There She Goes (The La's song)



"There She Goes" is a song by English rock band The La's, written by the band's frontman, Lee Mavers. The song reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart when it was re-issued in 1990.

In May 2007, NME magazine placed the song at number 45 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever. Predating Britpop by four years, the band’s self-titled album was named one of the 40 greatest one hit wonders by Rolling Stone, with the magazine stating, “Whether about heroin or just unrequited love, the La's single "There She Goes" off their self-titled debut has endured as a founding piece of Britpop’s foundation.”

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, possibly as a result of the lines: "There she goes again... racing through my brain... pulsing through my vein... no one else can heal my pain". 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." However, in the book In Search of The La's: A Secret Liverpool (2003) 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."

In an interview with Les Inrockuptibles, Lee admits to trying heroin in 1990. The song therefore predated his experience.

Release and reception
The first version of the song, produced by Bob Andrews, was released by The La's in 1988, and again on 2 January 1989, but failed to chart. Andrews' production of the song 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 22 October 1990 and hit number 13 in the UK Singles Chart (and later hit number 49 in the US).

In May 2007, NME magazine placed "There She Goes" at number 45 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever. In 2008, it was also re-released as a vinyl single for its 20th anniversary. A precursor to Britpop, the album was listed at number 13 in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 40 greatest one hit wonders.

On NPR's All Songs Considered, musician Ben Gibbard selected "There She Goes" as his pick for "perfect song." Gibbard observed that the song "defines the perfectly written pop song: an instantaneously recognizable melody and lyric set to simple, economic musical structure. It is such a simple song that it boggles the mind that someone hadn't already written it."

Music video
There are two music videos for this song. The video, released in 1988 and directed by Jeff Baynes, was recorded on a camcorder, shot in the English countryside and in the band's home town of Liverpool. It shows the band performing in an alleyway and on a hill, as well as footage from their concerts. The band are also seen in a park. The video ends with a shot of the drum logo.

The second music video, released in 1990, was shot in Los Angeles, California, it shows the band performing in a street and a town with footage of a young woman in the video. They are also shown performing with city buildings behind them: one revealed to be the U.S. Bank Tower. The lead guitarist, Peter Camell and drummer Neil Mavers are revealed as the two new members. The video ends with a shot of the woman's face.

As soundtrack
It has appeared on several film soundtracks, including The Parent Trap; Fever Pitch; Girl, Interrupted; Cold Case and So I Married an Axe Murderer (where both the original and The Boo Radleys version appear). It also opens the "Pilot" episode of Gilmore Girls. Sixpence None The Richer’s version of the song was used in the commercials for birth control company Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo from 2004-2005.

The song was also used for the opening montage of the first episode of Channel 4's drama series This Is England '90 which also featured outgoing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s resignation speech.

The song was used frequently for slow motion scenes with Nori in the U.S. TV series Me, Myself & I.

Formats and track listings

 * All songs written by L.A. Mavers.

1988 7": Go! Discs / GOLAS 2 (UK), 870 987-7 (France)

Side one
 * 1) "There She Goes" - 2:31

Side two
 * 1) "Come In, Come Out" - 2:10

1988 7" EP: Go! Discs / LASEP 2 (UK)

Side one
 * 1) "There She Goes" - 2:31
 * 2) "Who Knows?" - 3:27

Side two
 * 1) "Way Out" (New Version)
 * 2) "Come In, Come Out" - 2:10

1988 12": Go! Discs / GOLAS 212 (UK) Side one
 * 1) "There She Goes" - 2:31
 * 2) "Come In, Come Out" - 2:10

Side two
 * 1) "Who Knows" - 3:27
 * 2) "Man I'm Only Human" - 4:50

'''1988 CD: Go! Discs / LAS CD2 (UK)'''
 * 1) "There She Goes" - 2:31
 * 2) "Come In, Come Out" - 2:10
 * 3) "Who Knows" - 3:27
 * 4) "Man I'm Only Human" - 4:50

1990 7": Go! Discs / GOLAS 5 (UK) Side one
 * 1) "There She Goes" - 2:45

Side two
 * 1) "Freedom Song" - 2:26

1990 12": Go! Discs / GOLAS 512 (UK) Side one
 * 1) "There She Goes" - 2:45
 * 2) "Freedom Song"- 2:26

Side two
 * 1) "All by Myself" - 5:53

'''1990 Cassette single: Go! Discs / LASMC 5 (UK)'''
 * 1) "There She Goes" - 2:45
 * 2) "Freedom Song" - 2:26

'''1990 CD: Go! Discs / LASCD 5 (UK)'''
 * 1) "There She Goes" - 2:45
 * 2) "Freedom Song" - 2:26
 * 3) "All by Myself" - 5:53

Limited Edition 7" EP: Go! Discs / GOLAB 5 (UK)

Side one
 * 1) "There She Goes" - 2:45
 * 2) "Freedom Song"- 2:26

Side two
 * 1) "All by Myself" - 5:53

Other reissues
CD single (1999)
 * 1) "There She Goes"
 * 2) "Come In, Come Out"
 * 3) "Who Knows?"
 * 4) "There She Goes" (video)

7" single (2008)
 * 1) "There She Goes" (John Leckie version)
 * 2) "There She Goes" (original single version)
 * 3) "Way Out" (original single version)

Personnel
The La's
 * Lee Mavers – vocals, acoustic guitar
 * John Power – bass, backing vocals
 * John "Boo" Byrne – electric guitar
 * Neil Mavers – drums

Production
 * 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

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 number 12 in Canada and Scotland, number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number seven on Billboard's Adult Top 40 chart.

Track listing

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

Other cover versions

 * The Boo Radleys recorded a version used in the soundtrack to So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993).
 * Superconductor, a Canadian indie rock band featuring A.C. Newman, covered the song on the compilation "Teriyaki Asthma IX" (1993).
 * Robbie Williams included the song as a B-side to "No Regrets" (1998).
 * The V-Roys performed it on their live LP Are You Through Yet? (2000).
 * Limited Express (Has Gone?) released a version on the B-side of their 功夫少 single (2003).
 * 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).
 * The Paraguayan soft rock band, The Generation included an acoustic cover of the song on their EP, Box Of Memories (2014).
 * Kevin Montgomery includes the song on the album, True (2007).
 * Beat Crusaders includes the song on Musicrusaders (2005).
 * The song "She Never Came Back" by College has the line "There She Goes", sung in the same way as The La's.