Dreadful Tour (2008).
• Kevin Montgomery includes the song on album "True" (2007)
• Beat Crusaders includes the song on "Musicrusaders" (2005)

Sixpence None the Richer version

Sixpence None the Richer released a cover version of the song in 1999 as the second single from their self-titled album, Sixpence None the Richer. The band's rendition of the song reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the top 10 of Billboards Adult Top 40 chart.

This version of the song is featured in the opening sequence of the episode "The Opening" (season 3, episode 9) of HBO drama Six Feet Under, when character Melinda Bloch shuts herself in the garage in her activated car, while listening to the song on a cassette.

Track listing

1. "There She Goes" – 2:42
2. "There She Goes" (Ben Grosse mix) – 2:42
3. "Kiss Me" (acoustic version) – 3:12

Chart performance

References

External links