The Beatles Song John Lennon and Paul McCartney Both Adored And Why Here, There and Everywhere Still Stands Apart 60 Years Later
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The Beatles produced so many universally recognized songs that even some of their finest work can end up hiding in plain sight.
“Hey Jude,” “Let It Be,” “Yesterday,” “Come Together” and “A Hard Day’s Night” remain unavoidable landmarks in popular music. But buried inside the band’s extraordinary catalogue is a quieter song that never needed stadium-sized drama to earn an unusually important place in Beatles history.
That song is “Here, There and Everywhere.”
Released on Revolver in 1966, the delicate Paul McCartney ballad occupies a rare position: McCartney has repeatedly identified it as one of his favorite songs he ever wrote, while John Lennon also singled it out as one of his favorite Beatles recordings.
Considering the competitive creative relationship between the two men, that shared admiration says a great deal.
Nearly 60 years later, “Here, There and Everywhere” remains a reminder that some of the Beatles’ most enduring achievements were not their loudest or most commercially dominant songs. Sometimes their greatest strength was simply writing something beautiful.
A Quiet Masterpiece on One of the Beatles’ Boldest Albums
Revolver is often remembered as the moment the Beatles dramatically expanded what their music could be.
Released in August 1966, the album moved through psychedelic experimentation, Indian classical influences, orchestral arrangements, hard rock and studio techniques that would have been almost unimaginable during the group’s earliest years.
“Tomorrow Never Knows” pushed tape manipulation into unfamiliar territory. “Eleanor Rigby” largely abandoned the traditional rock-band setup in favor of strings.
“Love You To” brought George Harrison’s growing interest in Indian music to the foreground. Against that adventurous backdrop, “Here, There and Everywhere” sounds almost deceptively simple.
It is a gentle love song built around McCartney’s soft vocal, carefully arranged harmonies and a melody that seems to move effortlessly from one section to another.
That apparent simplicity is part of its brilliance. Rather than competing with the album’s most experimental moments, the song creates its own kind of sophistication through structure, melody and restraint.
Paul McCartney Wrote Much of It While Waiting for John Lennon
The song began in remarkably ordinary circumstances. McCartney was at Lennon’s home in Weybridge, waiting for his songwriting partner to wake up. With time to spare, he sat near Lennon’s swimming pool with a guitar and began working through chords.
By the time Lennon emerged, McCartney had already developed much of what would become “Here, There and Everywhere.” The pair then went inside and continued working on the composition.
McCartney has recalled that he may have completed most of the song himself, although he has also acknowledged that Lennon could have contributed some finishing touches.
The writing credit, as was standard for their partnership, went to Lennon–McCartney. Yet even Lennon himself later described it as essentially Paul’s song. That makes his reaction to it even more significant.
John Lennon Called It One of His Favorite Beatles Songs
Lennon was not known for excessive sentimentality when assessing the Beatles’ catalogue. In later interviews, he could be brutally dismissive of songs Including some of his own.
But “Here, There and Everywhere” received unusually warm treatment. Speaking years after the Beatles had split, Lennon described it as Paul’s composition and called it one of his favorite Beatles songs.
Earlier, he had simply called it “a great one.”
For anyone familiar with Lennon’s often unsparing assessments of the band’s work, that praise carries considerable weight.
McCartney remembered Lennon’s approval as well. The partnership between the two men was built partly on admiration and partly on competition. Each pushed the other to write something stronger. A compliment from Lennon therefore meant something different from general critical praise.
McCartney Has Also Named It Among His Own Favorites
McCartney’s affection for “Here, There and Everywhere” has remained remarkably consistent. Asked repeatedly over the years to choose a favorite from his enormous body of work, he has often resisted narrowing it down.
But when pressed, this is one of the songs he returns to. In a 2021 interview discussing his songwriting, McCartney said that if forced to choose, he would pull “Here, There and Everywhere” from the catalogue as one of his favorites. He has also previously placed it alongside “Yesterday,” describing the two as among his strongest compositions.
More recently, while discussing the song on McCartney: A Life in Lyrics, he again explained that if pushed to identify his favorite song he had written, he would choose “Here, There and Everywhere.”
For a songwriter responsible for “Yesterday,” “Hey Jude,” “Let It Be,” “Maybe I’m Amazed,” “Blackbird,” “Penny Lane” and countless others, that is no small endorsement.
What McCartney Loves About the Song
Part of McCartney’s admiration comes from the song’s construction. The title itself becomes part of the architecture. The lyric moves through the ideas of “here,” then “there,” and finally “everywhere,” before naturally returning to its starting point.
McCartney has compared the effect to classic songwriting techniques used in older standards, particularly Cole Porter’s “Cheek to Cheek.”
He admired the way such songs could travel through different sections before eventually resolving back toward where they began.
“Here, There and Everywhere” uses a similarly elegant circular design.
Listeners do not necessarily need to consciously analyze that structure to feel its effect. The song simply sounds complete. Each section seems to lead naturally into the next.
The Beach Boys Helped Inspire Its Sound
There was another major influence sitting behind the song. Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys had released Pet Sounds in May 1966, only months before Revolver arrived. The album made an enormous impression on McCartney.
He has repeatedly described “God Only Knows” as one of his favorite songs, and its sophistication helped inspire aspects of “Here, There and Everywhere.”
McCartney later clarified that the Beach Boys influence was particularly important to the song’s introduction and vocal approach.
The Beatles were paying close attention to what Wilson was doing in California, just as Wilson was watching the Beatles’ own evolution. That creative dialogue between two of the era’s most important groups became one of popular music’s most productive rivalries.
Rather than simply copying one another, they kept raising expectations. “Here, There and Everywhere” emerged during that extraordinary period.
The Vocal Was Deliberately Different
McCartney also approached the recording differently from many of his more forceful Beatles performances.
Instead of singing with the full power heard on tracks such as “I’m Down” or “Helter Skelter,” he adopted a lighter delivery.
He later recalled using an almost falsetto quality, inspired partly by Marianne Faithfull’s vocal style. The result gives the recording an unusually intimate character.
Behind him, Lennon and George Harrison contribute carefully arranged harmonies that add richness without overwhelming the lead vocal. Ringo Starr’s restrained drumming also serves the song rather than demanding attention. Everything is controlled. Nothing feels unnecessary.
It Never Needed to Be a Giant Single
One reason “Here, There and Everywhere” can sometimes feel overlooked is that it was not promoted like many of the Beatles’ most famous songs. It was an album track on Revolver, not one of the defining standalone Beatles singles of the era. That matters when considering how popular memory works.
Songs such as “Hey Jude,” “Help!” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” became cultural events in their own right.
They dominated charts, radio and television. “Here, There and Everywhere” built its reputation more gradually.
Listeners encountered it inside an album overflowing with remarkable music. Musicians studied it. Critics returned to it. McCartney continued speaking about it. And over time, its status grew.
Its Influence Goes Far Beyond Chart Numbers
The lasting value of a Beatles song cannot always be measured by its original commercial performance. Some tracks became influential because other musicians recognized qualities that casual listeners might initially overlook.
“Here, There and Everywhere” is one of them. Its harmonic movement, melodic construction and understated production have helped give the song a life far beyond Revolver.
In 2000, Mojo placed it at No. 4 on its list of the greatest songs of all time. That ranking reflects something that Beatles listeners had understood for decades.
The song may not have been designed as a blockbuster single. It did not need to be. Its reputation rests on craftsmanship.
Lennon and McCartney’s Agreement Makes It Even More Special
Perhaps the most fascinating part of the story is not merely that the song is excellent. It is that Lennon and McCartney agreed about it. Their partnership produced one of the most celebrated catalogues in modern music, but their creative relationship was complicated.
They competed. They challenged each other. They became frustrated with one another.
By the final years of the Beatles, tensions between them had become impossible to ignore. Yet that competitiveness was also central to their success.
McCartney has often spoken about knowing that Lennon would hear his latest composition — and wanting to make sure it was good enough. Lennon experienced the same pressure in reverse. The result was an extraordinary creative escalation.
When one of them produced something remarkable, the other wanted to respond. “Here, There and Everywhere” therefore represents a rare moment of uncomplicated artistic recognition.
Paul knew he had written something special. John knew it too.
Revolver Was the Perfect Home for It
The song’s presence on Revolver also helps explain why it remains so admired. The album constantly shifts tone. “Taxman” opens with sharp political frustration. “Eleanor Rigby” turns loneliness into chamber pop.
“I’m Only Sleeping” drifts through psychedelic detachment. “Yellow Submarine” becomes childlike communal fantasy. “For No One” examines a relationship collapsing with devastating emotional restraint.
And “Tomorrow Never Knows” closes the album by pointing toward an entirely different future for studio recording. Inside that collection, “Here, There and Everywhere” acts almost like an emotional center.
It is romantic without being bombastic. Sophisticated without sounding calculated. Experimental in its own subtle way.
It Also Reveals McCartney’s Range
McCartney has sometimes been caricatured as the Beatles’ sentimental melodic craftsman while Lennon is portrayed as the more abrasive experimentalist.
Their actual work was far more complicated. McCartney could be fiercely experimental. Lennon could write extraordinarily tender songs.
“Here, There and Everywhere” nevertheless demonstrates why melody became such an important part of McCartney’s reputation.
The tune feels natural even though its underlying construction is sophisticated.
That is a difficult balance. A songwriter can create something technically clever that sounds labored. McCartney made complexity sound effortless.
Nearly Six Decades Later, It Still Feels Intimate
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the song is how little it has aged emotionally. The recording belongs unmistakably to the 1960s, yet its essential appeal does not depend on nostalgia.
There is no elaborate concept required to understand it. No knowledge of Beatles history is necessary. It is simply a love song built around the feeling that another person has become present in every part of someone’s life.
That simplicity makes it easy for each generation to discover independently. A listener hearing Revolver for the first time today can arrive at “Here, There and Everywhere” without knowing anything about Lennon’s praise or McCartney’s personal attachment to it.
The song still works. The history only makes it more fascinating afterward.
The Beatles Catalogue Still Has Hidden Corners
Calling any Beatles song truly “forgotten” is difficult. Their catalogue has been examined, remastered, reissued, ranked and debated for more than half a century.
But there is still a meaningful difference between the songs everyone recognizes within seconds and the album tracks that require listeners to explore deeper. That is where “Here, There and Everywhere” remains special.
It exists just beyond the most obvious layer of Beatles mythology. It does not carry the cultural weight of “Let It Be.” It does not have the colossal singalong identity of “Hey Jude.”
It does not possess the immediate historical symbolism of “A Hard Day’s Night.” Yet two of the people best qualified to judge Beatles songs placed it among their finest.
Sometimes the Quietest Beatles Songs Reveal the Most
The Beatles changed music partly because they understood spectacle. They could create enormous hooks. They could generate hysteria. They could push recording technology into places pop music had barely explored.
But their legacy was never built entirely on scale. Sometimes it rested on three minutes of melody, harmony and carefully chosen words. “Here, There and Everywhere” is one of the clearest examples.
Paul McCartney has continued to hold it among his favorite compositions. John Lennon called it one of his favorite Beatles songs.
And decades after Revolver first appeared, musicians and listeners continue returning to it. For a track that can easily be overshadowed by the Beatles’ most famous hits, that is an extraordinary legacy.
Sometimes the song sitting quietly in the middle of the album tells you more about great songwriting than the biggest single ever could.